Battle Fantasia MUSH - User contributions [en]

2023-05-25 - Fox Hunt

2023-05-26T04:25:03Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: Created page with "{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2" |- ! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Fox Hunt''' |- |'''Sum..."

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Fox Hunt'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Tokyo Anime Fair has come to Big Sight in Tokyo -- but so has a fox familiar, and an Ogre chasing after her. Yumi and Kyouka send the Frigid Ogre packing, and they get to know... a little of the Fox.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Yumi Ohzora]], [[Kyouka Okazaki]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Tokyo Big Sight, Shitamachi
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2023-05-25 - 2016-03-13
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Tokyo Big Sight, an exhibition centre in Tokyo Waterfront City -- in the Ariake Minami district, Koto, a hop skip and a jump from Akihabara -- is the largest 'Con destination in the country. Officially, it was the 'Tokyo International Exhibition Center', but ''everyone'' calls it Big Sight -- they even changed the name all official-like, back in 2003.

Visually, it's a real pyramid scheme.

No, really -- four inverted pyramids rise up into the sky, tips all lodged into the tops of four towers, with a hall tucked between the arches. It's called the 'Conference Tower', and it is ICONIC. One enters up -- through a sloping tunnel rising to meet the pyramids -- into the second floor, where one walks through the Entrance Plaza to find the Event Plaza, Entrance Hall, and Exhibition Plaza.

They say that floors three through five don't exist -- a structural quirk of the system.

Put a pin in that one.

Guests can go down to the first floor to find a reception hall and conference rooms -- they're all taken up with ''ANIME PANELS,'' right now. An iconic English dub actor has come to visit, and everyone loves him. Sutiibu...? No, that's not how he says it. Anyway, escalators lead con-goers to the upper floors -- and six, seven and eight are all about conference rooms, too. During the Tokyo Anime Fair, floor six has been transformed into a ''merch hall,'' complete with Artist's Alley; the partitioning of this room can be taken down to make small rooms large, and they've made one very LARGE room, indeed. Floor seven is yet more panels and scheduled events -- including signings! -- and floor eight is jammed packed with rooms showing so. Much. Anime. You wanna check out the pirates of Single Part? Say goodbye to the next five years of your life, but you can get a good start with the latest season showing here. How about Privateer Swing, acclaimed sci-fi anime showing the lives of a ship of space privateers constantly down on their luck and their money? Serpentorb Z? We got rooms showing both the edited cut and the unedited one where the fights take five episodes each to get through.

''Obviously,'' it's the site of the Tokyo Anime Fair.

Everyone's having a great time. There's so much to buy, so much to ''do'' -- did you know they'll PAINT YOUR FACE like a FOX to celebrate that one kitsune flick that just came out??? -- and so many ''costumes to see.'' That's right: it's an anime convention, and the ''big leagues'' are out in force to strut their stuff and show off their skills. There are plenty of amateur cosplayers as well, of course; entire gaggles of the same character, moving as one, making quick friends with each other based entirely off of wearing the same dress out.

In all of those costumes, one might almost miss something -- someone -- darting around the ankles of the packed crowd. The vixen mutters, telepathically, to herself: "<Running, running, running, running...>" Up and up and up the escalator she bounds, only to shock and delight the con-goers as she hops up onto the border of the slowly-moving staircase and bound into an discreet staff entry door left ajar.

"Whoa!" 
"Was that part of someone's costume?!" 
"Dude, they totally dressed their cat up as Nogitsune One!" 
"I think that was a dog, my man..." 
"Looked like a puppycat to me." 
"What, like a catdog? Wasn't that the American anime you liked?" 
"It's called a CARTOON, Naomi! Oh my god!"

Of course, most of them miss that the fox was ''talking.'' And why would they notice? ''Everyone's'' talking, out here. A million conversations --

-- and one, as that fox skids to a stop and whirls, tail a-puff and ears all pinned down. "<STOP ''CHASING'' ME, YOU STUPID OGRE!!>" She thinks TERRIBLY loudly, though it's not, immediately, clear what she's yelling at.

Until the fog rolls in.

It plumes from a dark corner of this structural gap -- no one was supposed to come in here. No public access. The mist chokes the gangways and the ladders, and transforms the empty space. From the darkness, fog; from the fog, something which looks so ''much'' like a frozen lake, beneath the feet.

Perhaps it's the rime, spreading out down below. It frosts anything it touches.

And it announces a presence with a loud, heavy CRUNCH.

The ogre who rises up all painted in stark and loud blues, fangs carving up from the bottom of his lips, face as painted as any of the humans out there today. He towers over the fox, and he swings his club down, with a horrible shake of the foundations.

"ME HUNGRY!"

The fox scrambles away from the blow, but it's a near thing -- running didn't work, so hiding's all she's got left. Well, that and ''one'' other thing --

"<Ahhh!>" She cries out, as she darts for cover. "<Heeeellllp--!>" A telepathic cry like that may well reach the hearts of any magical souls nearby. The service entrance she jumped out to run into, along with a few others dotted around inconspicuously, are practically ''seething'' magic, though not in any obvious way. It looks like...

... there's trouble on the fourth floor, the one which doesn't technically exist.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi transforms into Youma Form Frigid Ogre!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 2 opponents!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Spirit of Destruction on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi accepts Mikoto Minagi's Spirit of Destruction, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Empower and Withstand applied to Mikoto Minagi!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

It's Tokyou Anime Fair, and Kyouka is excited! She barely knows anything about anime and general Japanese pop culture is... well, really limited, but she's excited anyway! To be fair, she's slowly been exposed to more of it since she moved to Tokyo, and getting recommendations from her friends on what to watch has really helped dip her toes into things. She's by no means an ''expert'' yet, but at least she can comment on the few shows she's watched in their entirety so far. And like with most things, even if she's not an expert, talking with people who ''are'' experts, and passionate about their knowledge, is still fun.

So when Yumi invited her to go to Tokyo Anime Fair with her, she immediately said yes, showing up dressed casually--black jeans, black t-shirt, long-sleeved red flannel shirt. "Thanks for inviting me along, Yumi-chan! I took a look at the convention schedule, but I don't know if there's anything in particular I wanna see, so I'll follow your lead if you've got any plans..."

It's a fun time--she enjoys spending time with Yumi, and this is definitely a fun place to spend it in, but she stops when she hears that thudding of the club, glancing to Yumi. "That didn't sound like pyrotechnics or a screening or something..."

But that telepathic call for help cinches it. Under her breath she mutters, "Strike Wolf."

<Affirmative. Magical signature detected. Take the service entrance 10 meters to your left.>

Kyouka looks to Yumi, "Hope we don't miss anything..." and starts hurredly making her way for the discrete door. She glances around and slips inside, then mutters, "Strike Wolf, set up!"

A bright violet flash of energy erupts, and she steps out of it in her barrier jacket and charging into a dead run, following Strike Wolf's guidance. She skids to a stop as she sees...

An ogre. ''Great''.

"Don't suppose there's any point in asking you to stand down peacefully?" she asks as she crouches, then springs forward, gauntlet shimmering with purple energy as she heaves a punch at his stomach.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki transforms into Barrier Jacket Wolf Fighter!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has used Fang Breaker Strike on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora has fully healed herself.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Right. It's a cartoon, Naomi.

Yumi Ohzora is here today, with a friend! She doesn't always make a point of going to evnts like this, but considering Kyouka's desire to learn more about culture, it seemed like a perfect opportunity. Yumi herself is dressed likewise casually, though more femme; a long, floral dress with green long sleeves underneath, and some walking boots (the kind with the really nice gel inserts).

"Anytime!" Yumi says. "Well, I was thinking we'd..."

Pause. There is a thud. There is a call for help. "Oh..."

She looks to Kyouka in the moment, and inclines her head as Strike Wolf speaks back to Kyouka. "Right," she says, as the fog starts to roll in, and she looks in alarm. It's ''so'' cold, and Yumi shivers immediately even before she brings the Staff out of her phone. With people paying attention to something else, it's not hard; the Staff she raises, its green crystal shining brilliantly as she calls, "Staff of Lost Ivy! In my hand, remembered be!"

Green light suffuses Yumi, and her clothes turn black, her tights and sleeves to leather boots and gloves, a hairpin to a broad-brimmed witch's hat. Her pink eyes shine as she steps down from where she'd seemed to hover.

'Come on!" Yumi says, and a broom appears before her as she hops onto it and ''zooms'' around the corner.

"Definitely no point," Yumi answers. "Growing life, enshroud my foe! Ivy Binding!"

She tips her Staff forward, and the curse rushes the Ogre, aiming to slow it with vines and leaves.

"We're here to help!"

COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora transforms into Inheritor Lost Ivy!
COMBAT: Witch of Lost Ivy has used Ivy Binding on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Witch of Lost Ivy has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi cleanly braces 17 Fatigue damage from Kyouka Okazaki's Fang Breaker Strike, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Kyouka Okazaki is Psyched! Mikoto Minagi's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi perfectly counters 12 Fatigue damage from Witch of Lost Ivy's Ivy Binding, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Mikoto Minagi's Reverse and Tactician abilities activate!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi's counterattack, Rapid Freeze, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Witch of Lost Ivy!

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
This is absolutely not a part of the con anyone was supposed to ''see.'' The little they can see in here was very -- ''structural.'' Steel beams, boxes where fuses live, cross-bracing...

It doesn't matter, now. Welcome to the winter wonderland.

On the bright side, no ''civilians'' have snuck in here. On the less bright side -- they're on the floors above you, and they're down below you, and you're here in the middle with a nuclear bomb.

The fox scurries away from the Ogre, and he snarls. "NO!", and he's ''hollering,'' and surely it's magic keeping his voice in here and not out ''there.'' "YOU IS ''ME'' --"

The sound of an Ogre getting punched in the stomach starts with "GHPH," and ends with a fat-rolling wobble, all central adiposity from a lifetime of gorging on -- what? What could he possibly be eating, that he's always so, "HUNGRY!" He raises one of his broad, bare, clawed feet -- and STOMPS down towards Kyouka. He's a good eight feet tall; he has a ''lot'' of airtime on his kicks.

Frost and rime crackle out as he keeps stomping forward, and they meet the vines of Yumi's lifeblooming magic, and all that sap like blood freezes inside. Ivy Binding becomes a crystalline thing, shining, frozen -- beautiful, for a moment.

Before he stomps that vine and shatters it in twain.

"WITCH!" He accuses her, pointing with a horrible talon. He hasn't washed his nails in centuries; the dirt is thick, beneath them. "TASTES BAD!"

He swings his club in his other hand, and if Yumi doesn't get out of the way, she's going to be a witch ''pancake'' shortly. The Ogre whirls, and yells: "WHERE SNACK? WHERE?!"

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Cold Feet on Kyouka Okazaki.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Icicle Crush on Witch of Lost Ivy.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Witch of Lost Ivy partially dodges 13 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Icicle Crush, taking 51 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki partially dodges 2 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Cold Feet, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Mikoto Minagi is Psyched! Kyouka Okazaki's Fade and Flash abilities activate! Stagger applied to Kyouka Okazaki!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

<Dammit dammit dammit!> projects the fox as she scampers for cover.

This was not supposed to windup this way. Now she's got an ogre on her tails, and an ogre threatening the structural integrity of an entire building, and while she doesn't ''particularly'' care for the do-gooder act that Tokyo's guardians carry out... 'collapsing an entire building' is not really the kind of thing she wants to be responsible for.

And then--

Two of those do-gooders suddenly show up. And one of them is--

She ''stares'', mouth agape.

That ''brat''!

Meanwhile, Kyouka's attack is just... absorbed by the ogre's bulky stomach. Right. Should have figured that would happen. But at least that got the ogre's attention on them instead of whatever--

Thankfully, her outfit of shorts, tank top, vest, and armoted boots and gauntlets is magical, so it's not like she's ''really'' too cold, but the frigid air is not terribly helpful to swift movements, regardless.

"Wait, did he say ''snack''--" She glances around, but dives to the side a moment too late to fully evade the attack, getting clipped by an Ogre's foot. "Gah!"

But then she sees the hit Ivy took-- "Ivy! Grr... We gotta put this thing down ''fast'', before he brings the building down." Okay, if stomach didn't work, then... A midchildan spell circle appears very briefly at her feet as she crouches and then springs upwards. Another one appears on the ceiling as she flips upright to rebound off of it, turning sideways to bound off a wall and then back to come at the ogre's head with a powerful, sweeping kick, purple energy shimmering over her boot.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has used Piercing Fang Strike on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Witch of Lost Ivy [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Lost Ivy is at least used to seeing places she's not supposed to see. That much is hardly strange at all! The fuseboxes, the steel beams... they're the sorts of places she's flown many a time.

But she won't be flying much for now. The Ogre snarls, and his frost meets her vines. Yumi winces as she sees them freeze over. "Not... great," she says, and doesn't have time to lecture a fox on her language.

but then the Ogre tells her she tastes bad and she definitely doesn't get all the way out of the way. She gets out ''enough''; the club instead of crushing her propels her ''hard'' into the wall, where she makes a nasty noise of impact. "Augh--"

Finish it quickly, Kyouka says. "W-working on it," Yumi manages, dazed. "He definitely said snack," Yumi adds, and then starts tracing runes in the air as she hops off her broom. She doesn't quite manage to stand up straight for the moment, but incantations of destruction begin. "Wrath of forgotten spirits..."

"Come forth! Dark Radiance!" Then, hanging in the air, each rune becomes a blast, cascading like watery beams towards the Ogre in green and black that will burn in purifying light.
COMBAT: Witch of Lost Ivy has used Dark Radiance on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Witch of Lost Ivy has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

He did, indeed, say 'snack.' And what kind of snack is he putting on ice out here, at the centre of something which looks so much like a frozen lake...?

"HA HA! HA HA HA!" The Ogre laughs -- he ''laughs,'' all from his belly through his massive lungs to his throat -- as Yumi goes flying straight into the wall. "ME TENDERISE YOU!" Apparently, all his vocabulary is devoted to cooking. No surprises, there.

He stomps forward to follow through on his awful works, only to realise too late that he forgot about the ''other'' morsel. "UH?" He grunts, turning his head, and his eyes -- painted white around them to give him an extra-fearsome look -- widen in his head as he sees a girl fastballing in from the ''ceiling.'' He can't ''quite'' move out of the way in time to avoid -- "AGH!!"

Ker-CHUNK, his head snaps to the side. He grabs at his big tusk with his free hand, rubbing it vigorously. "OWIEEEE OW OW OW ME CHOMPERS..." The cold ''does'' tend to make one's teeth hurt. Getting kicked in them does, too.

He's thoroughly distracted with that long enough for Yumi to capitalise on his weakness. One of those horrible curses she knows so well cascades into his back, and it arches, as he howls: "ARRRGHHHH--!! NO CURSE ME, ME EAT SNACK! FUR ON! CHOMP! ME EAT, SEE?!" He turns, and turns, and turns again.

"WHERE SNACK?!" He demands, again.

Maybe a fox's bad language can be excused under ''this'' kind of pressure.

"ARRGH!! YOU! ''BOTH'' YOU! YOU ''TAKE'' SNACK!" He stomps his big, broad feet, and the ice cracks and shakes beneath them. He grasps his great club in both hands, and spins about. "ME SMASH!!!" The swing is mighty enough that the air ''itself'' breaks ahead of it, in a powerful shockwave ringing out through the foggy darkness.

He's not too bright, but he's ''very'' strong.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Broad Swing on Witch of Lost Ivy.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Broad Swing on Kyouka Okazaki.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Witch of Lost Ivy braces 23 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Broad Swing, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Witch of Lost Ivy's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki braces 12 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Broad Swing, taking 18 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The fox ''could'' leave, while the others are distracted. Unlike dropping a tower on a crowd full of innocents, leaving two people much stronger than her to fight her battle for her is ''definitely'' something she's okay with.

But leaving now would mean she has to leave that prototype device behind, and this would be the perfect opportunity to steal it back...

Well, she'll steal it back ''after'' the fight. No sense disabling the prototype now while that brat is handling things for her.

But the way that girl is fighting... From her hiding spot, the fox scowls.

Kyouka is also used to seeing odd parts of places people aren't normally meant to see--under better circumstances, this might make an interesting area to explore and climb around in. In whatever case, though, it's a terrible place for fighting in.

She's glad Yumi's magic proves especially effective against this thing.

She delivers her kick and then rebounds off of the ogre, landing in a crouch. The ogre is yelling about a snack, still. "Sorry, pal, but whoever you wanna snack on, we're not gonna let you. I've got a nice knuckle sandwich for you, though!"

But the ogre starts to spin, and in the tight, cramped quarters they're fighting in there's hardly any room to maneuver. She tries to power through the shockwave of the attack, setting her stance and bracing with her arms, but there's so much ''ice'' and that little bit of give is enough for her to be knocked back into a wall--maybe not as hard as Ivy, but that's still a blow she feels. "Oof!"

She gets back into her stance, and Strike Wolf chimes, <Fury Barrage.> Purple light shimmers over Kyouka's whole body and then she springs into action. "Ivy! I'll try to keep him occupied!" Spring forward and bounce off a ceiling to deliver a punch, but just as quickly as she delivers it she rebounds in a different direction to bounce off wall, down to floor, and into another kick at the knee. She keeps rebounding, blurring as she lets loose with a flurry of punches and kicks to try and keep the ogre off balance.

COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has used Fang Fury Barrage on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Witch of Lost Ivy [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Sorry, I'm still all bones!" Yumi shouts back at the Ogre, as she prepares her spell. And he howls. Oh, does he howl all right. But he's going to eat snack. "Nice work!" she calls to Kyouka, and then dives out of the way, excusing that language indeed. The shockwave comes, and Yumi throws a barrier up before herself, a circle of runes appearing in front of the Witch of Lost Ivy to deflect most of the blast. It still resounds through her bones, though.

"That's right! I took your snack!" Yumi calls, "Hey--" Yumi gets an idea.

"Here it is!" she says. "Take it and leave us alone!" Yumi palms a rune of destruction--and hurls it for the Ogre. "Go on! We give up!"

But it is a LIE and it will EXPLODE.

She gives Kyouka a V-sign.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi cleanly braces 23 Fatigue damage from Kyouka Okazaki's Fang Fury Barrage, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Mikoto Minagi's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi accepts Witch of Lost Ivy's Hot Potato, taking 10 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"PORK KNUCKLE! PORK KNUCKLE!! STEW UP, YUM!" The Ogre crows, as he spins about. Threatening him with a knuckle sandwich is... well...

He ''might'' have missed the point. Again, he's not terribly clever.

He meets her punch with his own arm, but she's off again before he can properly ''respond.'' He is eight feet of fat and muscle and not much ''decoration'' aside from that body-paint and loincloth, and for all his power he can't meet Kyouka in time to avoid her striking at his knee. He does TRY to kick her -- but she's already gone, and he just kicks through the fading remnants of a Midchildan circle. No, now she's at his side, with an elbow to his ribs. He turns, only to find her striking at his shin from behind. He turns the ''other'' way, and she lobs a punch at his ''head'' --

"MAD!" He yells, stomping his feet. "MAD! MAD! MAD!!!"

He's ''thoroughly'' distracted. The problem is -- even though Kyouka and her (stolen? Borrowed? Citation needed?!) Device don't lack in POWER, Ogres have never been creatures who can be defeated through raw might alone. The Witch of Lost Ivy may well know better than anyone how impressive the showing is, given that.

But Yumi has something else up her sleeve -- ''psychological warfare.''

"SNACK?!" He exclaims, turning to Yumi with wide, shining eyes. "ME SNACK! ME SNACK!" Entirely trusting of this shift in affairs, he lunges forward to CHOMP the rune out of thin air, without even bothering to examine what he's eating.

He doesn't even really ''chew'' it, before he swallows it down. All his teeth are on the outside, apparently. There is silence, for a moment...

... and then...

With a rrrrRRRRUMBLE and a BOOM!, green light blooms in the Ogre's stomach, and he drops his club as he doubles over to grasp it. "AAAAHHHH!" He yells, clearly regretting his life choices. "TASTE BAD! TASTE BAD!! YOU SNACK ''BAD!''"

He picks his club back up, and starts swinging WILDLY. Slabs of ice shatter upwards from his strikes, and he clobbers them away, towards Mage and Witch alike. "ME SNACK! ME ''GOTTA'' SNACK! BAD SNACK! SNEAK SNACK! ''ME'' SNACK, NOW!" He surely doesn't mean the runes.

Why is he ''so'' mad at that fox..?

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Collateral Damage on Witch of Lost Ivy.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Collateral Damage on Kyouka Okazaki.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Witch of Lost Ivy counters 10 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Collateral Damage, taking 30 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Witch of Lost Ivy's Reverse and Tactician abilities activate! Trap applied to Witch of Lost Ivy!
COMBAT: Witch of Lost Ivy's counterattack, Witch's Mirror, partially gets through, doing 10 Fatigue damage to Mikoto Minagi! Critical Counterhit!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The fox weighs her options. They're doing okay, but not ''great''. There's still time for her to leave, but if that Ogre defeats them and takes them hostage--or more likely, just ''eats'' them, she'll never get that device back.

She stays silent and in hiding as she continues watching.

Kyouka does her best to assault the ogre, but the ogre meets the first blow, and then she's moving fast, but she can't get enough purchase with her speed and how she's trying to avoid the problematic ice to land any solid hits, and it seems like she barely does anything to it. But any time spent being bewildered by her attack is time the ogre can't spend attacking Ivy, so she keeps up the barrage--

Until Ivy announces that she has a snack. Kyouka isn't ''that'' versed in magic but does bounce off and away so that Ivy can try her gambit. It seems to work! And then it seems to make him ''mad'', which is... not ideal in this circumstance. He starts smashing and sending ice everywhere, and Kyouka does her best to get around it, but the area is so cramped that a flying chunk clips her and sends her tumbling head over heels into the floor and then a wall. "Gah!"

Not her best showing.

"Ivy! We gotta shut this guy down ''now'', before he brings the place down!"

She scrambles up to her feet, and sets her stance. A bright purple Midchildan circle appears at her feet. She holds out her hand, and a ball of energy begins to shine. "From warded den, through hallowed glade..."

That ball of energy shines brighter as she pours her strength into it. Air currents start to circle around her, and shards of ice begin to lift up into the air, circling around her in a flurry.

"To bright moon watching overhead..."

She grabs at that ball of energy and suddenly her gauntlet is ablaze with shining blue-white light. All of the ice shards seem to suspend for just a moment as the air currents cut out, only to be blown clear away as the glow of her gauntlet intensifies further.

"Lend your strength, light my path..."

She crouches, poised to strike. That glow from her gauntlet spreads over the rest of her body as she raises her hand back, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

"And guide your guardian's hand!"

<Shining Moonlight Strike.>

In a flash of light she moves, and is upon the ogre in an impossibly fast instant as she swings, releasing that pent up with the force of her (hopefully) decisive blow. "Kyaaaaaaa!"
COMBAT: FINISHER! Kyouka Okazaki has used Shining Moonlight Strike on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Witch of Lost Ivy [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi's delight at her gambit working is short-lived, of course. It was fun, but it couldn't finish things on its own. So the Ogre trusts her, and she should really feel bad for that... but as it happens, she doesn't. BOOM!

"YEAH it's bad, jerk!" Yumi calls out to the Ogre, and the Ogre decides he wants his snack back after all, ice crashing towards both of them. Yumi throws out her hand and weaves a counterspell--

But it only blocks some of the damage, the rest of the ice slamming into her hard enough to send her sprawling again. "Augh!"

She would be SO offended by the fox if she knew!! But she doesn't so she calls back to Kyouka, "Right!"

It's amazing, to see the spell she's working as it comes. Yumi takes just a moment to marvel at the beautifully gathering ice. Just a moment; that's all she has at the moment.

Then, as Kyouka swings, Yumi prepares.

"Holy light!" She holds up the Staff, and it begins to gather radiance, shedding light as it builds, and builds, and builds. Soon, it is as bright as noon here, as if they were outside.

"Rain down, in verdant might!"

Yumi points the Staff forward, and hangs on with both hands, as a beam emits from it. Then, "BLESSED SHINE!"

The beam becomes a searchlight becomes a burning column, sunlight that will not harm Kyouka in the least but will burn all evil in green flame. Yumi holds onto the staff with both hands, as despite the light's gentle nature, she still has to hang on for dear life at its sheer force.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Witch of Lost Ivy has used Blessed Shine on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Witch of Lost Ivy has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi fails to brace Kyouka Okazaki's Finisher, Shining Moonlight Strike, taking 101 Fatigue damage! Mikoto Minagi is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi braces 64 Fatigue damage from Witch of Lost Ivy's Finisher, Blessed Shine, taking 43 Fatigue damage! Mikoto Minagi is unable to keep fighting! Mikoto Minagi's Block and Parry abilities activate!

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The bright moon watches -- and ice flurries, becoming Kyouka's strength as readily as it came to herald the Ogre's footsteps. Winter is no one's handmaid; she is both disaster and beauty, a time to rest as much as she demands eternal sleep. To moonlight, now, the cold lends strength.

Kyouka, mind you, was never lacking in it.

In one instant she is chanting a spell -- ''another'' witch? He has little time to wonder -- and the next she is upon him, gauntlet glinting silver as she thrusts it down. "GYAH!" The Ogre yelps, as he's knocked down entirely, pinned by the speed and ferocity of her punches.

Sunlight meets noon, then. The fog parts to let the midday light through, as Blessed Shine pours down -- pours THROUGH, through Yumi's own mighty body, through the Staff of Lost Ivy, through the Ogre, and harmlessly through Kyouka, too. The next time Kyouka's punch lands, it sparks green flame in the mixing of moon and sun: flint to steel, the Ogre is consumed by Lost Ivy's purifying magics.

That flame, green as verdant forest, spreads across the ice -- burns away the fog. All the obscured damage to those crossbeams fades in an instant; switch-boxes are restored; a ladder earns its rungs back again. When the sunlight fades, this is a dark construction space, once more, mere scaffolding to support the Conference Tower's bold architecture.

They'd better not spend too long in here. It's not a place for guests, and as far as anyone knows -- they're just a couple of guests who snuck into a service exit.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Kyouka lands that last blow that sparks green flame and leaps back, the glow from her gauntlet and body gone as she unloaded all of that built-up energy into the Ogre. She lands next to Ivy, watching her in turn as she channels that blessed sunlight to finish up the ogre. She may have taken a rough hit at the start of this fight, but here she is, hanging in there, giving it her all.

Kyouka admires that tenacity.

She lets out a soft sigh of relief as the ogre is burned away, as the ice vanishes and all the structural damage rights itself. "Whew. That could've been really bad. Ivy-chan, are you--"

<What was that?!>

The fox bursts out of her hiding spot, glaring daggers up at Kyouka. Kyouka blinks as she looks down at the fox. "Um... were you the 'snack' the ogre was chasing? You should be safe, now..."

The fox just growls, clearly not appreciative. <That device is a precision instrument! You can't just go around smashing it into things like a brute! What kind of mage ''are'' you?! I can't believe my Master's work is being reduced to... to... to a simple battering ram!>

Kyouka blinks. "Wait... are you that woman that came to my house! Where have you ''been''?! I've been looking all over for you!"

<Pose Tracker> Witch of Lost Ivy [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Some might call Yumi reckless, but she relishes the fact that she ''can'' keep going even after hard, brutal hits when she's transformed as the Witch of Lost Ivy. The toughness to endure, the possibility to run and rise and leap...

It's a rush, maybe even more than flying.

But Yumi lowers her Staff when the matter is over. "An icy Ogre... I haven't seen one of those before," Yumi comments.

Then she turns to Kyouka and smiles. "I'm--"

There's the fox. And the fox is--

"You're welcome," Yumi says to her. "I'm so glad that you're okay. Yes, it's perfectly fine. We don't mind. We're happy to help." Her voice is deadpan throughout the statements.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The fox narrows her eyes at Ivy and then sniffs, holding her nose up as she looks away. 

Kyouka crosses her arms. "A little gratitude wouldn't kill you, you know. Especially since we made sure the ogre ''didn't''."

The fox huffs. <Fine. ''Thank you''.> She thinks it in that way that very clearly suggests she doesn't mean it.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Kyouka gestures with her other hand. "Ivy, meet The Phantom Fox. Look, Strike Wolf and I have been looking for you. We actually want to talk."

<A likely story!> retorts the fox, both tails lashing behind her.

"Ivy, can you back me up on that...?"

<Pose Tracker> Witch of Lost Ivy [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

The look Yumi gives the fox is one that could strip paint. She definitely does not think that she was doing so well.

"It's something resembling nice to meet you," Ivy answers. "Ogres are dangerous; that one wouldn't have stopped until he found ''someone'' to eat, even if it wasn't you."

But Kyouka wants to talk, so Yumi holds up her hands. "All right, all right," she says, and then goes back to leaning on the Staff.

"She does want to talk. She'd even give Strike Wolf back."

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The little fox huffs, glancing aside. <Don't you think I know that? That ''thing'' was never supposed to follow me. I don't know ''how'' it followed my dimension shift.>

Didn't she just say she had a masterful strategy?

Ivy backs up Kyouka's words, and the fox glances between the two of them suspiciously. <You'd give it back, just like that?>

"Well, not ''just'' like that, we want to talk--"

<Ha! I knew it!>

Kyouka lets out an exasperated groan. "We want to ''talk'' to see if we can come to some sort of arrangement. Strike Wolf and I ''both'' have things we want to ask. And if can't come to an agreement, then yes, I'll hand him back."

From the back of Kyouka's gauntlet, Strike Wolf chimes in, an inner light flickering in time with his words. <Kyouka speaks the truth. I wish to return, but I also wish to keep working with my partner.>

The fox's tails grow still as she studies Kyouka and Strike Wolf. Kyouka looks back at her with a resolute expression, while Strike Wolf continues to observe his surroundings through an array of sensors the way he normally does.

<Fine,> says the fox after a moment. <Then we'll talk. But not here, in case another one of those things arrive. I'll have someone get in touch.> A bright green circle of magic appears underneath her, and she winks out of sight.

<Pose Tracker> Witch of Lost Ivy [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"They're a lot more magically capable than they look," Yumi points out.

But she listens to Fox and Kyouka both, as they discuss the matter of talking and how Strike Wolf chies in. She can appreciate Kyouka's resolve, anyway...

"That's really not very likely--"

Zoop.

"..."

Yumi looks to Kyouka, "Your buddy's a jerk, Strike Wolf. Just saying." Then she brightens, and dismisses her transformation, the staff disappearing into sparkling green light as she pulls her phone instead. "Well," she says. "That aside."

"Let's check out some anime!"

2022-10-14 - Ferris Wish! The Vertex Approaches Tomoeda

2022-10-20T23:21:04Z

Nyaaahhh!!!:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Ferris Wish! The Vertex Approaches Tomoeda'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The allies of justice -- and the World Tree's Hero, Abiko, in particular -- are transported to a strange realm to fight a strange foe. There were plenty of them on site at Tomoeda, because there was a half-off ticket special...''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Abiko Tsugaru]], [[Setsuna Higashi]], [[Kyouka Okazaki]], [[Endo Naoki]], [[Eri Shimanouchi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Tomoeda Theme Park
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2022-10-14 - 2016-01-19
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The theme park is running a special deal, this week -- tickets are half-off for school-aged students, because even now they've returned to school, there's always time to have a little fun after school. The weather's been holding pretty well (nippy, but clear, sun shining in the sky!), so it's a good time to get outside.

A parade of clowns and dancers prance down the main 'road', in a flurry of lights and colour and sound; balloons soar upwards, released from colourful plastic string as young children clap and point. There's always more to go around. More attractions, as well -- like the house of mirrors, a mind-bending affair to trick the eyes and delight the heart. There's a roller-coaster, for those who prefer to ''stop'' theirs, with gut-wrenching dips and careening downward drifts. Sideshow games, placing balls into the mouths of turning porcelain clowns, ''funnel cake,'' and...

... the Ferris Wheel, of course. It towers overhead, broad and tall, a statement of engineering going back a hundred and twenty-three years. Its colours are bright as anything here, primarily primary; for some, it is a test of bravery, and for others it is a test of romance. People say that if you ride it to the very top, if the light shines in just the right way on your cabin, when you make a wish -- that wish will come true.

It's the sort of rumour which occupies high-school girls. It's not entirely serious, but it is ''fun,'' and everyone can use something like that in their lives.

And there's plenty here to occupy everyone -- even a petting zoo, back there.

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Abiko Tsugaru
Abiko is making her way through the large gates to the theme part with a new acquaintance from school, looking over the entrance with a look of mild awe, "Oooooh, I've never been to a theme park before. Just festivals." she muses out loud to the girl beside her. She pauses just off to the side as she takes in all the lights, sounds and smells, "What should we do first?"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna Higashi lives out here in Tama, so it's not so uncommon for her to drop by the theme park after school. It's a nice place to be, and she has... well, she has memories. They aren't all good. But they aren't all bad, either! They are Memories.

And just now, still in uniform from Juuban, Setsuna sees Kyouka and another student as she seps inside. "Hello!" Setsuna greets them, and looks up to the Ferris Wheel thoughtfully.

She of course knows about the rumor... but she doesn't say anything about it yet.

Indeed if not stopped she'll wave and then start walking towards...

The snacks.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Kyouka is looking forward to checking out the amusement park. She's gotten to see a few, but world-hopping makes her track record of having access to one rather spotty, at best. So when she heard that there was a special on tickets, and several of her friends were going to be there... how could she resist?

Especially her ''newest'' friend--a brand new transfer student, that she practically ''jumped'' at the chance to show around. (Certainly, her hand was up before the teacher even had a chance to finish asking 'Would anyone like to show the new girl around?') She paid the rumors circulating around her little mind--she'd rather make her own judgement, thankyouverymuch.

And naturally, she had extended an invite to Abiko to come as well. They had arrived together, so Kyouka could help show her the way.

Kyouka grins at Abiko as she takes in everything. "Yeah, I've been to... a couple? It's been a while though, for sure." She'd already explained to Abiko how her family had moved around a lot, how she was also new to Tokyo (and Japan) as of a couple months prior.

"Mmmm... well, I'm torn between the roller coaster ride and the funnel cake.... Should probably do the roller coaster first, just to be safe..." Kyouka ponders out loud. "Though, maybe we should look for some of my other friends--then we can all go together."

"Speaking of..." she waves to Setsuna excitedly. "Here, c'mon." She gestures Abiko along and heads over to meet Setsuna. "Setsuna-chan! I'm so glad to see you. Tsugaru-chan, this is Setsuna Higashi. Setsuna, this is Abiko Tsugaru. She just transferred into our class. I'm showing her around."

The amusmenent park is a ''bit'' far away from the school, but it still counts.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo Naoki is awaiting the arrival of company at the theme park but his companion is running late. He is not, however, one to waste time standing around. There's only so much after school time in the day, and it would be a shame to waste it.

Currently, he has engaged the spinning target-clown in ranged combat. The boy is standing at one of the ball tossing booths, a small collection of spheres placed in front of him. He's squinting viciously at the porcelain clown, attempting to calculate the correct angle to land a shot in its mouth. Multiple tries have already failed, leaving discarded balls scattered around the floor.

"Ah why are you like this?" Endo asks the clown as another shot pings off the rim of its mouth and bounces away.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

>save u some funnel cake

Eri taps a text as she moves down the main thoroughfare of the park, as she gets into her own Ferris Wheel Cabin, still eating her own. Her eyes flit over to the clowns, and to the others in the park. The door's about to be shut by the attendant when a high school boy tries to get in.

"Take the next one." Eri warns.

He tries to flash a million dollar smile, "No reason you have to make the ride yourself - besides something could always bloom on the way u-"

"As a good friend of mine likes to say-" He's met with Eri getting up, a hand bearing a ring against his breastbone. "-noone likes a pushy guy." There's a gleam by his feet, right as he she lightly shoves. She barely uses any strength, but he topples over anyway.

The cabin door shuts, Eri glares at him over her glasses for a moment before sitting back down. He struggles to get up, only to find he's having trouble moving his feet. A brief glimpse and there's something like a vine like strand binding his shoelaces together, when he blinks, its gone making him feel thoroughly gaslit by his vision.

Unsettled, he doesn't get into the next cabin at all, he just sort of slinks away, looking over his shoulder at her every so often.

Eri goes back to the funnel cake, as she waits for her ride to begin.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSAIDK71lro Yuki Yuna Is A Hero - Into The Forest

All a sudden, Abiko's phone rings.

/ / / / / / / / / / / FORESTIZE WARNING / / / / / / / / / / /

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / vertex approaching. deploy to protect humanity.

And all a sudden, everyday life is put on hold... just like that.

A balloon pauses, halfway to space.

A ribbon halts, where it was tossed into the air.

The Ferris Wheel ceases motion, and so do most of the people, inside.

Yes... almost everyone here STOPS, all at once, and without preamble. Only a precious few girls remain -- each with magic the World Tree recognises, each with power the World Tree can trust. The World Tree knows much of trusting girls.

But though it leaves those with magic aware, in this place... there's only one girl who's called for help, phone chiming with a distinct noise.

At first, it may not be apparent why.

The world stops; the world stops, and hangs in an instant. There is time, here, for confusion -- time for nervousness, time for fear.

And then, light all crackling down the Ferris Wheel, so, SO close to Eri's cabin -- the world opens up.

The world which pours out is all pastel-shaded, painted in watercolour, abstract and wonderful and -- in the way which something too lovely must be -- terrific, in the old sense, a wonder born of meeting something horrible in the middle. It is the fairy's circle, beautiful and too beautiful still, all captivating, all consuming. Such a picturesque existence --

It pours out and out and out. It floods the dancing parade, the house of mirrors, the Ferris Wheel. All a sudden the bright colours of the theme park are made strange and spectacular, and then the theme park isn't, any more; in a flurry of leaves it is replaced by twisting, painted roots, pastel pink and blue and green and yellow.

The forest of Jinkai has bloomed, a world apart from reality. Its painted existence twists and wends, a complex journey of roots and vines, cliffs and valleys.

And you are alone, together.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Tap tap goes Eri's finger against the phone as they climb up steadily towards the heavens. At the top, she knows one is supposed to make a wish.

She knows better.

The world stops, and hangs as if some massive cogs had ground its linear progression to a halt. She taps once to put her phone to sleep. Then takes off her glasses, folds them up. The light opens up, above her cabin - right as her soul's housing appears, in a flash, and a spin.

Where she ends up...

... the Puella Magi clad for battle halts. "What in the world-"

Her eyes taking in the full majesty of the pastel twisting painted forest. There is something within her that makes her feel like crying. All she does is make a single slow blink of her eyes. And makes a singular exhalation of contentment.

She knows it won't last before something happens, but there is something about this place that feels like it's the opposite of a Labyrinth. Instead of twisted imagery of a tortured soul, it is something otherworldly in a way that feels almost sacred.

She's in an Odd World again, alone, save that her feelings are upside down from how it ordinarily is - it's something unfamiliar, something she doesn't know, something she isn't used to.

Despite herself, she just stands still for a while, taking it all in. "It won't last." She says to herself of this strange peaceful feeling, "It never does."

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Abiko pulls her attention away from all the distraction as Kyouka guides her towards Setsuna, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she offers a polite bow, "Nice to meet you, Setsuna-san." she says politely to her fellow student, her demeanor anything but what certain rumots might have people believe.

She starts to turn, eager to explore this new land of snacks and potential friends before reality comes crashing down around her with the ringing alert and vibration from her cell phone and the frozen world around her. "What in the...." her soft voice trails off as the world shifts and changes around her suddenly.

Abiko's mind races, she had only just recently began learning about the world hidden from the majority and what was expected of her should this very moment arise...

*Gulp*

"I just load up the app, right--" she taps a finger onto her phone and a soft purple motes of light being to grow from her body and clothes, taking form and shifting as the glow intensifies before subsiding slowing and leaving Abiko with a new appearance -- Heavy boots over leggins under a short Kimono stitched with cartoonish looking explosions. On her forearms are segmented metal bracers that emit a soft glow from beneath the plates. Once transformed she exhales lowly and looks around the area, noticing that she is not alone she waves at Eri and looks down on her phone again, "Now what...."
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru transforms into Yuusha Abiko!

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna's snack run... interrupted! By new friend! "Oh, yes," Setsuna says of Abiko. "Hello, Tsugaru-san." She smiles. "That's nice of you," she says to Kyouka. She has not spotted ENDO's ATTEMPTS yet nor Eri and the pushy boy, but perhaps she will. The day stretches out before them...

Util abrubtly it doesn't. Instead, the beauty and strangeness of the moment approaches. "...?" Setsuna glances around, thoughtfully. Abiko loads up and app, and changes, and Setsuna looks to her. "There's trouble?" she wonders, and eyes Kyouka thoughtfully.

"...Right." She pulls her own phone--really, her Linkrun--and opens it, and in moments--

Light suffuses her, and Setsuna flips back into an ocean of radiance, rising once more in the red dress of Cure Passion, feet clacking against the ground. "Freshly ripened--Cure Passion!"

She looks up to Eri, thoughtfully, and back to Abiko. "..All right."
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi transforms into Cure Passion!

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo is mid extension when the world freezes, a ball just loosed from hand. The sphere is stopped in mid air, the boy peering quizzically at the frozen object for just a moment before his attention turns toward more pressing matters: the ferris wheel, and the pastel colors bleeding into existence.

Though the forest is beautiful in all its color, it's clear that there's something amiss. It reminds him of a barrier, or a handful of other magical phenomenon that he's experienced over the past year.

Purple-black light flares outward, crawling along Endo's figure and leaving sleek, dark armor behind. The boy's eyes sweep over the sprawling forest as he grasps the giant sword that's appeared in his hand. There are other figures appearing that he recognizes, but no sign of immediate danger--though he's prepared for that, too.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

All thoughts of roller coasters and funnel cake and introductions are halted when--well, whatever happens happens. Kyouka pauses as the rest of the world does--not because she is affected, but because she is seeing the world halt around them, followed by a crack in the world, light spilling out, and then... a forest? She has no idea what it means.

But she has a few guesses.

Kyouka is also in her school uniform still, and she brings her wrist right up to her face. The bending of her elbow draws the sleeve of her uniform's blazer back enough to reveal Strike Wolf's standby form: a black leather bracelet on her wrist, topped with a small, purple, five-sided gem. "Strike Wolf, set up!"

<Stand by ready. Set up.>

In a swirl of surging purple energy her uniform and backpack are replaced by her barrier armor: vest, tank top, shorts, visor, and armored boots and gloves, with Strike Wolf resting on the back of her right hand. "Strike Wolf, do you know what this is?"

<Analyzing...>

"Cure Passion? Any thoughts?" she asks, without even looking to see if her friend's unfrozen and transformed. She kind of takes it for granted as she looks around.

And then notices Abiko beside her. "Oh. Hello."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

You are alone.

The Jinkai barrier is SUCH a beautiful place. Divine is, certainly, a word which can be applied to it -- the girls and boy laid here are small, against those giant roots, but not INSIGNIFICANT. No, in fact: They are the most important people here.

The only people here.

The only...

Alone, are you?

Abiko's phone chimes.

 ------------- ( ? ) HELP -------------

----------------------------------------------------- the Jinkai is a barrier created by the World Tree for Protection of Humanity the Vertex is an Enemy of Humanity come to destroy the World when the Vertex reaches the World Tree the World will be Destroyed -----------------------------------------------------

There's a whisper of something, on the wind, like some forgotten spirits of the green; their voices are ineffable and delicate as spun sugar, but there are no carnival snacks to be had, any more.

The forest is still.

Until, in the distance --

It's an intrusion. The broad figure in the distance -- floating, slow, in tattered cloth like a person but distinctly NOT -- does not belong to this watercolour world. Its lines are distinct, dark pink on light, and there is something wormlike to the twist of it, but it isn't just long. The arrangement of its curves evokes something; at the same time, it cannot be feminine.

The Vertex approaches, slow and implacable.

COMBAT: Rei Hino transforms into Youma Form Encroaching Vertex!
COMBAT: Rei Hino has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 5 opponents!
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Another One Entered The Forest on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino accepts Rei Hino's Another One Entered The Forest, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Empower and Withstand applied to Rei Hino!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki transforms into Barrier Jacket Zerstörer!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki transforms into Barrier Jacket Wolf Fighter!

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Abiko notices she is alone but also... far from it? She blinks in surprise, looking between Setsuna, Kyouka and the few others she can see before reading the new message on her phone mumbling bits out loud, " ...Jinkaii... Barrier... World Tree... Vertex.. Enemy of Humanity... Destroyed...!" a quick tap closes down the phone as it vanishes in a brief sparkle of light.

"Were... you also chosen by the World Tree? I didn't know there were others here..." she asks, a bit unsure -- Then the Vertex appears, "It'll have to wait... it's the end if that thing reaches the tree. I've gotta take it down!" she calls out, turning her attention to the monster and crinkling her nose in disgust, "Yuck..." she says before crouching and sending herself soaring into a jump, using the roots to push her towards the foe, her right hand chambered at her hip as she closes in and snaps it out with a burst of energy and a loud 'Hyah!' for good measure
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has used Forceful Palm on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 7 Fatigue damage from Abiko Tsugaru's Forceful Palm, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Abiko Tsugaru is Psyched! Cripple applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Cure Passion looks to Kyouka again and nods. "It seems like she knows what needs doing," she says of Abiko, and puts her hands together, getting ready to fight. "...No. I'm Pretty Cure, with my friends Peach, Pine, and Berry."

She looks up to the Vertex in all its strange glory.

"We'll back you up, then!" Passion says to Abiko. "If the stakes are that high... Let's do our best!"

She leaps up after Abiko, jumping against the ferris wheel onto a great root, upward further still into a somersault before she starts to kick her way up the Vertex's form.

COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Rising Passion on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi transforms into Puella Magi Eri!

COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 7 Fatigue damage from Cure Passion's Rising Passion, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Cure Passion is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

A Magical Girl she doesn't recognize waves at her, Eri looks her way, and there's a nod of her head. Before then nodding Cure Passion's way, "Passion." Endo she also recognizes, as well as Kyouka with her Device. That peaceful feeling becomes a growing dread. They're in an unfamiliar place to her, and there's almost certainly an unfamiliar enemy.

She listens to snippets of words from Abiko. "No." On being chosen by the World Tree, "Nevertheless, we're here to support you."

What if it's too much for someone new to this? However her mind also flits to the idea that 'It always is.'

A whisper on the wind, she reminds herself of the Forest Spirit, afflicted by the plum pox. Then comes the intruder...

... for one there's distinct relief, that the world still remains as it is, that things haven't been overturned. She's grateful that the unfamiliar is still familiar.

It's an invasion. That much she can grasp, and she's a defender.

Abiko moves towards it, she appears to be the Magical Girl chosen for this, so she watches her for a moment. And then she just moves. There are short hops from one pastel root structure to the next, getting to a higher vantage point.

"I'll back you up."

A hand moves up to the soul gem in her barrette, as a wooden handle extends, vined tendrils following behind it. The whip flies out in the air, it's lengths arcing around in dizzying blurs. Slashing and slicing as she tests and teases out its defenses. Each crack of the whip striking like a stunning thunderclap.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Ephemeral Dance on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

If it weren't for the fact that this had replaced her planned outing with something wholly unexpected... it might be rather nice, here. She loves nature and the outdoors, after all, and this feels about as pure a representation of that concept as she's likely to find anywhere else on Earth.

It's too bad that she knows it must portend danger. Would be rather nice to be able to relax here for a while.

She listens to abiko's muttering, and picks up the word 'barrier'. Seems about right. She glances around--Endo! And Eri! Good to see familiar faces, at least. "Nope, I think that's just your thing. We're just magical so we kinda got carried along for the ride. World Tree probably thought you'd need the help."

And then, off in the distance.... That ''thing'' appears, and she's got a pretty bad feeling about it, which Abiko quickly confirms. "Hey! ''We've'' gotta stop it! Strike Wolf, let's go." She courches, and a circle appears beneath her feet, bright neon purple and enscribed with runes and symbols. A moment later the stored energy is released as she charges towards the creature. "Fangbreaker!" She aims for the head of that thing, magical energy stored up in her gauntlet and released with a small shockwave if she makes contact.

COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has used Fang Breaker Strike on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Rei Hino counters 10 Fatigue damage from Kyouka Okazaki's Fang Breaker Strike, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Kyouka Okazaki is Psyched! Cripple applied to Rei Hino!
COMBAT: Rei Hino's counterattack, Wardrum Chant, partially gets through, doing 11 Fatigue damage to Kyouka Okazaki! Stun applied to Kyouka Okazaki!
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 16 Fatigue damage from Eri Shimanouchi's Ephemeral Dance, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Stun applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

The arrival of the Vertex sends a shudder down Endo's spine. This is the danger, he's very sure, even without a helpful app to inform him.

Abiko seems to have the right idea, taking the lead to strike at the foe. Endo decides that seems like a good course of action.

The boy hefts his device, launching off a nearby vine and sailing toward the Vertex. The sword is brought around in a sharp arc, a slash delivered toward the monster.

"'I'm here to help!" He affirms, as if it weren't already obvious.

COMBAT: Endo Naoki has used Blauverschiebung on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to counter Endo Naoki's Blauverschiebung, taking 33 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino's counterattack, Wardrum Chant, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Endo Naoki!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The Yuusha, Abiko, descends on the Vertex, palm outstretched; there is a PULSE of energy as she strikes, and she may come to know, in the shimmering, that it is a very hard, very strong, very ''sturdy'' thing. This, too, is a thing known by Cure Passion, as her heel strikes the underside of that curled and wending creature; if it were meant to be softer in its underbelly, it has, apparently, missed the memo.

When the Device-users, Endo and Kyouka, come in for their assault, they are met with an uncomfortable realisation: that trailing end of the Vertex is hollowed out for a REASON. Baubles, like missiles, fly out to meet their faces -- and while Endo manages to cut straight ''through'' his, with his massive blade Fallen Stern, Kyouka finds that punching hers apart gives her no remove from the explosion whatsoever. Smoke rises as she crashes through, to strike the Vertex.

Amongst all these melee assaults, there's a gardener in the forest -- and Eri backs them up with a whip lashing out. She ruffles the cloth floating about the creature's, oh, don't call it a neck -- but the Vertex remains unharried.

It continues floating forward.

And that curve, below it, BULGES --

Just as Endo and Kyouka discovered: it isn't helpless. With horrific power, the Vertex launches explosive baubles from its underside, like a vacuum set to some opposite setting; they crash, about Endo and Kyouka and Passion, about Eri, about Abiko. The Vertex cares nothing for causing destruction in this place, but...

... a place like this must be designed for destruction, mustn't it?

COMBAT: Rei Hino has used INCURSION on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used INCURSION on Kyouka Okazaki.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used INCURSION on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used From Distant Shores on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used From Distant Shores on Abiko Tsugaru.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Relentless Advance on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino accepts Rei Hino's Relentless Advance, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Withstand applied to Rei Hino! Cleanse! All of Rei Hino's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi neatly dodges 28 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's From Distant Shores, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Eri Shimanouchi's Fade and Flash abilities activate! Stagger applied to Eri Shimanouchi!
COMBAT: Cure Passion partially dodges 14 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's INCURSION, taking 54 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Passion's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru fails to counter Rei Hino's From Distant Shores, taking 45 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Stagger applied to Abiko Tsugaru!
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru's counterattack, Rain of Cherry Blossoms, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Rei Hino!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki fails to counter Rei Hino's INCURSION, taking 51 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Blind applied to Endo Naoki!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki's counterattack, Asteroid Eilen, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Rei Hino!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki perfectly dodges 46 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's INCURSION, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Kyouka Okazaki's Fade and Flash abilities activate!

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

It looked good at first, and in spite of it's toughness an idealistic hope and confidence began to swell up. She ''was'' a hero. She was fighting monsters and doing the things! Or that was the thought, at least. Abiko lands after her strike and looks to the others as they all follow up and rain down their own variety of pain on the Vertex, "Thank You!" She calls out to Kyouka and the others as the Vertex launches the missile-like projectiles towards her, she glows and narrows glimmers of magic infused light streak out of her bracers in an attempt to intercept only the scatter or deflect.

Another gulp and then an explosion sends Abiko flying back with what looks like it should have been a ''very'' hard bounce but the quick-eyed would have noticed a magical barrier appearing just before the impact of the missile and the ground both, dampening the impact and landing enough to keep her standing but breathing heavily with a scuffed cheek, "But... I hit it.." she mutters, the realization of the stakes and difficulties that lay ahead starting to become reality in real time.

She takes a few deep breaths, her fists clench and unclench a few times as light builds around her body like a cloak, intensifying and then lingering like an afterglow, "Be careful!" she cries out, seeing at least one other that had taken a hit like hers.

COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has used Radiant Cloak on Abiko Tsugaru.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru accepts Abiko Tsugaru's Radiant Cloak, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Accelerate and Empower applied to Abiko Tsugaru!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

If there's no obvious weak point, then Cure Passion will have to keep striking until she batters through anyway. That's the theory--but before she can do that, she gets hit by one of those explosions, rocketed backwards into the foilage where she hits the ground and rolls. It's easy to worry, for a moment--before she puts out her hand, and pushes herself back up from the ground. "Don't give up!" she calls to Abiko. "When you fall... the only thing to do is to get back up again!"

True to her word, Cure Passion launches herself back with a flurry of punches and kicks, trying to break through the Vertex's armor.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Breaking Through on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Endo manages to slice through the missle headed for him, but Kyouka has less luck--she grunts her teeth as she's left with no recourse but to power through and let her barrier jacket absorb the blow. Her attack still lands, but that explosion definitely slowed her impact. But on the plus side--

"Hey, good to see you here!" she says to Endo as she bounces back from her assault. "Both of you," she adds, as she sees that whip, but she doesn't look up for that one.

Then the worm thing does something... well, weird, but then again, what thing has she fought that could be described as ''normal''?

(Actually, the ogre kind of counts. Relatively speaking, at least.)

But all of those explosive baubles come out, and... she's on the move. Whereas the miasma set her on edge, threw her off her game (and the sheer ''numbers'' of wraiths didn't help), here--the forest has her in a state of calm, at least for a moment, and she manages to duck, dodge, and weave effortlessly through all of those bubbles flooding into the area, nimbly weaing her way through until she can set herself up for the next attack.

She leaps--powered by magic--and weaves her way around one last bauble in mid-air before twisting her way into a kick. The thing is hard, so let's see how it stands up to a...

<Piercing Fang.>
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has used Piercing Fang Strike on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo's plan, as it always is, is to cut right through to the enemy. The projectiles that the Vertex launches are obstacles in the way, and with a sharp thrust of his sword Endo attempts to drives through the mass of baubles to strike at the Vertex once more.

It does not go as planned, however. The impact of Fallen Stern striking the barrage lets the pastel world alight with explosions. The force of the blow hurls Endo backward, the knight tumbling across vines and crashing into an oversized root. Colorful debris follow in his wake, and the indentation he leaves behind gives indication that the blow must have been something enormous.

He does, though, push himself up once again. On shaky feet, with the help of his Device, he stumbles back toward the fray. A triangle of purple energy spins to life under his feet, providing a launching pad to send him back toward the Vertex as mach-speed.

The sword is raised again, Endo turning in a full circle of motion, a 360 spin that leaves contrails of ugly light in his wake.

<METEOR ABSTURZ>

The blade comes down on the Vertex again, Endo throwing as much power as he can behind the blazing strike

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Eri examines the aftermath, does it have a weakness? Is the weakness whatever Abiko can do to it? She doesn't know. She hit it from so many sides and she's no closer to figuring it out. And then she sees the baubles launching. The Puella Magi clad in green makes short leaps down from one pastel branch to another, timing it to try and avoid each detonation. The last leap she mistimes just slightly, and is struck by the aftershock.

Her boot heel lands in an unbalanced way and she nearly slips - but only nearly.

However there's a visible wince when she sees how Abiko, how Endo, how Passion ended up.

It's dangerous. Really, really dangerous.

"Don't just throw yourself at it haphazardly. Use the openings others create to attack. There's something more to this - we just have to figure what it is."

And so Eri tries to think of how to change tactics. Instead she waits, and waits, until Passion launches herself, until Kyouka, until Endo...

This time, she leaps when she sees an opening, her whip lashes out, trying to encircle a point of fabric. Then she tugs in mid-air. Using strength, and weight, and momentum to try and yank it out of the air - to see the results. She might not be able to overpower it, certainly, given its size. Leverage or not. However, she's hoping at least to momentarily halt its advance - or learn something about it, even if what she learns is that it's truly immovable.

She can understand, something horrible will happen if this thing keeps advancing, but what...?

Better to never find out.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Gardener's Grasp on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 13 Fatigue damage from Cure Passion's Breaking Through, taking 11 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Kyouka Okazaki's Piercing Fang Strike, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Kyouka Okazaki is Psyched!
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 37 Fatigue damage from Endo Naoki's Meteor Absturz, taking 30 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Eri Shimanouchi's Gardener's Grasp, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Eri Shimanouchi is Psyched! Stagger and Tangle applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Oh, yes. They hit it. They ARE hitting it -- but still it comes. It does not sink or falter as Cure Passion's blows fall upon it; nor as Kyouka's tectonic kick cracks down, with full jaw power. Meteor Absturz is a strike which can sunder the greatest of foes, which makes it all the more notable how it DOESN'T -- though the Vertex does sag, to the side, briefly.

Briefly.

A brief moment which Eri is able to capitalise on, to encircle and yank. For an instant, it might feel as if she can exploit this weakness, until --

The fabric lashes out around it, and it rights itself, and it is whole, and it is still coming. Still coming, as those ribbons crash out to strike the girls -- and Endo -- around it, swiftly and without mercy or thought.

Once again, Abiko's phone chimes, echoing in the light of her radiant cloak. Brrring-brrr-rrr-ING.

------------- ( ? ) HELP -------------

----------------------------------------------------- Vertex will Regenerate Indefinitely perform the Sealing Ritual 1) Surround the Enemy 2) with Conviction, Recite the Prayer to Immobilise the Enemy: O lord of the afterlife Have mercy on us Bestow your blessings upon us O spirit of good luck O spirit of miracles Protect us Bring us fortune and happiness 3) Expose the Soul 4) Destroy It ----------------------------------------------------- 

------------- ( ! ) ALERT ------------- 

----------------------------------------------------- failure to swiftly Destroy the Vertex will result in real world damage damage intrudes as the Jinkai wilts act Swiftly to Protect Humanity ----------------------------------------------------- 

COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Kyouka Okazaki.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Abiko Tsugaru.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Passion counters 3 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Diversion and Tangle applied to Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Passion's counterattack, Crimson Counter, partially gets through, doing 9 Fatigue damage to Rei Hino!
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru perfectly dodges 11 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi counters 3 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Eri Shimanouchi's Reverse and Tactician abilities activate!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi's counterattack, Gardener's Trick, partially gets through, doing 11 Fatigue damage to Rei Hino! Exhausted applied to Rei Hino!

COMBAT: Endo Naoki cleanly braces 11 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Endo Naoki's Block and Parry abilities activate! Diversion applied to Endo Naoki!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki perfectly counters 11 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki's counterattack, Howling Wind Barrier, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Abiko flinches a little as Cure Passions word's bring her out of her daze with a look of determination but to do what exactly...? The sound of her phone also gets a little jump before it appears in a sparkle of light in her hand.

No time for a break though, the Vertex's doom-ribbons are on the hunt, raining down but Abiko is ready this time. She crouches before launching back into a series of leaps away from danger, putting a little distance between herself and the Vertex and calling out, "We have to seal it and destroy its soul or it will just keep regenerating itself." she grits her teeth and quickly forwards the message of the Ritual words to Kyouka, "Some of us have to manage to surround it and perform that ritual." she adds, standing up straight now, slowly walking towards the Vertex at first re-reading the text to herself the calling to Kyouka, "I'll get it started, I can't do it alone but together I know we can!" and with that she breaks into a run and then a leap.

Glowing magical energy collects around her and her bracers again, briefly charging up mid-leap before releasing a swirl of short-ranged light pink shards that trace around her and into the Vertex as she lands near it's base and lifts her voice as confidently as she can, "O lord of the Afterlife... Have mercy on us!" and with her words the faint outline of a magic circle would begin to appear emiting an eerie light.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has used Rain of Cherry Blossoms on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Eri calls out to them, and Passion looks thoughtful. "...No, I remember--the Vertex... Endo!" she calls. "Remember?"

On the one hand--throwing herself at the enemy is rather what she does. On the other...

Abiko's got it. She can do what needs doing--and Passion remembers, now, that sequence. "...Right!" the Precure calls to Abiko. "You open it up, and we'll shatter it!"

She's already pretty tired; these things hit hard. Nevertheless, she won't give up so easily. The ribbons crash towards them, and Cure Passion, ''swings'' back at them, a barrier of red force forming with the power of her counteratack and carrying through the ribbon back to the enemy. But it still stings.

Surround and chant.. "Then I'll get around the other side!" Passion leaps up against another root, bouncing from wheel to wheel, before she approaches the other side, and starts a spinning sequence of kicks to try to draw the Vertex's attention. "Hyah!"
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Spinning Strikes on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The fabric Vertex rights itself, Eri with a flick of her wrist has her whip release itself. She lands on a great root with a light foot, and suddenly pivots around rapidly to swing her whip out. It cuts a horizontal arc through the ribbons, if not severing them then at least battering and diverting them. Still one of them lands far too close despite her efforts.

Again the phone buzzes on the Magical Girl she doesn't recognize, she's - probably the one who is meant to handle this. But how?

She barely seems to understand her role herself, so all she can do is try to delay this thing until - her eyes light up as the phone gives her an answer.

"A ritual?"

There's a pause, "From the flanks then." She comments to Passion. As suddenly she darts forward, and once beneath it, stamps her foot down, as a green rune ripples out. Vines suddenly sprout and grow out of that rune that forms, and moves up to try and encircle it in multiple ways.

Alone it stands little chance of doing any good, but she'll contribute in trying to help immobilize it so Abiko can get the job done.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Dryad's Interdict on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Kyouka winces as she sees her compatriots knocked about. Their attacks don't seem to be slowing it. Eri tries to graps it, to hold it in place, and yet... it shakes free, and lashes out. As she's landing a band of bright purple magic is already circling her gauntlet, with a flurry of wind building up within it. She thrusts her hand up, blasting out a gale of wind that rebukes all of the blows.

There's that chime again, and Kyouka darts back to consider her next move. She glances over to Abiko. "Alright, this seems like it's one of yours, so... whatcha got for us? Any info on this thing would be appreciated right about now."

And--there's a text message. A ritual chant, and... "Got it! Stike Wolf, forward that out!"

<Affirmative.> A moment later, Strike Wolf has synced with Kyouka's phone and redirected the text of the chant to Endo, Passion, and Eri's phones.

Kyouka herself is already in motion. A brief circle appears beneath her feet as she jumps--then changes as a sharp angle mid-air as she dives down at the worm, rebounding again to place herself roughly in a 'surrounding' position.

She's used to ritualistic chants, now. She has her own, but this is not that one. Not yet, at least. She takes a stance to help center herself and chants along. "Bestow your blessings upon us o spirit of good luck."
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has used Piercing Fang Strike on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

The ribbons crash against Endo, his barrier jacket cracking from the strain of holding back the attack. He fares better than the first time though, aside from a short stumble backward.

His eyes go to Abiko when she shouts out her instructions, and a sharp nod is made. He doesn't question how she knows this, merely accepts that she has the necessary knowledge.

"I remember!" Endo calls back to Passion. "Be careful!"

Endo moves forward again, this time coming at the monster from an angle. The sword is swung once more, a jagged cut as Endo slides past. The attack is a cursory thing, more meant to get him into position than anything else.

Once he's taken up his place surrounding the Vertex, he too begins to chant, following Abiko's example.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has used Blauverschiebung on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Abiko Tsugaru's Rain of Cherry Blossoms, taking 27 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Cure Passion's Spinning Strikes, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Eri Shimanouchi's Dryad's Interdict, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Rei Hino is Quipped!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Kyouka Okazaki's Piercing Fang Strike, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Kyouka Okazaki is Psyched!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Endo Naoki's Blauverschiebung, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEy1rYGbuuk Yuki Yuna is a Hero - Sealing Ceremony

The Vertex's cloth lashes out, to strike at Abiko and Passion and Endo, as they try to get into position. Kyouka and Eri aren't so lucky -- they end up dealing with some more of those explosions, trying to stop them from approaching into position.

It doesn't want to be surrounded. Even so -- eventually, it is. Those light shards from Abiko impact it; Cure Passion kicks THROUGH a ribbon; a vine which isn't painted in watercolour sneaks up to grow from below, courtesy Eri. Kyouka strikes from above, and lands to one side -- and Endo clears space with his blade to take position, too.

As it happens, the words of the ritual weren't nearly as important as the passion behind them -- or, in one case, the Passion behind them. Cure Passion is the final piece of the incantation puzzle, despite the fact that she simply vocalised her assault, which may raise questions about how necessary the ''words'' were.

At five points, they stand around it -- and the world is painted in a more violet shade, as light flecks around the Vertex like a hundred-hundred petals. A vortex about the Vertex, it swirls, and rises, and the thing which isn't its face blossoms to reveal --

It's a pyramid all turned upside-down, massive enough to be a platform for a girl to stand upon. It is a thing of POWER, as well; the heart and soul of a thing unlike this world. It is the Vertex's weakest point.

And it is harder than any other point on its body.

Below the swirling flecks of light, a number, bright, appears.

99 98 97 96 95

It's ticking down, and not slowly. As the number decreases, one of those pastel roots grows deeper in colour, darker -- all charcoal shades and colours, angry orange, deep brown.

Though the Vertex is bound, it will not be bound forever.

The world will be destroyed.

COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Abiko Tsugaru.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Kyouka Okazaki.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru dodges 8 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 5 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi partially dodges 2 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Eri Shimanouchi's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki fails to dodge Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Tangle applied to Endo Naoki!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki fails to dodge Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Tangle applied to Kyouka Okazaki!

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Abiko's expression softens as the others fight their way to position, the rituals power growing and the light intensifying as the core appears, "That's... it's soul. But it's not the end yet!" she says, her focus drawn by the lashing of the Vertex. Her focusu doesn't betray her, the lashes able to do little more than scuff her as she slides around them before fixing her gaze on the Core and finding her own opening to attack.

She crouches again, light coalescing around her hand as she chambers it and leaps into a mighty jump at her target and snapping out her arm once again, the energy compressing beore blasting forwards.

COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has used Forceful Palm on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Passion will be careful, as Endo advises her. She doesn't know the chant, but she gets the message about what it is as she tries to help, as she goes for the flanks opposite Eri. Luckily she doesn't have to check the phone... Because it works! So she looks to Kyouka, to Abiko, to Eri, and to Endo--and then to the creature's strange Power. The Vertex's weakes point...

A number is there. "We have to hurry!" Passion says. "Right--we're with you!" to Abiko. Passion rears back, and ''jumps'' upward, moving faster than the eye can see until she's a red blur that appears on the other side of the core--at which point her attack registers.

COMBAT: Cure Passion braces 7 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Cure Passion's Block and Parry abilities activate! Diversion and Tangle applied to Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Passion Flash on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

They all manage to get into position, and... well, add a new weird thing to her catalog of weird experiences. At least it seems like the ritual worked, anyway. Even if they didn't quite get the whole chant out.

Then again, the brief glimpse she got of it did seem rather long...

Then again, her own incantation isn't much shorter.

Things to worry about for another time, as the vertex's soul is revealed. "I don't like the looks of that countdown..." she says, and crouches in her spot. A circle appears beanth her feet as she gets ready, only-- The beast lashes out, and she tries to dance to the side, only to run ''into'' one of the blows. An attempt to get out of that one's path sends her into another one still, and several more yet. "Ack! Pft! Dangit!" And she was doing so well, too.

"Alright, that's it!" She crouches, letting the magic build up in a circle beneath her feet as she charges magic--and takes off in a flurry of motion as she jumps--or really just charges in a straight line, at the soul, rearing back with her fist to bring it crashing down.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo's eyes widen as the Vertex bares its soul. It's still coming though, and there's not much time.

He leaps again, triangle platforms appearing underneath his feet, allowing him to launch into the air and bring his weapon down on the exposed core.

"I think we're almost there!"

COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has used Vertex Soul Smashing Blow on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Endo Naoki has used Blauverschiebung on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

More of the explosive baubles fall. And Eri has to react more swiftly this time, leaping just out of the epicenter, the explosion smashes into her in mid-air and she's flipped around and over. Striking a root, she bounds back to her ritual point.

And something that looks like a core is revealed which Abiko notes as the soul - a fact which gives her momentary pause - as the countdown appears in the bright light.

That sort of speaks for itself doesn't it?

For one brief moment Eri wishes she had a cell phone app for that whenever a weird witch with a deadly gimmick reared its ugly head - rather than a Kyubey. This is definitely better, isn't it?

(Editor's Note: It is not.)

"That's a lot of countdown for us to get through." Eri notes at Passion's call for a hurry. However, at least they have a weak point to work upon? Gripping her whip, she runs a sparkle of energy through it, as suddenly the dark thorns extend to stiletto size.

Wordlessly she starts swinging the whip in great arcs at the soul as it slices towards it as rippling blurs.

It's definitely the first time she's ever taken aim at someone's soul within a vessel.

Isn't it?

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Aerating Edge on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Kyouka Okazaki's Vertex Soul Smashing Blow, taking 21 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Endo Naoki's Blauverschiebung, taking 36 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Rei Hino!
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 44 Fatigue damage from Cure Passion's Passion Flash, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 32 Fatigue damage from Eri Shimanouchi's Aerating Edge, taking 26 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Abiko Tsugaru's Forceful Palm, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Abiko Tsugaru is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The energy blasts forward -- and though there's a crack in the black and violet inverse pyramid, it doesn't shatter. It is hard to the touch, the way diamonds or lineaments are hard. The Vertex's soul meets the red blur of Passion without breaking; so too does it meet Kyouka's fist, direct as a bolt fired out. Not even Fallen Stern can make it fall. And this is clearly Eri's first time striking an exposed soul -- because her whip, despite the size of its thorns, cannot shatter it.

The Vertex is implacable. It is unshakable. Even still, even cowed, it is not so easy to destroy.

63 62 61 60 59

The number continues falling, too, too quickly. As it does, more of the Jinkai wilts around them -- horrible holes eaten through those too-wonderful watercolours, pale beauty besmirched by something deeper, darker, rotting embers and black.

Soon, it will be freed. It will reach the World Tree. And then... and then...

COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Abiko grits her teeth, "Just a bit more.." she calls out, hopping backwards quickly to get into a better attacking position. Mid hops there is a light in the air next to hear that shimmers before materializing into.... Some kind of turtle? Dark purple scales, dark green markings and a matte black shell covered with short knobby spikes -- it stares at the surprised Abiko blankly, almost seeming lazy, "You must be... my fairy?" she mumbles quickly, recalling the dampening affects when she was being knocked around earlier. A new friend has joined the fight.

No time to spare daydreaming about her flying turtle just yet, that timer continues its ominous tick down and she knows what's at stake. So she leaps up, the turtle flying upwards with her and acts as a stepping platform helping her reach a good height above the Vertex before she tucks her knees and rotates forward turning upside down and launching in a rapid kamikaze dive, "You can't have you way...Bully Breaker!" she yells out -- Was it necessary? nah... But did it feel good? Oohhhh yeah..-- then grasping her hands together and turning in a quick flip at the end swings her grasped fists down releasing a massive burst of air from around her body.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Abiko Tsugaru has used Bully Breaker on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Almost there--almost!! Passion glances Eri's way as she mentions the countdown, and is dubious that they'll be able to do it with time to spare--she remembers how tough the last of these she saw was. They'll have to put in everything they can...

Abiko gives the signal. As she swings in with her dive, Passion brings her hands together in focus. "Focus," she murmurs, and breathes in quickly.

Then, she rears back one fist. "Haaaaaah--!" A red shimmer overcomes her fist, and then becomes a shell that erupts before her as she ''leaps'' towards the Vertex's heart, driving all that energy and force straight for the center.

"Hah!"
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Passion has used Passion Drive on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

As the numbers tick down Endo redoubles his efforts. He rebounds after his first attack, touching down once more as he watches the other magical girls strike at the exposed core.

Once again Endo summons a triangle of energy underneath him, using it as a spring pad to rise upward. His next slash is another heavy cleave, a spinning blow aimed to drive Fallen Stern as deep into their collective enemy as he can.

<METEOR ABSTURZ>

"Let's finish it!"
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has used Meteor Absturz on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Eri slashes and slashes again with her whip. Clearly this thing got an enhanced soul protection plan.

Eri eyes the appearance of the turtle fairy and, "Cute." She notes.

It clearly wasn't enough force to halt it forever, the roots below them are looking worse and worse- What's she to do?

Well, it's simplicity itself. Hit it harder. Hit it more. Overwhelm it as best as she can until the ritual is finished. As the others make their call of cooperation, her face splits into a grin, "Let's see how much you can actually take."

And so she upturns her whip and it sinks into a ripple of green rather than the Jinkai itself. More ripples appear outwardly like raindrops upon a pond.

There's stillness for a second or two, as the magical effect seems to calm. Then black vines laden with such sharpen thorns appear from each place where that green magic rippled, each emanating out of a runic sigil of her magic.

At her direction, they immediately start to batter that core repeatedly, quicker and quicker in a constant rhythm. Over, and over, and over - she doesn't think she can pull it apart, or impale it. So instead she has them wear it down, erode it down, grind it down.

Even diamonds can be ground into dust - and even though this is immensely harder - she tries to make herself equal to the task of keeping at it while the ritual progresses.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Eri Shimanouchi has used Child of Thorns on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

They're all raining attacks down on that thing and... it's not working. Well, it might be doing ''something'' but... it's not doing it ''fast'' enough. That countdown is moving awfully quickly, and she can see the watercolors wilting around them.

Surely that ''can't'' be good. Abiko mentioned something about a World Tree earlier. If that thing goes off, then...

"No time for holding back, then."

How many times has she done this in the past... damn, has it only been a week since she first unleashed this attack? And then a few days prior, against that swarm...

What in the world is her life turning into? To have gone from a transfer student with ambitions about making friends to suddenly being responsible for the fate of the world?

Time to ponder that later, when there's a world left to ponder that in.

She takes a stance. A circle forms at her feet, as she holds out her hand, murmuring to herself. "From warded den, through hallowed glade..." A bright ball of scintillating light appears at her opened palm, growing rapidly as she progresses through the chant. Leaves from the forest floor swirl about her as she poors open the floodgates of her soul into the attack. "To bright moon watching overhead..." It's becoming so familiar now, so practiced as the ball builds brighter and brighter. Her hand closes around it, and the leaves draw in from the sudden vaccuum... before there's energy swirling at her feet to blow them out again. "Lend your strength, light my path..." Her body shimmers with energy, a pale white yet bright aura--with just a tint of blue light--encases her body, but her right gauntlet is glowing pure white. Wisps of white energy join the swirling and dancing leaves as her energy builds and builds. "And guide your guardian's hand!" The power ''peaks''-it flares brightly as she completes the process. Her right hand is alight with bright, silvery blue-white moonlight as she slides her foot back, brings her hand up and takes a ready pose.

She takes off, charging forward as she lends her attack to the rest, driving her fist home into the Vertex's soul. Unlike two nights ago, she does not conserve the power, use it to strike again and again at a swarm of targets. No, tonight there is only ''one''. And with a loud yell she unleashes it all at once in a fearsome blast.

<Shining Moonlight Strike.>
COMBAT: FINISHER! Kyouka Okazaki has used Shining Moonlight Strike on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 66 Fatigue damage from Kyouka Okazaki's Finisher, Shining Moonlight Strike, taking 44 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Eri Shimanouchi's Finisher, Child of Thorns, taking 258 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Rei Hino is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Endo Naoki's Meteor Absturz, taking 75 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Cure Passion's Finisher, Passion Drive, taking 82 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Abiko Tsugaru's Finisher, Bully Breaker, taking 136 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Rei Hino is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Cure Passion comes from a martial tradition with so MANY greats -- and she demonstrates, as she dives towards that heart of hearts, that she is a Cure to be reckoned with. A crack splinters, where she strikes it; splinters further, as she clears the path for the next assault.

Eri knows well the war of attrition. The vines which erupt at her call batter the sides of the soul, knocking it this way and that where it floats. A dozen dozen fractures appear alongside it; while no ONE of those vines has the killing power to destroy it outright, there isn't ONE vine. There are so, so many.

Fallen Stern, too, is a war-blade to meet armies. Endo spins, and the side of the pyramid, where Eri has weakened it, finds itself bitten -- his Device digging in and dragging out with all the violence one would expect, from someone following a black blade. (Not quite the black blade which has followed up on Eri's vines before, but in this new world, there is room for so ''much'' cooperation, isn't there?)

Kyouka, thrown into the deep end so, so rapidly, draws her power from her hallowed glade. Her hand shines with all the incredible powers of the moonlight, as she slams her fist forward, in a single, closing argument. It IMPACTS, and forms another small crater, underside.

Finally, there is Abiko -- the Hero -- spinning in her all-out assault, all upside-down, all aggression. She screams of breaking, and those fists POUND, the reverberation echoing throughout the forest. She knows just the right angle to strike. She is chosen by the World Tree, after all.

The soul shudders -- and SHATTERS, all at once, devastated in the wake of so many hearts all coming together against it.

When the pyramid breaks, there are two sides to the destruction.

One, the lights, streaming up from the soul in all the colours of the rainbow, dots of colour all trailed by lines. They escape into the abyss of the sky; they leave.

And then, the Vertex itself -- it crumbles to sand, pouring to the ground, sending up clouds of dust. Its cremation is sudden and complete.

For a moment, it is still...

... until the World Tree relaxes its barrier, with a flurry of watercolour leaves. All at once the world is restored, at the precise moment it paused. The World Tree places the girls -- and Endo! -- just where they were, before they were called to protect everything.

And the bright colours of Toemada are so much more defined and less painted, than the strange beauty of Jinkai.

Eri's Ferris cabin climbs up, and up... and halts, midway up. "Sorry," a voice comes through the speakers. "We're having some difficulties right now, so please sit quietly while we fix the ride." And this, perhaps, is the consequence of the rotting forest -- an inexplicably broken Ferris Wheel.

It's all right. They'll get them down, soon enough.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

It's over- as the Hero shatters the soul. Even for a horror like that, it is still not the best thing to carve into her memory. She does it anyway. As lights stream from the soul, as the Vertex crumbles to dust. And the barrier relaxes and-

Eri's stuck at the top in her cabin, due to technical difficulties. For a moment, she considers just opening the door and leaping out.

Then she just shrugs, and releases her transformation in a shimmer of green sparkles, back to the winter coat she was wearing.

Sitting down with mittened fingers, she goes back to work on the plate of funnel cake.

Patience is a virtue sometimes, especially when there's funnel cake.

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
As the world returns to normal around Abiko, a faint swirl of light scatters from her clothes and body returning her back to the Juuban uniform. Not everything is back to normal though, a few small scuffs and scrapes act as a not-so-gentle reminder of the power she is expected to face -- But for today, at least, it all worked out.

Abiko looks around and spots a nearby bench and half-collapses onto it, "What in the world..." she asks, her brain going into overdrive trying to process it all. And the others? What was that about... she was still trying to wrap her head around not only the World Tree and her being a hero but that there is apparently a whole variety of multi-colored flavors of craziness in the world that she was thrown into...

Her stomach let's out a LOUD snarl, and her cheeks blush slightly, "I can worry about all of that later. Right now I need..." her eyes scan to food shops, "Snacks..."
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru transforms into Abiko Tsugaru!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

They all come together, and in short her crack apart the protective coating of the soul, and then Abiko comes in with the finishing blow. The lights escape, the vertex crumbles...

And the barrier releases.

She'll save her self-questioining for whether it's okay to destroy something called a soul for another day. It's not the first fight she's had, after all.

She quickly releases her own transformation as the world around them returns to normal, barrier jacket vanishing to be replaced with her school uniform. Stretches her arms out overhead for a moment as she takes in a deep breath.

This is getting a bit ''too'' easy. Or rather, she's getting too accustomed to it, is the better way of phrasing that.

But she follows Abiko over to the bench, sits down next to her, and gives her a sort of amused grin. "So... you too, huh?" She looks out at the rest of the amusement park, musing quietly. "First time?"

When she hears Abiko's stomach snarl she chuckles. "First round's on me. I invited you along, after all."

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Abiko steadies her breathing and looks over as Kyouka sit next to her, "Yeah... I bet that rotten old man knew something like this would happen" she mutters under her breath, and though the phrasing seems harsh it's said bit obvious endearment to whomever she is talking about. As quickly as she drifted to those thoughts she drifts back, sniffing the air a little as if looking for a specific aroma, "I'll take you up on that, and later we'll have to trade info... I was expecting ''some'' of this but definitely not ''all of that''." she says as she stands up, brushing the front of her skirt off and straightening it before her gaze comes to rest on a food stall filled with smells of baked sweets.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Kyouka chuckles softly, in a strange sort of reminiscing way, when Abiko mentions she wasn't prepared for all of this. "Yeah, you see... well, you're gonna see a lot of weird shit in this job." She glances sidelong at Abiko. "I've only been really doing this for a few weeks, myself, so this is still taking some getting used to. I'll be happy to share with you anything I can, try to make it a bit easier on you if I can."

She follows as Abiko gets up, and a thought occurs to her. "Oh! And Abiko... one thing you can count on, is that there's a whole bunch of us running around and..."

How did she say it?

She reaches out to give Abiko's shoulder a friendly pat. "Together, we can do so much more than we can do apart. Don't ever forget that. It can be overwhelming, but... You're not in this alone. Okay?"

Another squeeze, and then she lets the girl's shoulder go. "Alright, let's go find something to eat!"

2022-10-14 - Ferris Wish! The Vertex Approaches Tomoeda

2022-10-15T12:48:33Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: i love to destroy the world!

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Ferris Wish! The Vertex Approaches Tomoeda'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The allies of justice -- and the World Tree's Hero, Abiko, in particular -- are transported to a strange realm to fight a strange foe. There were plenty of them on site at Tomoeda, because there was a half-off ticket special...''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Abiko Tsugaru]], [[Setsuna Higashi]], [[Kyouka Okazaki]], [[Endo Naoki]], [[Eri Shimanouchi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
<The location>
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
<RL Date - IC Date>
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The theme park is running a special deal, this week -- tickets are half-off for school-aged students, because even now they've returned to school, there's always time to have a little fun after school. The weather's been holding pretty well (nippy, but clear, sun shining in the sky!), so it's a good time to get outside.

A parade of clowns and dancers prance down the main 'road', in a flurry of lights and colour and sound; balloons soar upwards, released from colourful plastic string as young children clap and point. There's always more to go around. More attractions, as well -- like the house of mirrors, a mind-bending affair to trick the eyes and delight the heart. There's a roller-coaster, for those who prefer to ''stop'' theirs, with gut-wrenching dips and careening downward drifts. Sideshow games, placing balls into the mouths of turning porcelain clowns, ''funnel cake,'' and...

... the Ferris Wheel, of course. It towers overhead, broad and tall, a statement of engineering going back a hundred and twenty-three years. Its colours are bright as anything here, primarily primary; for some, it is a test of bravery, and for others it is a test of romance. People say that if you ride it to the very top, if the light shines in just the right way on your cabin, when you make a wish -- that wish will come true.

It's the sort of rumour which occupies high-school girls. It's not entirely serious, but it is ''fun,'' and everyone can use something like that in their lives.

And there's plenty here to occupy everyone -- even a petting zoo, back there.

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Abiko Tsugaru
Abiko is making her way through the large gates to the theme part with a new acquaintance from school, looking over the entrance with a look of mild awe, "Oooooh, I've never been to a theme park before. Just festivals." she muses out loud to the girl beside her. She pauses just off to the side as she takes in all the lights, sounds and smells, "What should we do first?"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna Higashi lives out here in Tama, so it's not so uncommon for her to drop by the theme park after school. It's a nice place to be, and she has... well, she has memories. They aren't all good. But they aren't all bad, either! They are Memories.

And just now, still in uniform from Juuban, Setsuna sees Kyouka and another student as she seps inside. "Hello!" Setsuna greets them, and looks up to the Ferris Wheel thoughtfully.

She of course knows about the rumor... but she doesn't say anything about it yet.

Indeed if not stopped she'll wave and then start walking towards...

The snacks.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Kyouka is looking forward to checking out the amusement park. She's gotten to see a few, but world-hopping makes her track record of having access to one rather spotty, at best. So when she heard that there was a special on tickets, and several of her friends were going to be there... how could she resist?

Especially her ''newest'' friend--a brand new transfer student, that she practically ''jumped'' at the chance to show around. (Certainly, her hand was up before the teacher even had a chance to finish asking 'Would anyone like to show the new girl around?') She paid the rumors circulating around her little mind--she'd rather make her own judgement, thankyouverymuch.

And naturally, she had extended an invite to Abiko to come as well. They had arrived together, so Kyouka could help show her the way.

Kyouka grins at Abiko as she takes in everything. "Yeah, I've been to... a couple? It's been a while though, for sure." She'd already explained to Abiko how her family had moved around a lot, how she was also new to Tokyo (and Japan) as of a couple months prior.

"Mmmm... well, I'm torn between the roller coaster ride and the funnel cake.... Should probably do the roller coaster first, just to be safe..." Kyouka ponders out loud. "Though, maybe we should look for some of my other friends--then we can all go together."

"Speaking of..." she waves to Setsuna excitedly. "Here, c'mon." She gestures Abiko along and heads over to meet Setsuna. "Setsuna-chan! I'm so glad to see you. Tsugaru-chan, this is Setsuna Higashi. Setsuna, this is Abiko Tsugaru. She just transferred into our class. I'm showing her around."

The amusmenent park is a ''bit'' far away from the school, but it still counts.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo Naoki is awaiting the arrival of company at the theme park but his companion is running late. He is not, however, one to waste time standing around. There's only so much after school time in the day, and it would be a shame to waste it.

Currently, he has engaged the spinning target-clown in ranged combat. The boy is standing at one of the ball tossing booths, a small collection of spheres placed in front of him. He's squinting viciously at the porcelain clown, attempting to calculate the correct angle to land a shot in its mouth. Multiple tries have already failed, leaving discarded balls scattered around the floor.

"Ah why are you like this?" Endo asks the clown as another shot pings off the rim of its mouth and bounces away.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

>save u some funnel cake

Eri taps a text as she moves down the main thoroughfare of the park, as she gets into her own Ferris Wheel Cabin, still eating her own. Her eyes flit over to the clowns, and to the others in the park. The door's about to be shut by the attendant when a high school boy tries to get in.

"Take the next one." Eri warns.

He tries to flash a million dollar smile, "No reason you have to make the ride yourself - besides something could always bloom on the way u-"

"As a good friend of mine likes to say-" He's met with Eri getting up, a hand bearing a ring against his breastbone. "-noone likes a pushy guy." There's a gleam by his feet, right as he she lightly shoves. She barely uses any strength, but he topples over anyway.

The cabin door shuts, Eri glares at him over her glasses for a moment before sitting back down. He struggles to get up, only to find he's having trouble moving his feet. A brief glimpse and there's something like a vine like strand binding his shoelaces together, when he blinks, its gone making him feel thoroughly gaslit by his vision.

Unsettled, he doesn't get into the next cabin at all, he just sort of slinks away, looking over his shoulder at her every so often.

Eri goes back to the funnel cake, as she waits for her ride to begin.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSAIDK71lro Yuki Yuna Is A Hero - Into The Forest

All a sudden, Abiko's phone rings.

/ / / / / / / / / / / FORESTIZE WARNING / / / / / / / / / / /

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / vertex approaching. deploy to protect humanity.

And all a sudden, everyday life is put on hold... just like that.

A balloon pauses, halfway to space.

A ribbon halts, where it was tossed into the air.

The Ferris Wheel ceases motion, and so do most of the people, inside.

Yes... almost everyone here STOPS, all at once, and without preamble. Only a precious few girls remain -- each with magic the World Tree recognises, each with power the World Tree can trust. The World Tree knows much of trusting girls.

But though it leaves those with magic aware, in this place... there's only one girl who's called for help, phone chiming with a distinct noise.

At first, it may not be apparent why.

The world stops; the world stops, and hangs in an instant. There is time, here, for confusion -- time for nervousness, time for fear.

And then, light all crackling down the Ferris Wheel, so, SO close to Eri's cabin -- the world opens up.

The world which pours out is all pastel-shaded, painted in watercolour, abstract and wonderful and -- in the way which something too lovely must be -- terrific, in the old sense, a wonder born of meeting something horrible in the middle. It is the fairy's circle, beautiful and too beautiful still, all captivating, all consuming. Such a picturesque existence --

It pours out and out and out. It floods the dancing parade, the house of mirrors, the Ferris Wheel. All a sudden the bright colours of the theme park are made strange and spectacular, and then the theme park isn't, any more; in a flurry of leaves it is replaced by twisting, painted roots, pastel pink and blue and green and yellow.

The forest of Jinkai has bloomed, a world apart from reality. Its painted existence twists and wends, a complex journey of roots and vines, cliffs and valleys.

And you are alone, together.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Tap tap goes Eri's finger against the phone as they climb up steadily towards the heavens. At the top, she knows one is supposed to make a wish.

She knows better.

The world stops, and hangs as if some massive cogs had ground its linear progression to a halt. She taps once to put her phone to sleep. Then takes off her glasses, folds them up. The light opens up, above her cabin - right as her soul's housing appears, in a flash, and a spin.

Where she ends up...

... the Puella Magi clad for battle halts. "What in the world-"

Her eyes taking in the full majesty of the pastel twisting painted forest. There is something within her that makes her feel like crying. All she does is make a single slow blink of her eyes. And makes a singular exhalation of contentment.

She knows it won't last before something happens, but there is something about this place that feels like it's the opposite of a Labyrinth. Instead of twisted imagery of a tortured soul, it is something otherworldly in a way that feels almost sacred.

She's in an Odd World again, alone, save that her feelings are upside down from how it ordinarily is - it's something unfamiliar, something she doesn't know, something she isn't used to.

Despite herself, she just stands still for a while, taking it all in. "It won't last." She says to herself of this strange peaceful feeling, "It never does."

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Abiko pulls her attention away from all the distraction as Kyouka guides her towards Setsuna, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she offers a polite bow, "Nice to meet you, Setsuna-san." she says politely to her fellow student, her demeanor anything but what certain rumots might have people believe.

She starts to turn, eager to explore this new land of snacks and potential friends before reality comes crashing down around her with the ringing alert and vibration from her cell phone and the frozen world around her. "What in the...." her soft voice trails off as the world shifts and changes around her suddenly.

Abiko's mind races, she had only just recently began learning about the world hidden from the majority and what was expected of her should this very moment arise...

*Gulp*

"I just load up the app, right--" she taps a finger onto her phone and a soft purple motes of light being to grow from her body and clothes, taking form and shifting as the glow intensifies before subsiding slowing and leaving Abiko with a new appearance -- Heavy boots over leggins under a short Kimono stitched with cartoonish looking explosions. On her forearms are segmented metal bracers that emit a soft glow from beneath the plates. Once transformed she exhales lowly and looks around the area, noticing that she is not alone she waves at Eri and looks down on her phone again, "Now what...."
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru transforms into Yuusha Abiko!

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna's snack run... interrupted! By new friend! "Oh, yes," Setsuna says of Abiko. "Hello, Tsugaru-san." She smiles. "That's nice of you," she says to Kyouka. She has not spotted ENDO's ATTEMPTS yet nor Eri and the pushy boy, but perhaps she will. The day stretches out before them...

Util abrubtly it doesn't. Instead, the beauty and strangeness of the moment approaches. "...?" Setsuna glances around, thoughtfully. Abiko loads up and app, and changes, and Setsuna looks to her. "There's trouble?" she wonders, and eyes Kyouka thoughtfully.

"...Right." She pulls her own phone--really, her Linkrun--and opens it, and in moments--

Light suffuses her, and Setsuna flips back into an ocean of radiance, rising once more in the red dress of Cure Passion, feet clacking against the ground. "Freshly ripened--Cure Passion!"

She looks up to Eri, thoughtfully, and back to Abiko. "..All right."
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi transforms into Cure Passion!

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo is mid extension when the world freezes, a ball just loosed from hand. The sphere is stopped in mid air, the boy peering quizzically at the frozen object for just a moment before his attention turns toward more pressing matters: the ferris wheel, and the pastel colors bleeding into existence.

Though the forest is beautiful in all its color, it's clear that there's something amiss. It reminds him of a barrier, or a handful of other magical phenomenon that he's experienced over the past year.

Purple-black light flares outward, crawling along Endo's figure and leaving sleek, dark armor behind. The boy's eyes sweep over the sprawling forest as he grasps the giant sword that's appeared in his hand. There are other figures appearing that he recognizes, but no sign of immediate danger--though he's prepared for that, too.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

All thoughts of roller coasters and funnel cake and introductions are halted when--well, whatever happens happens. Kyouka pauses as the rest of the world does--not because she is affected, but because she is seeing the world halt around them, followed by a crack in the world, light spilling out, and then... a forest? She has no idea what it means.

But she has a few guesses.

Kyouka is also in her school uniform still, and she brings her wrist right up to her face. The bending of her elbow draws the sleeve of her uniform's blazer back enough to reveal Strike Wolf's standby form: a black leather bracelet on her wrist, topped with a small, purple, five-sided gem. "Strike Wolf, set up!"

<Stand by ready. Set up.>

In a swirl of surging purple energy her uniform and backpack are replaced by her barrier armor: vest, tank top, shorts, visor, and armored boots and gloves, with Strike Wolf resting on the back of her right hand. "Strike Wolf, do you know what this is?"

<Analyzing...>

"Cure Passion? Any thoughts?" she asks, without even looking to see if her friend's unfrozen and transformed. She kind of takes it for granted as she looks around.

And then notices Abiko beside her. "Oh. Hello."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

You are alone.

The Jinkai barrier is SUCH a beautiful place. Divine is, certainly, a word which can be applied to it -- the girls and boy laid here are small, against those giant roots, but not INSIGNIFICANT. No, in fact: They are the most important people here.

The only people here.

The only...

Alone, are you?

Abiko's phone chimes.

 ------------- ( ? ) HELP -------------

----------------------------------------------------- the Jinkai is a barrier created by the World Tree for Protection of Humanity the Vertex is an Enemy of Humanity come to destroy the World when the Vertex reaches the World Tree the World will be Destroyed -----------------------------------------------------

There's a whisper of something, on the wind, like some forgotten spirits of the green; their voices are ineffable and delicate as spun sugar, but there are no carnival snacks to be had, any more.

The forest is still.

Until, in the distance --

It's an intrusion. The broad figure in the distance -- floating, slow, in tattered cloth like a person but distinctly NOT -- does not belong to this watercolour world. Its lines are distinct, dark pink on light, and there is something wormlike to the twist of it, but it isn't just long. The arrangement of its curves evokes something; at the same time, it cannot be feminine.

The Vertex approaches, slow and implacable.

COMBAT: Rei Hino transforms into Youma Form Encroaching Vertex!
COMBAT: Rei Hino has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 5 opponents!
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Another One Entered The Forest on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino accepts Rei Hino's Another One Entered The Forest, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Empower and Withstand applied to Rei Hino!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki transforms into Barrier Jacket Zerstörer!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki transforms into Barrier Jacket Wolf Fighter!

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Abiko notices she is alone but also... far from it? She blinks in surprise, looking between Setsuna, Kyouka and the few others she can see before reading the new message on her phone mumbling bits out loud, " ...Jinkaii... Barrier... World Tree... Vertex.. Enemy of Humanity... Destroyed...!" a quick tap closes down the phone as it vanishes in a brief sparkle of light.

"Were... you also chosen by the World Tree? I didn't know there were others here..." she asks, a bit unsure -- Then the Vertex appears, "It'll have to wait... it's the end if that thing reaches the tree. I've gotta take it down!" she calls out, turning her attention to the monster and crinkling her nose in disgust, "Yuck..." she says before crouching and sending herself soaring into a jump, using the roots to push her towards the foe, her right hand chambered at her hip as she closes in and snaps it out with a burst of energy and a loud 'Hyah!' for good measure
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has used Forceful Palm on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 7 Fatigue damage from Abiko Tsugaru's Forceful Palm, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Abiko Tsugaru is Psyched! Cripple applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Cure Passion looks to Kyouka again and nods. "It seems like she knows what needs doing," she says of Abiko, and puts her hands together, getting ready to fight. "...No. I'm Pretty Cure, with my friends Peach, Pine, and Berry."

She looks up to the Vertex in all its strange glory.

"We'll back you up, then!" Passion says to Abiko. "If the stakes are that high... Let's do our best!"

She leaps up after Abiko, jumping against the ferris wheel onto a great root, upward further still into a somersault before she starts to kick her way up the Vertex's form.

COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Rising Passion on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi transforms into Puella Magi Eri!

COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 7 Fatigue damage from Cure Passion's Rising Passion, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Cure Passion is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

A Magical Girl she doesn't recognize waves at her, Eri looks her way, and there's a nod of her head. Before then nodding Cure Passion's way, "Passion." Endo she also recognizes, as well as Kyouka with her Device. That peaceful feeling becomes a growing dread. They're in an unfamiliar place to her, and there's almost certainly an unfamiliar enemy.

She listens to snippets of words from Abiko. "No." On being chosen by the World Tree, "Nevertheless, we're here to support you."

What if it's too much for someone new to this? However her mind also flits to the idea that 'It always is.'

A whisper on the wind, she reminds herself of the Forest Spirit, afflicted by the plum pox. Then comes the intruder...

... for one there's distinct relief, that the world still remains as it is, that things haven't been overturned. She's grateful that the unfamiliar is still familiar.

It's an invasion. That much she can grasp, and she's a defender.

Abiko moves towards it, she appears to be the Magical Girl chosen for this, so she watches her for a moment. And then she just moves. There are short hops from one pastel root structure to the next, getting to a higher vantage point.

"I'll back you up."

A hand moves up to the soul gem in her barrette, as a wooden handle extends, vined tendrils following behind it. The whip flies out in the air, it's lengths arcing around in dizzying blurs. Slashing and slicing as she tests and teases out its defenses. Each crack of the whip striking like a stunning thunderclap.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Ephemeral Dance on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

If it weren't for the fact that this had replaced her planned outing with something wholly unexpected... it might be rather nice, here. She loves nature and the outdoors, after all, and this feels about as pure a representation of that concept as she's likely to find anywhere else on Earth.

It's too bad that she knows it must portend danger. Would be rather nice to be able to relax here for a while.

She listens to abiko's muttering, and picks up the word 'barrier'. Seems about right. She glances around--Endo! And Eri! Good to see familiar faces, at least. "Nope, I think that's just your thing. We're just magical so we kinda got carried along for the ride. World Tree probably thought you'd need the help."

And then, off in the distance.... That ''thing'' appears, and she's got a pretty bad feeling about it, which Abiko quickly confirms. "Hey! ''We've'' gotta stop it! Strike Wolf, let's go." She courches, and a circle appears beneath her feet, bright neon purple and enscribed with runes and symbols. A moment later the stored energy is released as she charges towards the creature. "Fangbreaker!" She aims for the head of that thing, magical energy stored up in her gauntlet and released with a small shockwave if she makes contact.

COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has used Fang Breaker Strike on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Rei Hino counters 10 Fatigue damage from Kyouka Okazaki's Fang Breaker Strike, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Kyouka Okazaki is Psyched! Cripple applied to Rei Hino!
COMBAT: Rei Hino's counterattack, Wardrum Chant, partially gets through, doing 11 Fatigue damage to Kyouka Okazaki! Stun applied to Kyouka Okazaki!
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 16 Fatigue damage from Eri Shimanouchi's Ephemeral Dance, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Stun applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

The arrival of the Vertex sends a shudder down Endo's spine. This is the danger, he's very sure, even without a helpful app to inform him.

Abiko seems to have the right idea, taking the lead to strike at the foe. Endo decides that seems like a good course of action.

The boy hefts his device, launching off a nearby vine and sailing toward the Vertex. The sword is brought around in a sharp arc, a slash delivered toward the monster.

"'I'm here to help!" He affirms, as if it weren't already obvious.

COMBAT: Endo Naoki has used Blauverschiebung on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to counter Endo Naoki's Blauverschiebung, taking 33 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino's counterattack, Wardrum Chant, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Endo Naoki!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The Yuusha, Abiko, descends on the Vertex, palm outstretched; there is a PULSE of energy as she strikes, and she may come to know, in the shimmering, that it is a very hard, very strong, very ''sturdy'' thing. This, too, is a thing known by Cure Passion, as her heel strikes the underside of that curled and wending creature; if it were meant to be softer in its underbelly, it has, apparently, missed the memo.

When the Device-users, Endo and Kyouka, come in for their assault, they are met with an uncomfortable realisation: that trailing end of the Vertex is hollowed out for a REASON. Baubles, like missiles, fly out to meet their faces -- and while Endo manages to cut straight ''through'' his, with his massive blade Fallen Stern, Kyouka finds that punching hers apart gives her no remove from the explosion whatsoever. Smoke rises as she crashes through, to strike the Vertex.

Amongst all these melee assaults, there's a gardener in the forest -- and Eri backs them up with a whip lashing out. She ruffles the cloth floating about the creature's, oh, don't call it a neck -- but the Vertex remains unharried.

It continues floating forward.

And that curve, below it, BULGES --

Just as Endo and Kyouka discovered: it isn't helpless. With horrific power, the Vertex launches explosive baubles from its underside, like a vacuum set to some opposite setting; they crash, about Endo and Kyouka and Passion, about Eri, about Abiko. The Vertex cares nothing for causing destruction in this place, but...

... a place like this must be designed for destruction, mustn't it?

COMBAT: Rei Hino has used INCURSION on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used INCURSION on Kyouka Okazaki.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used INCURSION on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used From Distant Shores on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used From Distant Shores on Abiko Tsugaru.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Relentless Advance on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino accepts Rei Hino's Relentless Advance, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Withstand applied to Rei Hino! Cleanse! All of Rei Hino's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi neatly dodges 28 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's From Distant Shores, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Eri Shimanouchi's Fade and Flash abilities activate! Stagger applied to Eri Shimanouchi!
COMBAT: Cure Passion partially dodges 14 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's INCURSION, taking 54 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Passion's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru fails to counter Rei Hino's From Distant Shores, taking 45 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Stagger applied to Abiko Tsugaru!
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru's counterattack, Rain of Cherry Blossoms, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Rei Hino!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki fails to counter Rei Hino's INCURSION, taking 51 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Blind applied to Endo Naoki!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki's counterattack, Asteroid Eilen, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Rei Hino!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki perfectly dodges 46 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's INCURSION, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Kyouka Okazaki's Fade and Flash abilities activate!

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

It looked good at first, and in spite of it's toughness an idealistic hope and confidence began to swell up. She ''was'' a hero. She was fighting monsters and doing the things! Or that was the thought, at least. Abiko lands after her strike and looks to the others as they all follow up and rain down their own variety of pain on the Vertex, "Thank You!" She calls out to Kyouka and the others as the Vertex launches the missile-like projectiles towards her, she glows and narrows glimmers of magic infused light streak out of her bracers in an attempt to intercept only the scatter or deflect.

Another gulp and then an explosion sends Abiko flying back with what looks like it should have been a ''very'' hard bounce but the quick-eyed would have noticed a magical barrier appearing just before the impact of the missile and the ground both, dampening the impact and landing enough to keep her standing but breathing heavily with a scuffed cheek, "But... I hit it.." she mutters, the realization of the stakes and difficulties that lay ahead starting to become reality in real time.

She takes a few deep breaths, her fists clench and unclench a few times as light builds around her body like a cloak, intensifying and then lingering like an afterglow, "Be careful!" she cries out, seeing at least one other that had taken a hit like hers.

COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has used Radiant Cloak on Abiko Tsugaru.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru accepts Abiko Tsugaru's Radiant Cloak, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Accelerate and Empower applied to Abiko Tsugaru!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

If there's no obvious weak point, then Cure Passion will have to keep striking until she batters through anyway. That's the theory--but before she can do that, she gets hit by one of those explosions, rocketed backwards into the foilage where she hits the ground and rolls. It's easy to worry, for a moment--before she puts out her hand, and pushes herself back up from the ground. "Don't give up!" she calls to Abiko. "When you fall... the only thing to do is to get back up again!"

True to her word, Cure Passion launches herself back with a flurry of punches and kicks, trying to break through the Vertex's armor.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Breaking Through on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Endo manages to slice through the missle headed for him, but Kyouka has less luck--she grunts her teeth as she's left with no recourse but to power through and let her barrier jacket absorb the blow. Her attack still lands, but that explosion definitely slowed her impact. But on the plus side--

"Hey, good to see you here!" she says to Endo as she bounces back from her assault. "Both of you," she adds, as she sees that whip, but she doesn't look up for that one.

Then the worm thing does something... well, weird, but then again, what thing has she fought that could be described as ''normal''?

(Actually, the ogre kind of counts. Relatively speaking, at least.)

But all of those explosive baubles come out, and... she's on the move. Whereas the miasma set her on edge, threw her off her game (and the sheer ''numbers'' of wraiths didn't help), here--the forest has her in a state of calm, at least for a moment, and she manages to duck, dodge, and weave effortlessly through all of those bubbles flooding into the area, nimbly weaing her way through until she can set herself up for the next attack.

She leaps--powered by magic--and weaves her way around one last bauble in mid-air before twisting her way into a kick. The thing is hard, so let's see how it stands up to a...

<Piercing Fang.>
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has used Piercing Fang Strike on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo's plan, as it always is, is to cut right through to the enemy. The projectiles that the Vertex launches are obstacles in the way, and with a sharp thrust of his sword Endo attempts to drives through the mass of baubles to strike at the Vertex once more.

It does not go as planned, however. The impact of Fallen Stern striking the barrage lets the pastel world alight with explosions. The force of the blow hurls Endo backward, the knight tumbling across vines and crashing into an oversized root. Colorful debris follow in his wake, and the indentation he leaves behind gives indication that the blow must have been something enormous.

He does, though, push himself up once again. On shaky feet, with the help of his Device, he stumbles back toward the fray. A triangle of purple energy spins to life under his feet, providing a launching pad to send him back toward the Vertex as mach-speed.

The sword is raised again, Endo turning in a full circle of motion, a 360 spin that leaves contrails of ugly light in his wake.

<METEOR ABSTURZ>

The blade comes down on the Vertex again, Endo throwing as much power as he can behind the blazing strike

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Eri examines the aftermath, does it have a weakness? Is the weakness whatever Abiko can do to it? She doesn't know. She hit it from so many sides and she's no closer to figuring it out. And then she sees the baubles launching. The Puella Magi clad in green makes short leaps down from one pastel branch to another, timing it to try and avoid each detonation. The last leap she mistimes just slightly, and is struck by the aftershock.

Her boot heel lands in an unbalanced way and she nearly slips - but only nearly.

However there's a visible wince when she sees how Abiko, how Endo, how Passion ended up.

It's dangerous. Really, really dangerous.

"Don't just throw yourself at it haphazardly. Use the openings others create to attack. There's something more to this - we just have to figure what it is."

And so Eri tries to think of how to change tactics. Instead she waits, and waits, until Passion launches herself, until Kyouka, until Endo...

This time, she leaps when she sees an opening, her whip lashes out, trying to encircle a point of fabric. Then she tugs in mid-air. Using strength, and weight, and momentum to try and yank it out of the air - to see the results. She might not be able to overpower it, certainly, given its size. Leverage or not. However, she's hoping at least to momentarily halt its advance - or learn something about it, even if what she learns is that it's truly immovable.

She can understand, something horrible will happen if this thing keeps advancing, but what...?

Better to never find out.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Gardener's Grasp on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 13 Fatigue damage from Cure Passion's Breaking Through, taking 11 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Kyouka Okazaki's Piercing Fang Strike, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Kyouka Okazaki is Psyched!
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 37 Fatigue damage from Endo Naoki's Meteor Absturz, taking 30 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Eri Shimanouchi's Gardener's Grasp, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Eri Shimanouchi is Psyched! Stagger and Tangle applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Oh, yes. They hit it. They ARE hitting it -- but still it comes. It does not sink or falter as Cure Passion's blows fall upon it; nor as Kyouka's tectonic kick cracks down, with full jaw power. Meteor Absturz is a strike which can sunder the greatest of foes, which makes it all the more notable how it DOESN'T -- though the Vertex does sag, to the side, briefly.

Briefly.

A brief moment which Eri is able to capitalise on, to encircle and yank. For an instant, it might feel as if she can exploit this weakness, until --

The fabric lashes out around it, and it rights itself, and it is whole, and it is still coming. Still coming, as those ribbons crash out to strike the girls -- and Endo -- around it, swiftly and without mercy or thought.

Once again, Abiko's phone chimes, echoing in the light of her radiant cloak. Brrring-brrr-rrr-ING.

------------- ( ? ) HELP -------------

----------------------------------------------------- Vertex will Regenerate Indefinitely perform the Sealing Ritual 1) Surround the Enemy 2) with Conviction, Recite the Prayer to Immobilise the Enemy: O lord of the afterlife Have mercy on us Bestow your blessings upon us O spirit of good luck O spirit of miracles Protect us Bring us fortune and happiness 3) Expose the Soul 4) Destroy It ----------------------------------------------------- 

------------- ( ! ) ALERT ------------- 

----------------------------------------------------- failure to swiftly Destroy the Vertex will result in real world damage damage intrudes as the Jinkai wilts act Swiftly to Protect Humanity ----------------------------------------------------- 

COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Kyouka Okazaki.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Abiko Tsugaru.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Passion counters 3 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Diversion and Tangle applied to Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Passion's counterattack, Crimson Counter, partially gets through, doing 9 Fatigue damage to Rei Hino!
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru perfectly dodges 11 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi counters 3 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Eri Shimanouchi's Reverse and Tactician abilities activate!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi's counterattack, Gardener's Trick, partially gets through, doing 11 Fatigue damage to Rei Hino! Exhausted applied to Rei Hino!

COMBAT: Endo Naoki cleanly braces 11 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Endo Naoki's Block and Parry abilities activate! Diversion applied to Endo Naoki!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki perfectly counters 11 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki's counterattack, Howling Wind Barrier, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Abiko flinches a little as Cure Passions word's bring her out of her daze with a look of determination but to do what exactly...? The sound of her phone also gets a little jump before it appears in a sparkle of light in her hand.

No time for a break though, the Vertex's doom-ribbons are on the hunt, raining down but Abiko is ready this time. She crouches before launching back into a series of leaps away from danger, putting a little distance between herself and the Vertex and calling out, "We have to seal it and destroy its soul or it will just keep regenerating itself." she grits her teeth and quickly forwards the message of the Ritual words to Kyouka, "Some of us have to manage to surround it and perform that ritual." she adds, standing up straight now, slowly walking towards the Vertex at first re-reading the text to herself the calling to Kyouka, "I'll get it started, I can't do it alone but together I know we can!" and with that she breaks into a run and then a leap.

Glowing magical energy collects around her and her bracers again, briefly charging up mid-leap before releasing a swirl of short-ranged light pink shards that trace around her and into the Vertex as she lands near it's base and lifts her voice as confidently as she can, "O lord of the Afterlife... Have mercy on us!" and with her words the faint outline of a magic circle would begin to appear emiting an eerie light.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has used Rain of Cherry Blossoms on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Eri calls out to them, and Passion looks thoughtful. "...No, I remember--the Vertex... Endo!" she calls. "Remember?"

On the one hand--throwing herself at the enemy is rather what she does. On the other...

Abiko's got it. She can do what needs doing--and Passion remembers, now, that sequence. "...Right!" the Precure calls to Abiko. "You open it up, and we'll shatter it!"

She's already pretty tired; these things hit hard. Nevertheless, she won't give up so easily. The ribbons crash towards them, and Cure Passion, ''swings'' back at them, a barrier of red force forming with the power of her counteratack and carrying through the ribbon back to the enemy. But it still stings.

Surround and chant.. "Then I'll get around the other side!" Passion leaps up against another root, bouncing from wheel to wheel, before she approaches the other side, and starts a spinning sequence of kicks to try to draw the Vertex's attention. "Hyah!"
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Spinning Strikes on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The fabric Vertex rights itself, Eri with a flick of her wrist has her whip release itself. She lands on a great root with a light foot, and suddenly pivots around rapidly to swing her whip out. It cuts a horizontal arc through the ribbons, if not severing them then at least battering and diverting them. Still one of them lands far too close despite her efforts.

Again the phone buzzes on the Magical Girl she doesn't recognize, she's - probably the one who is meant to handle this. But how?

She barely seems to understand her role herself, so all she can do is try to delay this thing until - her eyes light up as the phone gives her an answer.

"A ritual?"

There's a pause, "From the flanks then." She comments to Passion. As suddenly she darts forward, and once beneath it, stamps her foot down, as a green rune ripples out. Vines suddenly sprout and grow out of that rune that forms, and moves up to try and encircle it in multiple ways.

Alone it stands little chance of doing any good, but she'll contribute in trying to help immobilize it so Abiko can get the job done.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Dryad's Interdict on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Kyouka winces as she sees her compatriots knocked about. Their attacks don't seem to be slowing it. Eri tries to graps it, to hold it in place, and yet... it shakes free, and lashes out. As she's landing a band of bright purple magic is already circling her gauntlet, with a flurry of wind building up within it. She thrusts her hand up, blasting out a gale of wind that rebukes all of the blows.

There's that chime again, and Kyouka darts back to consider her next move. She glances over to Abiko. "Alright, this seems like it's one of yours, so... whatcha got for us? Any info on this thing would be appreciated right about now."

And--there's a text message. A ritual chant, and... "Got it! Stike Wolf, forward that out!"

<Affirmative.> A moment later, Strike Wolf has synced with Kyouka's phone and redirected the text of the chant to Endo, Passion, and Eri's phones.

Kyouka herself is already in motion. A brief circle appears beneath her feet as she jumps--then changes as a sharp angle mid-air as she dives down at the worm, rebounding again to place herself roughly in a 'surrounding' position.

She's used to ritualistic chants, now. She has her own, but this is not that one. Not yet, at least. She takes a stance to help center herself and chants along. "Bestow your blessings upon us o spirit of good luck."
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has used Piercing Fang Strike on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

The ribbons crash against Endo, his barrier jacket cracking from the strain of holding back the attack. He fares better than the first time though, aside from a short stumble backward.

His eyes go to Abiko when she shouts out her instructions, and a sharp nod is made. He doesn't question how she knows this, merely accepts that she has the necessary knowledge.

"I remember!" Endo calls back to Passion. "Be careful!"

Endo moves forward again, this time coming at the monster from an angle. The sword is swung once more, a jagged cut as Endo slides past. The attack is a cursory thing, more meant to get him into position than anything else.

Once he's taken up his place surrounding the Vertex, he too begins to chant, following Abiko's example.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has used Blauverschiebung on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Abiko Tsugaru's Rain of Cherry Blossoms, taking 27 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Cure Passion's Spinning Strikes, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Eri Shimanouchi's Dryad's Interdict, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Rei Hino is Quipped!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Kyouka Okazaki's Piercing Fang Strike, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Kyouka Okazaki is Psyched!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Endo Naoki's Blauverschiebung, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEy1rYGbuuk Yuki Yuna is a Hero - Sealing Ceremony

The Vertex's cloth lashes out, to strike at Abiko and Passion and Endo, as they try to get into position. Kyouka and Eri aren't so lucky -- they end up dealing with some more of those explosions, trying to stop them from approaching into position.

It doesn't want to be surrounded. Even so -- eventually, it is. Those light shards from Abiko impact it; Cure Passion kicks THROUGH a ribbon; a vine which isn't painted in watercolour sneaks up to grow from below, courtesy Eri. Kyouka strikes from above, and lands to one side -- and Endo clears space with his blade to take position, too.

As it happens, the words of the ritual weren't nearly as important as the passion behind them -- or, in one case, the Passion behind them. Cure Passion is the final piece of the incantation puzzle, despite the fact that she simply vocalised her assault, which may raise questions about how necessary the ''words'' were.

At five points, they stand around it -- and the world is painted in a more violet shade, as light flecks around the Vertex like a hundred-hundred petals. A vortex about the Vertex, it swirls, and rises, and the thing which isn't its face blossoms to reveal --

It's a pyramid all turned upside-down, massive enough to be a platform for a girl to stand upon. It is a thing of POWER, as well; the heart and soul of a thing unlike this world. It is the Vertex's weakest point.

And it is harder than any other point on its body.

Below the swirling flecks of light, a number, bright, appears.

99 98 97 96 95

It's ticking down, and not slowly. As the number decreases, one of those pastel roots grows deeper in colour, darker -- all charcoal shades and colours, angry orange, deep brown.

Though the Vertex is bound, it will not be bound forever.

The world will be destroyed.

COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Abiko Tsugaru.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Kyouka Okazaki.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used The Leaves Will Fall on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru dodges 8 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 5 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi partially dodges 2 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Eri Shimanouchi's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki fails to dodge Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Tangle applied to Endo Naoki!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki fails to dodge Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Tangle applied to Kyouka Okazaki!

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Abiko's expression softens as the others fight their way to position, the rituals power growing and the light intensifying as the core appears, "That's... it's soul. But it's not the end yet!" she says, her focus drawn by the lashing of the Vertex. Her focusu doesn't betray her, the lashes able to do little more than scuff her as she slides around them before fixing her gaze on the Core and finding her own opening to attack.

She crouches again, light coalescing around her hand as she chambers it and leaps into a mighty jump at her target and snapping out her arm once again, the energy compressing beore blasting forwards.

COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has used Forceful Palm on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Passion will be careful, as Endo advises her. She doesn't know the chant, but she gets the message about what it is as she tries to help, as she goes for the flanks opposite Eri. Luckily she doesn't have to check the phone... Because it works! So she looks to Kyouka, to Abiko, to Eri, and to Endo--and then to the creature's strange Power. The Vertex's weakes point...

A number is there. "We have to hurry!" Passion says. "Right--we're with you!" to Abiko. Passion rears back, and ''jumps'' upward, moving faster than the eye can see until she's a red blur that appears on the other side of the core--at which point her attack registers.

COMBAT: Cure Passion braces 7 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's The Leaves Will Fall, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Cure Passion's Block and Parry abilities activate! Diversion and Tangle applied to Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Passion Flash on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

They all manage to get into position, and... well, add a new weird thing to her catalog of weird experiences. At least it seems like the ritual worked, anyway. Even if they didn't quite get the whole chant out.

Then again, the brief glimpse she got of it did seem rather long...

Then again, her own incantation isn't much shorter.

Things to worry about for another time, as the vertex's soul is revealed. "I don't like the looks of that countdown..." she says, and crouches in her spot. A circle appears beanth her feet as she gets ready, only-- The beast lashes out, and she tries to dance to the side, only to run ''into'' one of the blows. An attempt to get out of that one's path sends her into another one still, and several more yet. "Ack! Pft! Dangit!" And she was doing so well, too.

"Alright, that's it!" She crouches, letting the magic build up in a circle beneath her feet as she charges magic--and takes off in a flurry of motion as she jumps--or really just charges in a straight line, at the soul, rearing back with her fist to bring it crashing down.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo's eyes widen as the Vertex bares its soul. It's still coming though, and there's not much time.

He leaps again, triangle platforms appearing underneath his feet, allowing him to launch into the air and bring his weapon down on the exposed core.

"I think we're almost there!"

COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has used Vertex Soul Smashing Blow on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Endo Naoki has used Blauverschiebung on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

More of the explosive baubles fall. And Eri has to react more swiftly this time, leaping just out of the epicenter, the explosion smashes into her in mid-air and she's flipped around and over. Striking a root, she bounds back to her ritual point.

And something that looks like a core is revealed which Abiko notes as the soul - a fact which gives her momentary pause - as the countdown appears in the bright light.

That sort of speaks for itself doesn't it?

For one brief moment Eri wishes she had a cell phone app for that whenever a weird witch with a deadly gimmick reared its ugly head - rather than a Kyubey. This is definitely better, isn't it?

(Editor's Note: It is not.)

"That's a lot of countdown for us to get through." Eri notes at Passion's call for a hurry. However, at least they have a weak point to work upon? Gripping her whip, she runs a sparkle of energy through it, as suddenly the dark thorns extend to stiletto size.

Wordlessly she starts swinging the whip in great arcs at the soul as it slices towards it as rippling blurs.

It's definitely the first time she's ever taken aim at someone's soul within a vessel.

Isn't it?

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Aerating Edge on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Kyouka Okazaki's Vertex Soul Smashing Blow, taking 21 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Endo Naoki's Blauverschiebung, taking 36 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Rei Hino!
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 44 Fatigue damage from Cure Passion's Passion Flash, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 32 Fatigue damage from Eri Shimanouchi's Aerating Edge, taking 26 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Abiko Tsugaru's Forceful Palm, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Abiko Tsugaru is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The energy blasts forward -- and though there's a crack in the black and violet inverse pyramid, it doesn't shatter. It is hard to the touch, the way diamonds or lineaments are hard. The Vertex's soul meets the red blur of Passion without breaking; so too does it meet Kyouka's fist, direct as a bolt fired out. Not even Fallen Stern can make it fall. And this is clearly Eri's first time striking an exposed soul -- because her whip, despite the size of its thorns, cannot shatter it.

The Vertex is implacable. It is unshakable. Even still, even cowed, it is not so easy to destroy.

63 62 61 60 59

The number continues falling, too, too quickly. As it does, more of the Jinkai wilts around them -- horrible holes eaten through those too-wonderful watercolours, pale beauty besmirched by something deeper, darker, rotting embers and black.

Soon, it will be freed. It will reach the World Tree. And then... and then...

COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Abiko grits her teeth, "Just a bit more.." she calls out, hopping backwards quickly to get into a better attacking position. Mid hops there is a light in the air next to hear that shimmers before materializing into.... Some kind of turtle? Dark purple scales, dark green markings and a matte black shell covered with short knobby spikes -- it stares at the surprised Abiko blankly, almost seeming lazy, "You must be... my fairy?" she mumbles quickly, recalling the dampening affects when she was being knocked around earlier. A new friend has joined the fight.

No time to spare daydreaming about her flying turtle just yet, that timer continues its ominous tick down and she knows what's at stake. So she leaps up, the turtle flying upwards with her and acts as a stepping platform helping her reach a good height above the Vertex before she tucks her knees and rotates forward turning upside down and launching in a rapid kamikaze dive, "You can't have you way...Bully Breaker!" she yells out -- Was it necessary? nah... But did it feel good? Oohhhh yeah..-- then grasping her hands together and turning in a quick flip at the end swings her grasped fists down releasing a massive burst of air from around her body.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Abiko Tsugaru has used Bully Breaker on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Almost there--almost!! Passion glances Eri's way as she mentions the countdown, and is dubious that they'll be able to do it with time to spare--she remembers how tough the last of these she saw was. They'll have to put in everything they can...

Abiko gives the signal. As she swings in with her dive, Passion brings her hands together in focus. "Focus," she murmurs, and breathes in quickly.

Then, she rears back one fist. "Haaaaaah--!" A red shimmer overcomes her fist, and then becomes a shell that erupts before her as she ''leaps'' towards the Vertex's heart, driving all that energy and force straight for the center.

"Hah!"
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Passion has used Passion Drive on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

As the numbers tick down Endo redoubles his efforts. He rebounds after his first attack, touching down once more as he watches the other magical girls strike at the exposed core.

Once again Endo summons a triangle of energy underneath him, using it as a spring pad to rise upward. His next slash is another heavy cleave, a spinning blow aimed to drive Fallen Stern as deep into their collective enemy as he can.

<METEOR ABSTURZ>

"Let's finish it!"
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has used Meteor Absturz on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Eri slashes and slashes again with her whip. Clearly this thing got an enhanced soul protection plan.

Eri eyes the appearance of the turtle fairy and, "Cute." She notes.

It clearly wasn't enough force to halt it forever, the roots below them are looking worse and worse- What's she to do?

Well, it's simplicity itself. Hit it harder. Hit it more. Overwhelm it as best as she can until the ritual is finished. As the others make their call of cooperation, her face splits into a grin, "Let's see how much you can actually take."

And so she upturns her whip and it sinks into a ripple of green rather than the Jinkai itself. More ripples appear outwardly like raindrops upon a pond.

There's stillness for a second or two, as the magical effect seems to calm. Then black vines laden with such sharpen thorns appear from each place where that green magic rippled, each emanating out of a runic sigil of her magic.

At her direction, they immediately start to batter that core repeatedly, quicker and quicker in a constant rhythm. Over, and over, and over - she doesn't think she can pull it apart, or impale it. So instead she has them wear it down, erode it down, grind it down.

Even diamonds can be ground into dust - and even though this is immensely harder - she tries to make herself equal to the task of keeping at it while the ritual progresses.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Eri Shimanouchi has used Child of Thorns on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

They're all raining attacks down on that thing and... it's not working. Well, it might be doing ''something'' but... it's not doing it ''fast'' enough. That countdown is moving awfully quickly, and she can see the watercolors wilting around them.

Surely that ''can't'' be good. Abiko mentioned something about a World Tree earlier. If that thing goes off, then...

"No time for holding back, then."

How many times has she done this in the past... damn, has it only been a week since she first unleashed this attack? And then a few days prior, against that swarm...

What in the world is her life turning into? To have gone from a transfer student with ambitions about making friends to suddenly being responsible for the fate of the world?

Time to ponder that later, when there's a world left to ponder that in.

She takes a stance. A circle forms at her feet, as she holds out her hand, murmuring to herself. "From warded den, through hallowed glade..." A bright ball of scintillating light appears at her opened palm, growing rapidly as she progresses through the chant. Leaves from the forest floor swirl about her as she poors open the floodgates of her soul into the attack. "To bright moon watching overhead..." It's becoming so familiar now, so practiced as the ball builds brighter and brighter. Her hand closes around it, and the leaves draw in from the sudden vaccuum... before there's energy swirling at her feet to blow them out again. "Lend your strength, light my path..." Her body shimmers with energy, a pale white yet bright aura--with just a tint of blue light--encases her body, but her right gauntlet is glowing pure white. Wisps of white energy join the swirling and dancing leaves as her energy builds and builds. "And guide your guardian's hand!" The power ''peaks''-it flares brightly as she completes the process. Her right hand is alight with bright, silvery blue-white moonlight as she slides her foot back, brings her hand up and takes a ready pose.

She takes off, charging forward as she lends her attack to the rest, driving her fist home into the Vertex's soul. Unlike two nights ago, she does not conserve the power, use it to strike again and again at a swarm of targets. No, tonight there is only ''one''. And with a loud yell she unleashes it all at once in a fearsome blast.

<Shining Moonlight Strike.>
COMBAT: FINISHER! Kyouka Okazaki has used Shining Moonlight Strike on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 66 Fatigue damage from Kyouka Okazaki's Finisher, Shining Moonlight Strike, taking 44 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Eri Shimanouchi's Finisher, Child of Thorns, taking 258 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Rei Hino is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Endo Naoki's Meteor Absturz, taking 75 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Cure Passion's Finisher, Passion Drive, taking 82 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Abiko Tsugaru's Finisher, Bully Breaker, taking 136 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Rei Hino is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Cure Passion comes from a martial tradition with so MANY greats -- and she demonstrates, as she dives towards that heart of hearts, that she is a Cure to be reckoned with. A crack splinters, where she strikes it; splinters further, as she clears the path for the next assault.

Eri knows well the war of attrition. The vines which erupt at her call batter the sides of the soul, knocking it this way and that where it floats. A dozen dozen fractures appear alongside it; while no ONE of those vines has the killing power to destroy it outright, there isn't ONE vine. There are so, so many.

Fallen Stern, too, is a war-blade to meet armies. Endo spins, and the side of the pyramid, where Eri has weakened it, finds itself bitten -- his Device digging in and dragging out with all the violence one would expect, from someone following a black blade. (Not quite the black blade which has followed up on Eri's vines before, but in this new world, there is room for so ''much'' cooperation, isn't there?)

Kyouka, thrown into the deep end so, so rapidly, draws her power from her hallowed glade. Her hand shines with all the incredible powers of the moonlight, as she slams her fist forward, in a single, closing argument. It IMPACTS, and forms another small crater, underside.

Finally, there is Abiko -- the Hero -- spinning in her all-out assault, all upside-down, all aggression. She screams of breaking, and those fists POUND, the reverberation echoing throughout the forest. She knows just the right angle to strike. She is chosen by the World Tree, after all.

The soul shudders -- and SHATTERS, all at once, devastated in the wake of so many hearts all coming together against it.

When the pyramid breaks, there are two sides to the destruction.

One, the lights, streaming up from the soul in all the colours of the rainbow, dots of colour all trailed by lines. They escape into the abyss of the sky; they leave.

And then, the Vertex itself -- it crumbles to sand, pouring to the ground, sending up clouds of dust. Its cremation is sudden and complete.

For a moment, it is still...

... until the World Tree relaxes its barrier, with a flurry of watercolour leaves. All at once the world is restored, at the precise moment it paused. The World Tree places the girls -- and Endo! -- just where they were, before they were called to protect everything.

And the bright colours of Toemada are so much more defined and less painted, than the strange beauty of Jinkai.

Eri's Ferris cabin climbs up, and up... and halts, midway up. "Sorry," a voice comes through the speakers. "We're having some difficulties right now, so please sit quietly while we fix the ride." And this, perhaps, is the consequence of the rotting forest -- an inexplicably broken Ferris Wheel.

It's all right. They'll get them down, soon enough.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

It's over- as the Hero shatters the soul. Even for a horror like that, it is still not the best thing to carve into her memory. She does it anyway. As lights stream from the soul, as the Vertex crumbles to dust. And the barrier relaxes and-

Eri's stuck at the top in her cabin, due to technical difficulties. For a moment, she considers just opening the door and leaping out.

Then she just shrugs, and releases her transformation in a shimmer of green sparkles, back to the winter coat she was wearing.

Sitting down with mittened fingers, she goes back to work on the plate of funnel cake.

Patience is a virtue sometimes, especially when there's funnel cake.

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
As the world returns to normal around Abiko, a faint swirl of light scatters from her clothes and body returning her back to the Juuban uniform. Not everything is back to normal though, a few small scuffs and scrapes act as a not-so-gentle reminder of the power she is expected to face -- But for today, at least, it all worked out.

Abiko looks around and spots a nearby bench and half-collapses onto it, "What in the world..." she asks, her brain going into overdrive trying to process it all. And the others? What was that about... she was still trying to wrap her head around not only the World Tree and her being a hero but that there is apparently a whole variety of multi-colored flavors of craziness in the world that she was thrown into...

Her stomach let's out a LOUD snarl, and her cheeks blush slightly, "I can worry about all of that later. Right now I need..." her eyes scan to food shops, "Snacks..."
COMBAT: Abiko Tsugaru transforms into Abiko Tsugaru!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

They all come together, and in short her crack apart the protective coating of the soul, and then Abiko comes in with the finishing blow. The lights escape, the vertex crumbles...

And the barrier releases.

She'll save her self-questioining for whether it's okay to destroy something called a soul for another day. It's not the first fight she's had, after all.

She quickly releases her own transformation as the world around them returns to normal, barrier jacket vanishing to be replaced with her school uniform. Stretches her arms out overhead for a moment as she takes in a deep breath.

This is getting a bit ''too'' easy. Or rather, she's getting too accustomed to it, is the better way of phrasing that.

But she follows Abiko over to the bench, sits down next to her, and gives her a sort of amused grin. "So... you too, huh?" She looks out at the rest of the amusement park, musing quietly. "First time?"

When she hears Abiko's stomach snarl she chuckles. "First round's on me. I invited you along, after all."

<Pose Tracker> Abiko Tsugaru [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Abiko steadies her breathing and looks over as Kyouka sit next to her, "Yeah... I bet that rotten old man knew something like this would happen" she mutters under her breath, and though the phrasing seems harsh it's said bit obvious endearment to whomever she is talking about. As quickly as she drifted to those thoughts she drifts back, sniffing the air a little as if looking for a specific aroma, "I'll take you up on that, and later we'll have to trade info... I was expecting ''some'' of this but definitely not ''all of that''." she says as she stands up, brushing the front of her skirt off and straightening it before her gaze comes to rest on a food stall filled with smells of baked sweets.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Kyouka chuckles softly, in a strange sort of reminiscing way, when Abiko mentions she wasn't prepared for all of this. "Yeah, you see... well, you're gonna see a lot of weird shit in this job." She glances sidelong at Abiko. "I've only been really doing this for a few weeks, myself, so this is still taking some getting used to. I'll be happy to share with you anything I can, try to make it a bit easier on you if I can."

She follows as Abiko gets up, and a thought occurs to her. "Oh! And Abiko... one thing you can count on, is that there's a whole bunch of us running around and..."

How did she say it?

She reaches out to give Abiko's shoulder a friendly pat. "Together, we can do so much more than we can do apart. Don't ever forget that. It can be overwhelming, but... You're not in this alone. Okay?"

Another squeeze, and then she lets the girl's shoulder go. "Alright, let's go find something to eat!"

2022-10-14 - Conflagria Appears! It's A Battle Of Words For Mikoto!?

2022-10-14T12:03:07Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: everyone hates /someone./ even mikoto!

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Conflagria Appears! It's A Battle Of Words For Mikoto!?'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Conflagria confronts Mikoto on her way to deliver some things to Yumi, and offers her some more ill portents to deliver. Mikoto never liked talking to Conflagria, but there's certainly history, here.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Benio Asuna|Conflagria]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Yamanote High City
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2022-10-14 - 2016-01-19
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Just as she promised, Mikoto goes to Infinity, after school, to retrieve Yumi's things. She's able to get in, of course. She's Yumi's trusted friend, helping her out when she's sick; it's a very normal arrangement, even if it isn't always Mikoto fetching things.

She visits Hanae, while she's here -- she brought some cardstock, with a hand-drawn cat on the front. (The cat is built out of the kanji for the word 'cat'.) She tells her -- in her usual manner of brevity -- how Yumi misses her, and asks if she'd like to write a message for Mikoto to bring to her, even if they won't let her into the hospital to visit. She expresses, as well, how unfair she thinks it is, that they won't let her see her; she's not ''happy'' that she's the only one, between the two of them, who can go to Yumi right now.

That might be a happier story than the one where Mikoto enters the empty dormroom, and gathers everything up into her cheerful little pink backpack to bring out to hospital. Oh, most things are fine, but...

Picking up that puzzle...

Somehow, Mikoto feels like it isn't something she should just put in a bag, like everything else.

Somehow, it isn't something she should...

Miroku slung over one shoulder, her backpack over the other, the girl in the Ohtori high uniform holds that unsolved puzzle in one hand as she walks from the train station towards Mitakihara. Today, she's taking a longer path, through quiet alleyways and side-streets; it's not that she doesn't want to get to Yumi quickly, but she doesn't think she should be in a big crowd right now, either.

<Pose Tracker> Benio Asuna [None] has posed.

Now, what could be so important about a puzzle? As Mikoto looks, she may notice that one layer is already undone; it's hard to tell, though, without knowing much more about it. There might be more. But Hanae... Well. Hanae is appreciative--she seems... frustrated, that they won't allow her to visit, though she does 'get it' she says. She signs the card gratefully.

She says nothing of how Yumi is a burden, despite the thoughts Yumi and Mikoto shared the other day.

Mikoto's instinct may be wrong, and may be right. Lugging around magical artifacts (lower-case a?) is something that demands care. On the other hand, there is a problem with going through side streets and quiet alleyways...

"Hm hm hm," comes a voice from not far away, "What's the little kitty doing now...? Wandering in the alley?"

It's not a new voice. A woman in red steps out from another alley. Her black hair is arranged in a lovely hime cut that flatters her face, with flame ornamentation. Her dress is red, with wide sleeves and a belt at the waist. Her boots are heeled. And the dagger at her side is a powerful implement.

"Playing with magic?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Marianas Trench - Your Ghost https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4cB4WBy8Zs

There might be more, but Mikoto would rather not look at the puzzle too long. It's...

No, obviously it isn't familiar, but Mikoto's still having a bad time after the Wraiths; that's the plainest explanation. ''Everything'' feels a little too comfortable, after that. The puzzle is just a little strange because Yumi's a witch, that's all.

That's all.

But Mikoto doesn't want to bring it into a crowd, either way -- call it intuition, or worry, or care. It means she's not ''in'' a crowd, even though it's a typical Tokyo afternoon. That voice, a voice ''Mikoto'' would describe as grating, reaches her ears; she spins to meet her, chest and shoulders sinking, and it's a gesture to lower her centre of mass rather than her status. Her hands pull back --

And that's when she remembers they're full, and she can't draw her blade like this.

But Mikoto doesn't want to put the puzzle ''down,'' either. She clutches it at her belly, close to her, and glowers. "Conflagria!" Mikoto snaps, Mikoto snarls, with all the brute-force honesty she always wore. "What do you want?!"

In terms of the social dangers of Dark Fall meetings, Mikoto wasn't even a fighter; the best outcome for her was to be safely ignored, in those cutthroat deals and layered conversations. Being fair, she often was, because in the world of adults, she's still a child. Even if she ''was'' the Obsidian Lord's right hand, it was difficult for Mikoto to command any real fear or respect, as a girl not yet grown.

... well, it didn't help that she looked up to Labyrinth's Westar without ''hiding'' it. Looking up to anyone is a social poison, in that sort of crowd; looking up to ''that'' man is just added insult.

As if to preempt the obvious question, she insists, angry: "Conflagria can't have it!" And judging from her grip on the puzzle, that's what she's talking about. She's aggressive; she's being uncharitable. It's a bad habit, but it's difficult to shake, reminded of that chapter of her life.

<Pose Tracker> Benio Asuna [None] has posed.

"Tsk, tsk. Always so quick to violence! I suppose that would be your recourse. Words are so ''hard'', aren't they?" Conflagria asks sweetly. There is little sweet about her expression, though. She looks to Mikoto, gances over the puzzle, and narrows her eyes.

"Hmph. As if I would want such a trinket. Glacien is the one obsessed with gathering pretty things."

She sounds a little teeth-gritted about it, though. Just for a moment. Easy to miss.

"Disappointed I'm not the oaf?" she wonders, and then leans dramatically on the wall. "Ah, I'm so unappreciated."

"No, silly, I wanted to talk to ''you''! I'm terribly curious. Do they have you on errands now? I suppose things aren't so different after all..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto doesn't ''like'' Conflagria. She's ''rude.'' Mikoto once suggested Yumi come up with a curse to make her be quiet -- despite the fact that Mikoto was supposed to be working hard to be a ''better'' person.

In a word: she's NOT happy to see her.

(That's two words, or maybe six words; but words are, after all, hard. She's always said so. How unfortunate it comes back to bite her.)

The response she gives ''her,'' though, is a growl, wordless and rumbling through her throat and her tongue, all pressed flat to her mouth.

Conflagria leans, and Mikoto is still all written in tension, coiled up like a twisted spring. "No!" She snaps, finds her words, when Conflagria accuses things of being much the same. "It's not! I'm helping Yumi 'cause she's my ''friend!''" She is still so honest; Mikoto has always struggled to say anything less than what she thinks, even if at times she's been trying to convince herself as much as everyone else.

<Pose Tracker> Benio Asuna [None] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Ego Likeness - Burn Witch Burn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWz67B1gO8A

Conflagria doesn't like Mikoto. She's artless, brute force, a blunt instrument, and yet she has the favor of the Obsidian Lord. It is anathema to her that someone so ''rough'' should be so favored.

That growl prompts a sickle smile. "Hm hm hm," she continues. "Is that so...?"

"So this little trinket is Yumi's? My, how good to know!" She dances close to the line, but doesn't cross it--should she threaten the girl, Mikoto would find a way to turn this into a fight, and that's not what she's after today.

Even if she does kind of want to.

"You're too honest, girl. You have been for a long time. It's going to get you into even more trouble one of these days. Oh, but don't worry--I'm not after your... friend." A smile.

"Though her school should expect more trouble soon..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

What a shame there was no ''left'' hand for Conflagria to prefer, given her role was the wrecking ball.

... at least, not that Mikoto remembers.

Her eyes widen, as Conflagria reacts to Yumi's name so cheerfully, alarm blanching her face. When she accuses her of being too honest, there ''is'' guilt on her face, shifting back a half-step on her heel as her lips scrunch with discomfort.

Conflagria is tied up with Yumi's enemies, she chastises herself, silently. Mikoto can't just ''talk'' about her like that, even if it's the truth.

Her chastisement lasts only as long as one of those veiled threats, though. "What's that mean?!" Mikoto demands, sharp as a knife again. "What's Conflagria doing?!"

<Pose Tracker> Benio Asuna [None] has posed.

What a shame!

Conflagria savors that moment of guilt. It's very nice. Conflagria's smile widens with it, and she pushes off of the wall, step stepping around, without actually coming any ''closer'' to Mikoto--just in a position where it's easier to see.

Mikoto demands again, and it's perfect. Conflagria couldn't have asked for a better opening. And so, "Since you asked~!"

"I've delivered a ''present'' to one of the students at Infinity Institute," Conflagria answers, all sweet and pleasant. "A powerful present indeed. Its magic will surely tempt this student... And then we'll just see what happens if they use it, shall we?"

"You'll like it, I'm sure. It'll give you plenty of chances to use that sword of yours, if all goes well." Her smile turns into a grin. "And there's really nothing you can do about it until then."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto turns, with those steps, listening to the way her heels clip against the path. She doesn't want to let Conflagria get behind her; even if she's confident she's physically ''stronger,'' she can't account for dirty tricks.

Oh, she's sweet, and pleasant, and Mikoto would rather listen to one of those big trucks which spin concrete around and around, which is a ''singularly'' unpleasant sound for someone with her aural acucity.

Mikoto hates hearing Conflagria talk! It's NEVER good!

Now, no less than any prior time. Mikoto's teeth clench, and her nostrils flare; but there's a particular backwards pull of her grimace which shows the wrong teeth, a particular widening of her eyes and tension in her brow. She is not just angry. She is ''trapped,'' unable to stop the horrors set to unfold.

She starts towards Conflagria, a heavy THUMP of a footstep, one shoulder swinging forward in a motion which ''would'' help her arm herself in an instant. "I'll--!" She threatens, she promises, as if there ''is'' something she can do, the violence she has always held --

Until her fingers get caught in Yumi's puzzle, and she looks down at it. Ah. Her hands are... full. Mikoto sinks, heels coming back to the ground. (She's in sensible Ohtori flats, so there's no ''click.'')

Mikoto looks away, and her thwarted frustration is as evident as anything else. "We won't let you," she grumbles, to the alleyway, volume leaving her.

<Pose Tracker> Benio Asuna [None] has posed.

Conflagria has a lot of dirty tricks. And fire, obviously. One can't discount fire.

Conflagria's eyes practically sparkle as she watches Mikoto clench her teeth, as she watches her ''trapped'' and notices her thumping that footstep forward. It could arm her. If she dropped the puzzle. Which would probably be fine... but that she won't do. Clearly.

"Hm hm hm."

"Won't you?" Conflagria asks. "Oh, perhaps you could find it now. Perhaps you could thwart my plans after all. But... you have other priorities at the moment, don't you?"

"A certain... Yu~mi~?"

Conflagria's laughter is musical, in its way. But in a minor key. "No, you're going to spend your time caring for a sick girl, not searching for an object you have no way of finding. Just like you're going to prioritize that bauble over trying to destroy ''me''." Expansively, she shrugs. "But that's all I had to say. By all means, continue your errand, servant girl." Conflagria starts to turn to the side, and begins to walk down the alley.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Leave her alone!" Mikoto yells, despite herself, when Conflagria brings up Yumi's name again.

She scowls deeper, lifting the puzzle to her chest -- unconsciously, to a particular height -- when Conflagria points out her care for the object. "It's important," she protests, but her voice is thin. She tries, at least, to think better than to explain why. It would only be worse if Mikoto told ''Conflagria'' this was a special gift to Yumi, wouldn't it?

A growl rips through her throat, and she yells, after Conflagria: "That's not what I am!" No wonder the princess would be so upset about being called a ''servant'' -- but didn't Mikoto leave her court behind?

She doesn't stop her, though -- and neither does she turn away. She's not going to leave until she's sure Conflagria isn't going to stab her in the back.

Not that she can ever be entirely sure of that.

<Pose Tracker> Benio Asuna [None] has posed.

"Ahahahah. Such loyalty! Would she say the same for you, I wonder? Or are you just a convenience?"

It's important, Mikoto says. And Conflagria knows exactly why. Her eyes linger on the puzzle again for a moment, fury threatening her composure as she thinks of that ''girl'' being given such a gift, ungrateful as she is. Oh, she notices the height of that puzzle--but it only makes her wonder if Mikoto realizes its significance after all.

But when she growls--"Hm hm. Aren't you? What else would you be? It does roll off the tongue better than some options..."

Conflagria grins, and continues along. When she steps past the alley, there is a roar of flame, and she is gone.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"That's not true! Stop it!" Mikoto can't even punctuate her demands with a blade, right now, so they're really just a little ''sad.''

Oh, Mikoto knows a lot of things which she doesn't know at all.

Bereft of comebacks, her only refuge in the face of Conflagria's insults is to echo herself: "Stop it!" She's ''bothered,'' clearly, but her mind is too frazzled to put together a coherent reply.

She hears the fire consuming, though, and with a discomforted noise, Mikoto finally turns and keeps walking to the hospital.

It takes her a little longer, because she keeps looking over her shoulder.

2022-10-11 - When I Grow Up, Will I Be Alone?

2022-10-12T21:30:59Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: who invited Them Them

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: When I Grow Up, Will I Be Alone?'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto and Yumi share their anxieties over growing up, growing apart, and failing to succeed. It just so happens that between the two of them, they have a very, very easy solution.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Yumi Ohzora]], [[Mikoto Minagi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Mitakihara General Hospital
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2022-10-11 - 2016-01-18
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Revolutionary Girl Utena - Pessimism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3NKzl31sNo

Yumi Ohzora missed her classes today. She'd have missed them yesterday, if she'd had them. Luckily, Sunday is Sunday. ..But this is getting somewhat ahead of the matter. The other day, Mikoto contacted Yumi about the missing people out helping in Sanbu; Yumi was feeling particularly badly, and despie her wishes, she couldn't go along.

Things got worse from there, and when Yumi collapsed in the dorm hallway, she was whisked off to a hospital, where she's been since Saturday night. Ordinarily she might count on, say, Hanae to bring her some things...

But not this time.

Fast forward through Sunday, and we reach the next day, Monday, which saw Yumi reach out to Mikoto.

>Hey. Did things go OK out there?

The reason for the belated check-in will come up soon thereafter, and ''now''...

Yumi's brought out in a wheelchair to the garden, to meet a friend. And what a garden it is! Low hedges of pink flowers radiate in a circle, an iron fence around the edges boxing in the low hedges that sproutfrom the tiles. Yumi's chair is a nice bright green, a cheerful thing that does not cheer Yumi up very much. She managed to talk the nurse into letting her friend take her out...

Though it might've been curious that Mikoto was specifically on the list to be allowed. Yumi didn't know her mother paid such close attention to who her friends were, though it's not strange; she's with Mikoto all the time.

And now, Yumi looks out over the sky, the beautiful sunset radiating down...

"This sucks," Yumi sighs.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

> Hands OK!!! Chie and Aoi abd Takumi too!!!! 
> Hanae I mean 
> We put them vCk and they're getting better eidjt now I think!!!!!

Chie and Aoi, at least, seemed fine at school, so it's a reasonable assumption that they haven't been affected grievously; when Mikoto checked in on Infinity, Hanae didn't seem to be suffering, either. Takumi...

Well, there are some problems the Wraith didn't cause. It's complicated, but since his roommate Akira is looking out for him, Mikoto isn't going to worry about crowding him too much. Mikoto thinks Akira Okuzaki is a very capable boy!

As for other problems the Wraiths didn't cause, though --

Mikoto is just fine at handling the weight and heft of a wheelchair; she's gotten better at it, too, over the months. Perhaps that's why it was easy enough to convince the nurse to let her steal her to freedom. ... not that Mikoto could really get Yumi down from here in her current state. ''Mikoto'' has certainly climbed up the side of hospital before, but the windows are all so uniform, and the edges are precarious, and it's not the sort of thing she'd want to do with a passenger who might not be able to hold on.

(Mikoto, you see, still can't fly, despite an increasing number of her friends abandoning her to the ground, ENDO.)

Mikoto wheels her over to one of those benches along the flowers, and sits down beside her. "Yeah," she agrees, kicking a foot out and looking up at the painted sky.

She lets it sit there -- with that concise acknowledgement of Yumi's feelings, rich in meaning but not in verbiage -- for minutes at a stretch. Mikoto is not someone given to words. She exists beside Yumi, looking at the same sky, and feels that says enough.

But Mikoto is ''aware'' of how other girls communicate, at this juncture, even if the world is foreign to her -- so eventually she looks back down, to Yumi and her particlar shade of hair which catches the light so effortlessly. "Yumi, still no good?" She queries -- queries whether Yumi still feels as badly as she did, when she came in here, with her typical brevity.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

>Thanks.

Yumi hasn't seen for herself yet; since Hanae was 'sick' recently from being exposed to the elements out there in the storm, she wasn't allowed in to see Yumi, so she's had to content herself with texting to check in on her at the moment. It's driven Hanae more than a little crazy. But as for Yumi herself...

Yumi mysteriously doesn't get out to the hospital much when she isn't stuck here. For some reason. But even if she got out her broom, she'd probably look pretty ridiculous trying at the moment... (Yumi can! On better days anyway.)

But Yumi's pink gaze stays out over the sky for the moment, her gray hair down instead of braided or drawn back. Mikoto agrees with her, and Yumi's used to her being quiet. It's actually kind of nice, a different kind of quiet than being alone. So Yumi lets it sit there for a little while too. Eventually, though...

"...A little better," Yumi answers, with a shake of her head. "But just a little. Apparently I hurt myself falling. I'm sore all over. And I've been sleeping a lot. ...I don't even like this stupid chair, but I don't feel like I could walk anyway."

"It's so..." She bites her lip, and shakes her head again, though she regrets that a little, reaching up to adjust her glasses. "I'd been doing really well. I just hope I'm not stuck here for that long." A pause. "...They're talking like maybe giving me the single room was a bad idea."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto blinks, head canting to one side. Falling? Falling shouldn't hurt someone ''that'' much, she thinks. Then she realises the obvious problem -- the obvious problem from ''Mikoto's'' perspective, anyway -- "Yumi never learned how to fall?" She brightens, with a smile. "That's easy! I can show you! Then Yumi won't need someone watching!"

... she's intuited ''some'' things, anyway.

Her hands grasp her knees, as her legs swing, back and forth, under the seat. (She's short, so it's not too difficult.) "'Course Yumi's sleeping," she points out, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Hospital sucks, but you're not allowed to fight your way out," in just the way Mikoto never did, and Yumi never had to intervene to stop, "so I dunno what else you're supposed to do here. And Tama sleeps all the time! It's good influence!" Where Mikoto got the idea of a ''good influence'' (and the converse) is a matter we will leave aside at the nonce.

She looks up at the sky, with a thoughtful noise, up from her throat through to her teeth. Her lips purse with the noise; her brow crinkles, and so does her nose. "Hey, Yumi," she starts, eventually. "Did something happen?" If she was doing good before this... why ''did'' she suddenly get worse, anyway?

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Ah, yeah..." Yumi smiles at Mikoto trying to help. It is an obvious solution. "Sure. That might help. ...But sometimes I just black out and ''then'' fall, so I can't really do it..." But she doesn't want to shut Mikoto down. And sometimes she ''can'' control the fall a little. So it might help!

Yumi can't so much swing around, but she enjoys the chance to slouch a little. The nurse might tell her to keep better posture so she can breathe better, but Mikoto will let her slack off!! Right? "...That's true," she admits, and actually does smile a little more cheerfully at the talk of Tama. "That's true, she does, so it's not so bad if I do, right? ...She's around, you know. She came to visit. She's just hiding because the hospital doesn't allow cats."

When Mikoto asks the quesion, Yumi looks sad--and then kind of upset. "''Nothing''," she says. "Nothing at all. I don't know why. I mean, winter's hard on me anyway, I get sick sometimes, but..."

"Mm. And they won't let Hanae come see me so I hardly have any of my stuff. Like the puzzle Mother gave me, I was hoping I could work on it while I was here..."

"I mean, I've been having some weird dreams, but I think that's part of the magic. So I can't think of anything that would've done it..."

"Just my stupid body again."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto makes a baffled little noise at the back of her throat when Yumi talks about blacking out and falling, because -- well, falling in ''Mikoto's'' universe is a matter of missing a foothold. Something external, not something internal. "Oh," she says, "okay!" It's not Mikoto's experience, but she accepts it without interrogation, anyway.

And of course, since this isn't Mikoto's native experience, she doesn't even ''think'' about Yumi's posture. She herself slouches forward, face all scrunching up with a dissatisfied grunt, when Yumi mentions that they don't allow cats in hospital. Mikoto doesn't have to say a single word to communicate her disapproval of ''that.''

She straightens up, though -- head all pulling up, and then the rest of her -- when Yumi grows upset. Instantly Mikoto is oriented on her, and her hands tug forward to her lap, where they fold over each other. "Weird dreams," she echoes her, frowning.

Mikoto is quiet, for a time.

"... want me to go get it?" She asks, finally. And clarifies, a breath later: "Yumi's puzzle."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

It's dfferent! But Yumi notices that Mikoto just accepts it, as always, and that's nice. Some people would make a big deal out of it, or else argue, or... any number of other things. But Mikoto doesn't do that. It's... nice.

Mikoto sure doesn't have to. But Tama is a ''magic'' cat so it's surely fine.

Mikoto's offer comes as--it isn't a surprise, Yumi finds. She thinks she's going to be surprised, but then when it comes time to notice whether she's surprised, she's not. But she is grateful. "Not right now," she clarifies, "But I'd appreciate that. They won't let Hana-chan come see me..." She looks bummed about that, obviously. "I haven't gotten to talk to her as much since I got the single, with... all the magical stuff going on. Since I can't tell her about this stuff."

She looks down. "...Well, anyway. How are things out there?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto frowns. "So how come I can?" She insists, regardless. Visit, presumably, given she's here and Hanae isn't. "That's not fair. I can --" Mikoto pauses, and leaaans to one side, to peer out at the side of the roof, and how far down it is. "... uh, I better not sneak Hanae in," she corrects herself, the realisation hitting her tone and expression like a brick, lending them a leaden sense of completely obvious weight. "I don't think she'd take it too good."

Unless she blindfolded her! Could she blindfold her? Mikoto entertains the notion and then discards it, assuming that everyone's inner ears are as sensitive as hers, and would certainly notice the motion of climbing even if they couldn't see.

Mikoto shrugs, legs swinging again. "It's okay! Chie and Aoi are back at school, and Takumi's okay, too... I checked on Hanae, and she's doing good. Sleeping lots. I think that's normal. I did, anyway." And there's something in that inclusion -- ''how'' Mikoto knows what's normal after being attacked by Wraiths -- which paints a wider picture than the one she presents on the face of it.

But now she's thinking of sleeping, Mikoto's head tilts, braids all tumbling down her cheek. (Braids, and a set of colourful glass beads; she's still fond of clipping Nori's gift in her hair. It's not quite Ohtori uniform standard, but the Ohtori uniform has always been eminently customisable.) "Umm... maybe Yumi should room with Hanae again?" Mikoto asks, finally. "I sleep better when Mai's there, too. At least," her nose wrinkles, as her face pinches in thought, "I think I do."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"They think Hana-chan was sick recently," Yumi explains. "So since you weren't, you can visit. But if they let sick people visit, they might make me worse. That's the idea, anyway. And you and I know she wasn't really, but..." But 'they' don't. "Though I'm not entirely clear what ''did'' happen..."

Pause. "Uhhhhhhh. Yeah. Or she'd take it ''real'' good and get hurt..." Hanae would probably love climbing a whole wall. But she's not Mikoto. At all. She's a swimmer!

But the others are back... Hmm. "Yeah," Yumi answers. "If that's normal, then good. I'll get to see her soon I hope anyway." A pause. It does paint a bigger picture. "You're sure you're OK, too?" Yumi says. "I wish I could've helped..."

Braids!! Beads!! "...You think?" Yumi wonders. Mostly about the second part. But, "...Mm, maybe... I do miss having her around. But it's also like... I'm not going to be able to room with her forever, you know...? And I don't know if she..."

"I mean, it's gotta get down on you to have to watch out for your roommate all the time, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto grins, when Yumi brings up what Hanae might feel about it, but -- hopefully -- Mikoto has discarded the idea of carrying her straight up the walls of Mitkakihara. Hopefully.

As she listens, though, her cheer fades; Yumi's last question gets an answer first, in the way Mikoto looks away, to her other side. "Yeah," she agrees, with a light frown. "I never think of that." Thought of that, she meant, surely. Mikoto has always had a casual grasp of Japanese at best. What would it say, if it were any other kind of slip?

(Mai is going to university; Mai has her whole life ahead of her. Mai can't stay with her when she does that, Mikoto's sure. She asked if she would be a burden, when she came here. But...)

Instead, she comes to what happened, with a little shake of her head. "There was Wraiths attacking Sanbu Village," Mikoto explains, frank as ever. "These ones made it so they was scared of changing and, couldn't let go." Her words hitch, just so, with an inward twitch of her fingers.

(On the other side of the bench rests the black case she carries with her everywhere. Mikoto isn't turned towards it, but she knows it's there; it's in the frame, from where Yumi's looking.)

"I'm..." Mikoto starts, still not quite so upbeat, smile wavering. "I'm okay," she settles on, a moment later, smiling to Yumi again. Somehow, even though she's trying to reassure her, the expression is so, so SAD, all written in the arc of her brow, the press of her lips. "But I can't fight being comfortable."

How much, how heavy, how terrible that admission, from someone made to defeat any enemy, to go any length for victory.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Probably.

Never... think of that. Ongoing. No, Yumi catches it all right. She is not so sure that's what she means, but Yumi herself wonders if it was insensitive to say that consider Mikoto and Mai anyway. So she doesn't press. Maybe she should, but she doesn't.

"Oh... So, the monsters Eri fights." She knows that much, anyway. "...Scared of change, huh...?"

Yumi notices that twitching of Mikoto's fingers, and she's not so upbeat, so Yumi wonders if she brought her down, but on the other hand... It's a sad, sad expression already.

Yumi doesn't look at the case. It's there, of course. But why would she look at him?

"...It's hard," Yumi agrees, reaching out towards Mikoto's hand with her own. "I don't know how good at it I'd be, either... I don't like how things are, but I'm scared that they could be worse. This is... comfortable, I guess, yeah. I'm used to it."

"...If I..." She falters. "...''When'' I grow up," she restarts, "...Everything will be different. I'll have to get ready to take over the family... probably get married... I dunno if I'll have time for everyone. I don't know what I'll do about my other duties, with the Staff. So..."

"I'm not sure I can fight being comfortable either," she admits. "...If I could have something that I knew would last, I..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto reaches out, to take Yumi's hand. It's not ''difficult,'' to make contact with Mikoto; she is an endless engine of physical affection. Her hands are more calloused than Yumi's; a little darker, a little pinker, from all her time in the sun. It almost obscures the pale stock she comes from, entirely too fine and well-bred.

"Yeah," she affirms, downcast. "It's Eri's monsters. But, they're not like Witches at all. There's so many... but we didn't go nowhere strange. And all the Wraiths acted the same, so I don't think there's stuff like Familiars any more. That's how it's different." Mikoto leaves the precise difference to implication; she knows Yumi's familiar with how Familiars made the equation so horrific, and she knows Mikoto's involvement with them, too. "They don't kill people, neither. They just..." She frowns, as she tries to find the words, and settles on: "... they're heavy. And there's so many."

She squeezes Yumi's hand -- but gently, gently. She knows, personally, how easy it is to break. "It's all decided, right..?" She surmises, at length. "It was for me, too... I don't know what I'll do now I'm... doing something different. I guess when I help my Lord Brother, he'll have to figure it out too..." Mikoto wonders whether he could help her figure it out, once he's out here in Tokyo with everyone else.

She doesn't entirely notice herself wondering.

"I wanted to learn how to help cats, but you gotta do real good at science and maths to do that," Mikoto sighs, with a light scowl. "Since it's medicine for animals. But I'm not smart like Honoka or Fuu or Setsuna," Meioh, not Higashi, because one of those girls is much closer to Mikoto in her internal classification, "so even now I'm trying more, I keep failing tests and stuff. But even if I could... I'd probably have to leave Mai, and..."

Mikoto sniffles, her other hand coming up to rub at her eyes. "... I guess Mai's leaving anyway... 'cause she's going to university, too... so I'll see her as much as I see Chitose now, I, I guess... b-but she's working real hard, so... so, I... I can't..." It didn't take a Wraith, to get Mikoto to say such a thing.

It's already in her heart.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi's hands are pale on a good day, thin and bony. There's a little bandage on the back of this one. It's much easier to tell where she comes from.

No Labyrinth, no Familiars. That's good. Yumi hasn't pressed Eri for a ''lot'' of details on Wraiths--she never did do much hunting with her--so learning a little more is... good. "Heavy. I see."

But Mikoto... she doesn't know. Her brother doesn't know. That gentle squeeze of Yumi's hand makes Yumi look over at Mikoto for a moment. She's 'doing something different', meaning she's living her own life. But what does that mean...?

Yumi wonders for just a moment if it was cruel to free her without giving her more of a path. ...But it's not her place to tell her what to do, right?

"...Yeah. It's a hard job. And..."

Yumi curls her fingers into Mikoto's. "Oh..."

It hurts, to see her like this. But there's something she can do. "I don't know," Yumi admits. "I can't speak for her. I don't really even know her. But..."

She pulls at Mikoto, to get her to look back up. "...I won't leave you behind. Okay? I can't speak for anyone else, but if I'm alive, I'll find a place for you, okay? No matter what happens. So if you're ever not sure what to do... You can stay with me until you figure it out. Okay? I promise."

"...Have you talked to her about it?" Yumi wonders. "It's hard to talk about, I bet."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

With that little tug at her hand, Mikoto's gaze turns up, to Yumi's, again. All shiny from a thin lining of tears, it just brings out how strangely gold they are -- too bright, too gold. They catch all the light of the sunset, entirely too capable of catching light, of seeing in dark places.

If Mikoto were better -- if she wasn't thinking so much of her dear brother, if she weren't recovering from how comfortable the weight of torpor really ''was,'' if she didn't have the weight of forgotten and unrelinquished promises on her back -- would she see, then, the mistake she's repeating, once and once and once again? She ''has'' been trying; she's made so many improvements, over these five tender months.

But she can't let go.

She can't let go.

"Yumi," Mikoto sniffles, and her name wavers with the weight of being left behind. "Yumi, I can come with you? I really won't be a burden? I... I can do a lot of things..." ... very few of which are of use to a company. At least, not any use the corporate world would admit.

She admits, and her heart will shatter: "I don't wanna be alone..."

Mikoto has always been such a loyal girl. What can she do, then, now her loyalties are all disrupted? How can she exist?

"... but, I'm scared if I say that... Mai will get scared and go away. I don't want Mai to go away. But Mai's going away anyway. Mai's gonna pass exams and go to university and grow up and... and Mai can be a normal girl, and... it's good, right?" Mikoto asks, Mikoto insists, lip wobbling. "Mai wouldn't do if it she didn't want to... and... and I can't ask Mai to take care of me all the time, right? 'Cause roommates get tired of it, right?" Tired of her.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

If ''Yumi'' were better--if she were thinking straight, instead of muddled by loneliness and pain--she would see that this is the wrong move. That it's not best for Mikoto, even if it seems kindest. ...But would it be her place anyway?

Too bright, too gold. But that's OK.

"Mm-hm," Yumi answers. "Just... if you can't figure out where else to go, you can come with me, and we'll figure it out." A pause. "No, you wouldn't be a burden. You help me out a lot."

"So..." It's a big 'if', to Yumi's mind, but, "If I'm around, you don't have to be alone."

Her fear, though. Yumi... can get that. "...Then if you're scared she'll go away, and you think she'll go away anyway, then there's no reason not to talk to her, right? If it's the same either way if you don't."

But she can't account for the other. The other one... "Yeah, though," Yumi says. "We can't ask them to take care of us forever. We have to figure out our own way. It's good, for them to figure out their lives... we just have to do the same, OK? We can both figure it out."

And if Mikoto doesn't? If she never can?

...Well, Yumi will be in charge of her family eventually, right? She can ''make'' a place for her, if she has to.

"You don't have to be afraid. But you really should talk to her, OK?" ...Not that she's taking her own advice, at the moment.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

What isn't best for Mikoto is often very, ''very'' kind.

"Yumi!" She exclaims, with love and relief, when she invites her along. She smiles, in that lability so like her, and doesn't think for a moment on the 'if'. "Yumi's not alone, neither! We can grow up together!" And she doesn't have to go out on her own, and she doesn't have to figure it out herself, and --

"It's a relief," she adds, smiling, "'cause we know how it works. I still don't get a lot of Tokyo stuff..." As opposed to traditional living, perhaps; Mikoto has always conflated modern life and Tokyo together.

It's nice not to have to explain all those things.

She quiets, though, as she thinks about Mai. "Yumi's right," Mikoto sighs, glancing away. "It's just hard... things are good now, and I don't wanna mess it up. Mai's got lots of worries already... Mai worries lots. Mai cares by worrying. It's hard, 'cause I don't want Mai to worry. I want Mai to smile. But, I... I'll try, Yumi. If you really think it's a good idea."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Hmmm. That would mean Yumi would have someone to count on too, wouldn't it? Yumi hadn't thought of it that way. At least, she's pretty sure she didn't. Having someone to take care of isn't so bad, though. Right?

Nevermind that Yumi is supposed to be mostly receiving care at the moment. It's really a good thing that her mother realized she was friends with Mikoto and added her to the list. It was really thoughtful of her...

"Right," Yumi says, and smiles a little. "...It's OK. You'll get it." Yumi understands traditional living ''and'' Tokyo, so she can help, right?

But Mai... Well. Maybe Yumi should talk to Mai after all. But still, "Right. You don't want to ruin what you have. But she should know how you feel. It's her decision too, right? You wouldn't want her to make it without all the information she could get." 'If she really thinks it's a good idea'....

Why does Yumi have a bad feeling? ...No, it's probably just that she's feeling bad. It's probably nothing.

"You should tell the people who are important to you how you feel, what you think."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Yumi's mother, it seems, has thought of everything -- and Mikoto doesn't think of Yumi's mother.

Just so.

Yumi assures Mikoto that she'll get it, though -- and helps her get it, here and now. "I... I want to," Mikoto says, finally, cheeks colouring as she squeezes Yumi's hand. "I really love Mai. Really, really!" She repeats herself, to try and communicate why that's different to everyone ''else'' she loves, given how liberally she uses the word. "But, I'm scared. What if I'm just someone Mai's taking care of..? And, if I say stuff like that, Mai might just run away..."

Mikoto wants to respect Mai's wishes and her feelings; she's been trying very hard. She's even made herself sleep in her own bed, most of the time, because she doesn't want Mai to feel weird. Maybe Mai feels differently, after all, and it's not good for Mikoto to do things just because they're normal to Mikoto. Cats curl up together when they nap, but people don't.

Be fair: Mikoto came into this discussion shockingly late in life. It simply wasn't a priority for her, growing up. It took Eri, to point it out, despite the presumptions of Minagi.

And she's still presuming, really, even now she's worrying about what Mai thinks. She's still presuming, because she hasn't ''asked'' her. Mikoto supposes it makes sense -- that Eri and Yumi's advice would align, in some ways. They're her friends; they want to make her better.

Mikoto swallows, and looks back, to Yumi. "I... I'll try to tell her again," she insists, and doesn't sound terribly brave about it. "I will." And will Mai hurt herself on the kitchen again, this time? Can Mikoto do that to her?

Can she live with herself if she doesn't?

In Mikoto's mind, she still frames it as whose wishes matter ''more.''

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

She's trying! She is doing her best. And she notices the way Mikoto's cheeks color, and reflects on what she could say. ...Given how it goes, Yumi ''doesn't'' share that she finds herself a little jealous. She doesn't really think on it much after that. 'Just' someone Mai's taking care of...

"That's the worst," Yumi says quietly. "But you have to know, right?"

Is that how it is? Could she ask ''her'', if that's how it was? They always seemed like good friends, but...

No, Mikoto doesn't sound brave about this. She can't fight 'being comfortable.' "You can do it," Yumi assures Mikoto. "Even though it's hard, I know you can. You've done a lot of hard things."

"...It reminds me of..." A little shakes of her head. "Well, I shouldn't go into that, probably."

She sits up a little straighter at that. It was getting a little harder to breathe. "...Can you take me a little further out?" Yumi asks. "I... want to see the city."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Mm," Mikoto hums assent, nodding, to Yumi. "I have." Mikoto can do very, very hard things, so maybe this hard thing isn't so different, even though it feels SO different.

She blinks, and tilts her head, as Yumi shakes her head. "Oh... okay," she accepts her not going into it, though there's clear concern in her eyes.

Mikoto nods, though, and hops up. "Yeah! Let me help!" She volunteers, too easily; after all, Eri doesn't need her help hunting in this better world, and she can't fight Wraiths anyway. And Mai's university entrance exams are too complicated for Mikoto to understand, with grades like hers, so all she can really do is remind her it's time to eat. But -- but Mikoto ''wants'' to be helpful, ''wants'' to help the people she loves, wants to be useful and effective and needed.

She wants this, of course, because she doesn't want to be alone.

Mikoto takes care, despite her enthusiasm, in wheeling Yumi's chair closer to the edge of the hospital rooftop; she's careful, with Yumi. (She still feels a little guilt, for hurting her wrist so badly, back then.) "It's big, right?" She asks, as Tokyo stretches out beneath them. "I never really understood taking it over... but I wasn't raised to lead, so I guess I wouldn't get it. I hope my Lord Brother can find something good to do, when I help him get free, too... probably something handling people, I guess. I guess politics wouldn't be a lie if I can convince my family to give up their claim on Japan, so... maybe that? That's leading lots of people all at once. But maybe my Lord Brother wouldn't like that, since it was, funny, how people thought the Emperor was the Emperor and the Prime Minister mattered and stuff..." Would it still be a joke if the Minagis released their stranglehold on the country? Mikoto doesn't know.

Mikoto sighs, hands sagging over the handles of the wheelchair to rest on Yumi's shoulders, instead. "It's hard to imagine that stuff," her Lord Brother's redemption?, "but Yumi gets it, right?" And surely, she's talking about how much she wants to save her brother from Dark Fall.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yes! It's a thing she can do! But... Yumi notices the concern, and reconsiders. ...But not just yet. She doesn't want to talk over Mikoto yet. And she'd probably stop all over if Yumi started mentioning something else...

"Okay," Yumi says a little more quietly, when she wants to let her help. And Yumi does appreciate that Mikoto is careful; she still resents being in this position, but that's not Mikoto's fault... and she rarely even thinks about how Mikoto hurt her back then.

Taking over Tokyo...

"I..." Yumi hms. "...I would've said a while ago that I didn't get it at all. But that's not really true." She pauses. Mikoto's Lord Brother... Yumi doesn't have anything good to say about him. But if he gets 'free', if he decides not to hurt the world, wouldn't he need something to do? ...She's still quiet when she says,

"If he could help people like that it'd be really good," Yumi settles on. "But maybe it'd be better to start smaller."

It's hard to think about, to imagine... That's true. But...

"Yeah, I get it," Yumi says, and doesn't clarify which one ''she'' means. "But..."

"I was thinking about... how I've been having these weird dreams, lately. When you looked all concerned at me, I realized you would worry if I didn't tell you. So that's all it is. But they're nothing bad."

"I mean, I can tell in the dreams... there's these weird voices, but I know they're trying to... cheer me on, kind of. So it's not bad."

She brings up a hand to rest on Mikoto's hand on her shoulder. "..It's... It's okay..." She's been getting quieter; she winces a little, as she leans back. "Nn..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A3gO4Oy7iA Sefiros - Everything = Nothing

"Yeah," Mikoto agrees, vaguely. "I guess starting smaller is better."

Perhaps even just starting with one person...

And... her dreams, again.

Mikoto's hand squeezes Yumi's shoulder, gently. "Yumi? Yumi, you okay?" She prompts, with clear concern. "We can go back if you gotta. It's okay. I'll come back again. I'll bring Yumi's stuff, too!" If they're too worried to let Hanae in, they must be willing to let Mikoto in. Mikoto rarely gets sick, after all.

"It's okay," she repeats, again. "And it's okay if the dreams are weird, even if they're not bad. I,"

The mora hang there, wa-ta-shi, all too polite for her rough-and-tumble exterior. Mikoto's gaze lifts, from Yumi, to the encroaching purple of the night sky. It stops, but it never meant to stop.

She takes a breath.

"I think some of my dreams are like that... I don't really remember, but sometimes when I wake up, it's, nostalgic. And sometimes I don't feel like I was sleeping good at all, even though I went to bed sleepy... um, I don't really think about it."

Mikoto smiles, because it is so easy, for Mikoto to smile. "But it's okay, Yumi. Dreams are just stories your brain makes up to figure out what's going on. It's still in your head, so you'll get it, even if the dreams don't make sense." And that might have been useful -- even factual -- advice, for a normal girl, at a normal time.

Certainly, it sounds legitimate.

"I bet Tama has dreams like that all the time! 'Cause Tama's the boss, and people always gave her fish!" Mikoto says, and she is bright as a star, leaning forward to be able to talk to Yumi better. "Except I guess people don't bring her fish too much no more... I better get Tama another fish soon." With a thoughtful noise, a master plan comes to Mikoto, all out of the blue. "Hey, Yumi, you wanna have another Tama nap? I bet she'd feel better being good influence!"

This way, it's not about Yumi ''having'' to go back inside. Mikoto is so smart!

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"I-I'm..." It stings, that it hurts. It's worse because of it, because she's going to have to go back. Because it means she probably isn't going home today. But before she can dwell too much, Mikoto repeats herself. It's okay, she says. And she'll bring her stuff...

"Okay," Yumi answers softly. And there, he sky...

"...Yeah," Yumi says. "It's a little like that."

It is very easy for Mikoto to smile. It's nice, in the moment. "To figure out what's going on... OK," she says. "These... These help me figure things out, so..."

But bringing up Tama--Yumi sees, after a few moments, what Mikoto is doing. Not at first--because at first she's not doing it. But when that bright plan comes up, Yumi gets it. And it's so ''nice''.

"Yeah. You should get her some more fish." She bites her lip, and if she's crying, she's trying to hide it. "...I think..." Another sting. "Yeah. A nap is a good idea."

"Come back tomorrow, okay...?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto, being fair, isn't the sort of person who engages in master plans very often, so it's entirely reasonable Yumi would recognise it so quickly. But she's trying, very hard. She can think for herself, and the thoughts she's chosen to have are about how to get Yumi to be okay taking care of herself.

Mikoto reaches out, towards Yumi's face, before she realises that she's trying to ''hide'' her own tears; her fingers curl, and she straightens up, so she's looking ahead of Yumi instead of at her sidelong. She steps back over to the bench, in fact, to shrug Miroku back onto her shoulder -- she's back in an instant, hands on the handles of her wheelchair.

"Mm," she agrees, she encourages. "Naps are good!" She pulls Yumi back from the edge -- of the hospital roof -- and redirects her back, towards the door, to go inside.

"I will," she assures her, as they head back in. "Right after school. I promise."

And Mikoto has always taken promises very, very seriously.

Even the ones she can't remember.

2022-10-11 - When I Grow Up, Will I Be Alone?

2022-10-12T08:18:42Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: mikoto minagi is a very good friend

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: When I Grow Up, Will I Be Alone?'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto and Yumi share their anxieties over growing up, growing apart, and failing to succeed. It just so happens that between the two of them them, they have a very, very easy solution.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Yumi Ohzora]], [[Mikoto Minagi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Mitakihara General Hospital
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2022-10-11 - 2016-01-18
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Revolutionary Girl Utena - Pessimism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3NKzl31sNo

Yumi Ohzora missed her classes today. She'd have missed them yesterday, if she'd had them. Luckily, Sunday is Sunday. ..But this is getting somewhat ahead of the matter. The other day, Mikoto contacted Yumi about the missing people out helping in Sanbu; Yumi was feeling particularly badly, and despie her wishes, she couldn't go along.

Things got worse from there, and when Yumi collapsed in the dorm hallway, she was whisked off to a hospital, where she's been since Saturday night. Ordinarily she might count on, say, Hanae to bring her some things...

But not this time.

Fast forward through Sunday, and we reach the next day, Monday, which saw Yumi reach out to Mikoto.

>Hey. Did things go OK out there?

The reason for the belated check-in will come up soon thereafter, and ''now''...

Yumi's brought out in a wheelchair to the garden, to meet a friend. And what a garden it is! Low hedges of pink flowers radiate in a circle, an iron fence around the edges boxing in the low hedges that sproutfrom the tiles. Yumi's chair is a nice bright green, a cheerful thing that does not cheer Yumi up very much. She managed to talk the nurse into letting her friend take her out...

Though it might've been curious that Mikoto was specifically on the list to be allowed. Yumi didn't know her mother paid such close attention to who her friends were, though it's not strange; she's with Mikoto all the time.

And now, Yumi looks out over the sky, the beautiful sunset radiating down...

"This sucks," Yumi sighs.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

> Hands OK!!! Chie and Aoi abd Takumi too!!!! 
> Hanae I mean 
> We put them vCk and they're getting better eidjt now I think!!!!!

Chie and Aoi, at least, seemed fine at school, so it's a reasonable assumption that they haven't been affected grievously; when Mikoto checked in on Infinity, Hanae didn't seem to be suffering, either. Takumi...

Well, there are some problems the Wraith didn't cause. It's complicated, but since his roommate Akira is looking out for him, Mikoto isn't going to worry about crowding him too much. Mikoto thinks Akira Okuzaki is a very capable boy!

As for other problems the Wraiths didn't cause, though --

Mikoto is just fine at handling the weight and heft of a wheelchair; she's gotten better at it, too, over the months. Perhaps that's why it was easy enough to convince the nurse to let her steal her to freedom. ... not that Mikoto could really get Yumi down from here in her current state. ''Mikoto'' has certainly climbed up the side of hospital before, but the windows are all so uniform, and the edges are precarious, and it's not the sort of thing she'd want to do with a passenger who might not be able to hold on.

(Mikoto, you see, still can't fly, despite an increasing number of her friends abandoning her to the ground, ENDO.)

Mikoto wheels her over to one of those benches along the flowers, and sits down beside her. "Yeah," she agrees, kicking a foot out and looking up at the painted sky.

She lets it sit there -- with that concise acknowledgement of Yumi's feelings, rich in meaning but not in verbiage -- for minutes at a stretch. Mikoto is not someone given to words. She exists beside Yumi, looking at the same sky, and feels that says enough.

But Mikoto is ''aware'' of how other girls communicate, at this juncture, even if the world is foreign to her -- so eventually she looks back down, to Yumi and her particlar shade of hair which catches the light so effortlessly. "Yumi, still no good?" She queries -- queries whether Yumi still feels as badly as she did, when she came in here, with her typical brevity.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

>Thanks.

Yumi hasn't seen for herself yet; since Hanae was 'sick' recently from being exposed to the elements out there in the storm, she wasn't allowed in to see Yumi, so she's had to content herself with texting to check in on her at the moment. It's driven Hanae more than a little crazy. But as for Yumi herself...

Yumi mysteriously doesn't get out to the hospital much when she isn't stuck here. For some reason. But even if she got out her broom, she'd probably look pretty ridiculous trying at the moment... (Yumi can! On better days anyway.)

But Yumi's pink gaze stays out over the sky for the moment, her gray hair down instead of braided or drawn back. Mikoto agrees with her, and Yumi's used to her being quiet. It's actually kind of nice, a different kind of quiet than being alone. So Yumi lets it sit there for a little while too. Eventually, though...

"...A little better," Yumi answers, with a shake of her head. "But just a little. Apparently I hurt myself falling. I'm sore all over. And I've been sleeping a lot. ...I don't even like this stupid chair, but I don't feel like I could walk anyway."

"It's so..." She bites her lip, and shakes her head again, though she regrets that a little, reaching up to adjust her glasses. "I'd been doing really well. I just hope I'm not stuck here for that long." A pause. "...They're talking like maybe giving me the single room was a bad idea."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto blinks, head canting to one side. Falling? Falling shouldn't hurt someone ''that'' much, she thinks. Then she realises the obvious problem -- the obvious problem from ''Mikoto's'' perspective, anyway -- "Yumi never learned how to fall?" She brightens, with a smile. "That's easy! I can show you! Then Yumi won't need someone watching!"

... she's intuited ''some'' things, anyway.

Her hands grasp her knees, as her legs swing, back and forth, under the seat. (She's short, so it's not too difficult.) "'Course Yumi's sleeping," she points out, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Hospital sucks, but you're not allowed to fight your way out," in just the way Mikoto never did, and Yumi never had to intervene to stop, "so I dunno what else you're supposed to do here. And Tama sleeps all the time! It's good influence!" Where Mikoto got the idea of a ''good influence'' (and the converse) is a matter we will leave aside at the nonce.

She looks up at the sky, with a thoughtful noise, up from her throat through to her teeth. Her lips purse with the noise; her brow crinkles, and so does her nose. "Hey, Yumi," she starts, eventually. "Did something happen?" If she was doing good before this... why ''did'' she suddenly get worse, anyway?

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Ah, yeah..." Yumi smiles at Mikoto trying to help. It is an obvious solution. "Sure. That might help. ...But sometimes I just black out and ''then'' fall, so I can't really do it..." But she doesn't want to shut Mikoto down. And sometimes she ''can'' control the fall a little. So it might help!

Yumi can't so much swing around, but she enjoys the chance to slouch a little. The nurse might tell her to keep better posture so she can breathe better, but Mikoto will let her slack off!! Right? "...That's true," she admits, and actually does smile a little more cheerfully at the talk of Tama. "That's true, she does, so it's not so bad if I do, right? ...She's around, you know. She came to visit. She's just hiding because the hospital doesn't allow cats."

When Mikoto asks the quesion, Yumi looks sad--and then kind of upset. "''Nothing''," she says. "Nothing at all. I don't know why. I mean, winter's hard on me anyway, I get sick sometimes, but..."

"Mm. And they won't let Hanae come see me so I hardly have any of my stuff. Like the puzzle Mother gave me, I was hoping I could work on it while I was here..."

"I mean, I've been having some weird dreams, but I think that's part of the magic. So I can't think of anything that would've done it..."

"Just my stupid body again."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto makes a baffled little noise at the back of her throat when Yumi talks about blacking out and falling, because -- well, falling in ''Mikoto's'' universe is a matter of missing a foothold. Something external, not something internal. "Oh," she says, "okay!" It's not Mikoto's experience, but she accepts it without interrogation, anyway.

And of course, since this isn't Mikoto's native experience, she doesn't even ''think'' about Yumi's posture. She herself slouches forward, face all scrunching up with a dissatisfied grunt, when Yumi mentions that they don't allow cats in hospital. Mikoto doesn't have to say a single word to communicate her disapproval of ''that.''

She straightens up, though -- head all pulling up, and then the rest of her -- when Yumi grows upset. Instantly Mikoto is oriented on her, and her hands tug forward to her lap, where they fold over each other. "Weird dreams," she echoes her, frowning.

Mikoto is quiet, for a time.

"... want me to go get it?" She asks, finally. And clarifies, a breath later: "Yumi's puzzle."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

It's dfferent! But Yumi notices that Mikoto just accepts it, as always, and that's nice. Some people would make a big deal out of it, or else argue, or... any number of other things. But Mikoto doesn't do that. It's... nice.

Mikoto sure doesn't have to. But Tama is a ''magic'' cat so it's surely fine.

Mikoto's offer comes as--it isn't a surprise, Yumi finds. She thinks she's going to be surprised, but then when it comes time to notice whether she's surprised, she's not. But she is grateful. "Not right now," she clarifies, "But I'd appreciate that. They won't let Hana-chan come see me..." She looks bummed about that, obviously. "I haven't gotten to talk to her as much since I got the single, with... all the magical stuff going on. Since I can't tell her about this stuff."

She looks down. "...Well, anyway. How are things out there?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto frowns. "So how come I can?" She insists, regardless. Visit, presumably, given she's here and Hanae isn't. "That's not fair. I can --" Mikoto pauses, and leaaans to one side, to peer out at the side of the roof, and how far down it is. "... uh, I better not sneak Hanae in," she corrects herself, the realisation hitting her tone and expression like a brick, lending them a leaden sense of completely obvious weight. "I don't think she'd take it too good."

Unless she blindfolded her! Could she blindfold her? Mikoto entertains the notion and then discards it, assuming that everyone's inner ears are as sensitive as hers, and would certainly notice the motion of climbing even if they couldn't see.

Mikoto shrugs, legs swinging again. "It's okay! Chie and Aoi are back at school, and Takumi's okay, too... I checked on Hanae, and she's doing good. Sleeping lots. I think that's normal. I did, anyway." And there's something in that inclusion -- ''how'' Mikoto knows what's normal after being attacked by Wraiths -- which paints a wider picture than the one she presents on the face of it.

But now she's thinking of sleeping, Mikoto's head tilts, braids all tumbling down her cheek. (Braids, and a set of colourful glass beads; she's still fond of clipping Nori's gift in her hair. It's not quite Ohtori uniform standard, but the Ohtori uniform has always been eminently customisable.) "Umm... maybe Yumi should room with Hanae again?" Mikoto asks, finally. "I sleep better when Mai's there, too. At least," her nose wrinkles, as her face pinches in thought, "I think I do."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"They think Hana-chan was sick recently," Yumi explains. "So since you weren't, you can visit. But if they let sick people visit, they might make me worse. That's the idea, anyway. And you and I know she wasn't really, but..." But 'they' don't. "Though I'm not entirely clear what ''did'' happen..."

Pause. "Uhhhhhhh. Yeah. Or she'd take it ''real'' good and get hurt..." Hanae would probably love climbing a whole wall. But she's not Mikoto. At all. She's a swimmer!

But the others are back... Hmm. "Yeah," Yumi answers. "If that's normal, then good. I'll get to see her soon I hope anyway." A pause. It does paint a bigger picture. "You're sure you're OK, too?" Yumi says. "I wish I could've helped..."

Braids!! Beads!! "...You think?" Yumi wonders. Mostly about the second part. But, "...Mm, maybe... I do miss having her around. But it's also like... I'm not going to be able to room with her forever, you know...? And I don't know if she..."

"I mean, it's gotta get down on you to have to watch out for your roommate all the time, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto grins, when Yumi brings up what Hanae might feel about it, but -- hopefully -- Mikoto has discarded the idea of carrying her straight up the walls of Mitkakihara. Hopefully.

As she listens, though, her cheer fades; Yumi's last question gets an answer first, in the way Mikoto looks away, to her other side. "Yeah," she agrees, with a light frown. "I never think of that." Thought of that, she meant, surely. Mikoto has always had a casual grasp of Japanese at best. What would it say, if it were any other kind of slip?

(Mai is going to university; Mai has her whole life ahead of her. Mai can't stay with her when she does that, Mikoto's sure. She asked if she would be a burden, when she came here. But...)

Instead, she comes to what happened, with a little shake of her head. "There was Wraiths attacking Sanbu Village," Mikoto explains, frank as ever. "These ones made it so they was scared of changing and, couldn't let go." Her words hitch, just so, with an inward twitch of her fingers.

(On the other side of the bench rests the black case she carries with her everywhere. Mikoto isn't turned towards it, but she knows it's there; it's in the frame, from where Yumi's looking.)

"I'm..." Mikoto starts, still not quite so upbeat, smile wavering. "I'm okay," she settles on, a moment later, smiling to Yumi again. Somehow, even though she's trying to reassure her, the expression is so, so SAD, all written in the arc of her brow, the press of her lips. "But I can't fight being comfortable."

How much, how heavy, how terrible that admission, from someone made to defeat any enemy, to go any length for victory.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Probably.

Never... think of that. Ongoing. No, Yumi catches it all right. She is not so sure that's what she means, but Yumi herself wonders if it was insensitive to say that consider Mikoto and Mai anyway. So she doesn't press. Maybe she should, but she doesn't.

"Oh... So, the monsters Eri fights." She knows that much, anyway. "...Scared of change, huh...?"

Yumi notices that twitching of Mikoto's fingers, and she's not so upbeat, so Yumi wonders if she brought her down, but on the other hand... It's a sad, sad expression already.

Yumi doesn't look at the case. It's there, of course. But why would she look at him?

"...It's hard," Yumi agrees, reaching out towards Mikoto's hand with her own. "I don't know how good at it I'd be, either... I don't like how things are, but I'm scared that they could be worse. This is... comfortable, I guess, yeah. I'm used to it."

"...If I..." She falters. "...''When'' I grow up," she restarts, "...Everything will be different. I'll have to get ready to take over the family... probably get married... I dunno if I'll have time for everyone. I don't know what I'll do about my other duties, with the Staff. So..."

"I'm not sure I can fight being comfortable either," she admits. "...If I could have something that I knew would last, I..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto reaches out, to take Yumi's hand. It's not ''difficult,'' to make contact with Mikoto; she is an endless engine of physical affection. Her hands are more calloused than Yumi's; a little darker, a little pinker, from all her time in the sun. It almost obscures the pale stock she comes from, entirely too fine and well-bred.

"Yeah," she affirms, downcast. "It's Eri's monsters. But, they're not like Witches at all. There's so many... but we didn't go nowhere strange. And all the Wraiths acted the same, so I don't think there's stuff like Familiars any more. That's how it's different." Mikoto leaves the precise difference to implication; she knows Yumi's familiar with how Familiars made the equation so horrific, and she knows Mikoto's involvement with them, too. "They don't kill people, neither. They just..." She frowns, as she tries to find the words, and settles on: "... they're heavy. And there's so many."

She squeezes Yumi's hand -- but gently, gently. She knows, personally, how easy it is to break. "It's all decided, right..?" She surmises, at length. "It was for me, too... I don't know what I'll do now I'm... doing something different. I guess when I help my Lord Brother, he'll have to figure it out too..." Mikoto wonders whether he could help her figure it out, once he's out here in Tokyo with everyone else.

She doesn't entirely notice herself wondering.

"I wanted to learn how to help cats, but you gotta do real good at science and maths to do that," Mikoto sighs, with a light scowl. "Since it's medicine for animals. But I'm not smart like Honoka or Fuu or Setsuna," Meioh, not Higashi, because one of those girls is much closer to Mikoto in her internal classification, "so even now I'm trying more, I keep failing tests and stuff. But even if I could... I'd probably have to leave Mai, and..."

Mikoto sniffles, her other hand coming up to rub at her eyes. "... I guess Mai's leaving anyway... 'cause she's going to university, too... so I'll see her as much as I see Chitose now, I, I guess... b-but she's working real hard, so... so, I... I can't..." It didn't take a Wraith, to get Mikoto to say such a thing.

It's already in her heart.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi's hands are pale on a good day, thin and bony. There's a little bandage on the back of this one. It's much easier to tell where she comes from.

No Labyrinth, no Familiars. That's good. Yumi hasn't pressed Eri for a ''lot'' of details on Wraiths--she never did do much hunting with her--so learning a little more is... good. "Heavy. I see."

But Mikoto... she doesn't know. Her brother doesn't know. That gentle squeeze of Yumi's hand makes Yumi look over at Mikoto for a moment. She's 'doing something different', meaning she's living her own life. But what does that mean...?

Yumi wonders for just a moment if it was cruel to free her without giving her more of a path. ...But it's not her place to tell her what to do, right?

"...Yeah. It's a hard job. And..."

Yumi curls her fingers into Mikoto's. "Oh..."

It hurts, to see her like this. But there's something she can do. "I don't know," Yumi admits. "I can't speak for her. I don't really even know her. But..."

She pulls at Mikoto, to get her to look back up. "...I won't leave you behind. Okay? I can't speak for anyone else, but if I'm alive, I'll find a place for you, okay? No matter what happens. So if you're ever not sure what to do... You can stay with me until you figure it out. Okay? I promise."

"...Have you talked to her about it?" Yumi wonders. "It's hard to talk about, I bet."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

With that little tug at her hand, Mikoto's gaze turns up, to Yumi's, again. All shiny from a thin lining of tears, it just brings out how strangely gold they are -- too bright, too gold. They catch all the light of the sunset, entirely too capable of catching light, of seeing in dark places.

If Mikoto were better -- if she wasn't thinking so much of her dear brother, if she weren't recovering from how comfortable the weight of torpor really ''was,'' if she didn't have the weight of forgotten and unrelinquished promises on her back -- would she see, then, the mistake she's repeating, once and once and once again? She ''has'' been trying; she's made so many improvements, over these five tender months.

But she can't let go.

She can't let go.

"Yumi," Mikoto sniffles, and her name wavers with the weight of being left behind. "Yumi, I can come with you? I really won't be a burden? I... I can do a lot of things..." ... very few of which are of use to a company. At least, not any use the corporate world would admit.

She admits, and her heart will shatter: "I don't wanna be alone..."

Mikoto has always been such a loyal girl. What can she do, then, now her loyalties are all disrupted? How can she exist?

"... but, I'm scared if I say that... Mai will get scared and go away. I don't want Mai to go away. But Mai's going away anyway. Mai's gonna pass exams and go to university and grow up and... and Mai can be a normal girl, and... it's good, right?" Mikoto asks, Mikoto insists, lip wobbling. "Mai wouldn't do if it she didn't want to... and... and I can't ask Mai to take care of me all the time, right? 'Cause roommates get tired of it, right?" Tired of her.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

If ''Yumi'' were better--if she were thinking straight, instead of muddled by loneliness and pain--she would see that this is the wrong move. That it's not best for Mikoto, even if it seems kindest. ...But would it be her place anyway?

Too bright, too gold. But that's OK.

"Mm-hm," Yumi answers. "Just... if you can't figure out where else to go, you can come with me, and we'll figure it out." A pause. "No, you wouldn't be a burden. You help me out a lot."

"So..." It's a big 'if', to Yumi's mind, but, "If I'm around, you don't have to be alone."

Her fear, though. Yumi... can get that. "...Then if you're scared she'll go away, and you think she'll go away anyway, then there's no reason not to talk to her, right? If it's the same either way if you don't."

But she can't account for the other. The other one... "Yeah, though," Yumi says. "We can't ask them to take care of us forever. We have to figure out our own way. It's good, for them to figure out their lives... we just have to do the same, OK? We can both figure it out."

And if Mikoto doesn't? If she never can?

...Well, Yumi will be in charge of her family eventually, right? She can ''make'' a place for her, if she has to.

"You don't have to be afraid. But you really should talk to her, OK?" ...Not that she's taking her own advice, at the moment.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

What isn't best for Mikoto is often very, ''very'' kind.

"Yumi!" She exclaims, with love and relief, when she invites her along. She smiles, in that lability so like her, and doesn't think for a moment on the 'if'. "Yumi's not alone, neither! We can grow up together!" And she doesn't have to go out on her own, and she doesn't have to figure it out herself, and --

"It's a relief," she adds, smiling, "'cause we know how it works. I still don't get a lot of Tokyo stuff..." As opposed to traditional living, perhaps; Mikoto has always conflated modern life and Tokyo together.

It's nice not to have to explain all those things.

She quiets, though, as she thinks about Mai. "Yumi's right," Mikoto sighs, glancing away. "It's just hard... things are good now, and I don't wanna mess it up. Mai's got lots of worries already... Mai worries lots. Mai cares by worrying. It's hard, 'cause I don't want Mai to worry. I want Mai to smile. But, I... I'll try, Yumi. If you really think it's a good idea."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Hmmm. That would mean Yumi would have someone to count on too, wouldn't it? Yumi hadn't thought of it that way. At least, she's pretty sure she didn't. Having someone to take care of isn't so bad, though. Right?

Nevermind that Yumi is supposed to be mostly receiving care at the moment. It's really a good thing that her mother realized she was friends with Mikoto and added her to the list. It was really thoughtful of her...

"Right," Yumi says, and smiles a little. "...It's OK. You'll get it." Yumi understands traditional living ''and'' Tokyo, so she can help, right?

But Mai... Well. Maybe Yumi should talk to Mai after all. But still, "Right. You don't want to ruin what you have. But she should know how you feel. It's her decision too, right? You wouldn't want her to make it without all the information she could get." 'If she really thinks it's a good idea'....

Why does Yumi have a bad feeling? ...No, it's probably just that she's feeling bad. It's probably nothing.

"You should tell the people who are important to you how you feel, what you think."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Yumi's mother, it seems, has thought of everything -- and Mikoto doesn't think of Yumi's mother.

Just so.

Yumi assures Mikoto that she'll get it, though -- and helps her get it, here and now. "I... I want to," Mikoto says, finally, cheeks colouring as she squeezes Yumi's hand. "I really love Mai. Really, really!" She repeats herself, to try and communicate why that's different to everyone ''else'' she loves, given how liberally she uses the word. "But, I'm scared. What if I'm just someone Mai's taking care of..? And, if I say stuff like that, Mai might just run away..."

Mikoto wants to respect Mai's wishes and her feelings; she's been trying very hard. She's even made herself sleep in her own bed, most of the time, because she doesn't want Mai to feel weird. Maybe Mai feels differently, after all, and it's not good for Mikoto to do things just because they're normal to Mikoto. Cats curl up together when they nap, but people don't.

Be fair: Mikoto came into this discussion shockingly late in life. It simply wasn't a priority for her, growing up. It took Eri, to point it out, despite the presumptions of Minagi.

And she's still presuming, really, even now she's worrying about what Mai thinks. She's still presuming, because she hasn't ''asked'' her. Mikoto supposes it makes sense -- that Eri and Yumi's advice would align, in some ways. They're her friends; they want to make her better.

Mikoto swallows, and looks back, to Yumi. "I... I'll try to tell her again," she insists, and doesn't sound terribly brave about it. "I will." And will Mai hurt herself on the kitchen again, this time? Can Mikoto do that to her?

Can she live with herself if she doesn't?

In Mikoto's mind, she still frames it as whose wishes matter ''more.''

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

She's trying! She is doing her best. And she notices the way Mikoto's cheeks color, and reflects on what she could say. ...Given how it goes, Yumi ''doesn't'' share that she finds herself a little jealous. She doesn't really think on it much after that. 'Just' someone Mai's taking care of...

"That's the worst," Yumi says quietly. "But you have to know, right?"

Is that how it is? Could she ask ''her'', if that's how it was? They always seemed like good friends, but...

No, Mikoto doesn't sound brave about this. She can't fight 'being comfortable.' "You can do it," Yumi assures Mikoto. "Even though it's hard, I know you can. You've done a lot of hard things."

"...It reminds me of..." A little shakes of her head. "Well, I shouldn't go into that, probably."

She sits up a little straighter at that. It was getting a little harder to breathe. "...Can you take me a little further out?" Yumi asks. "I... want to see the city."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Mm," Mikoto hums assent, nodding, to Yumi. "I have." Mikoto can do very, very hard things, so maybe this hard thing isn't so different, even though it feels SO different.

She blinks, and tilts her head, as Yumi shakes her head. "Oh... okay," she accepts her not going into it, though there's clear concern in her eyes.

Mikoto nods, though, and hops up. "Yeah! Let me help!" She volunteers, too easily; after all, Eri doesn't need her help hunting in this better world, and she can't fight Wraiths anyway. And Mai's university entrance exams are too complicated for Mikoto to understand, with grades like hers, so all she can really do is remind her it's time to eat. But -- but Mikoto ''wants'' to be helpful, ''wants'' to help the people she loves, wants to be useful and effective and needed.

She wants this, of course, because she doesn't want to be alone.

Mikoto takes care, despite her enthusiasm, in wheeling Yumi's chair closer to the edge of the hospital rooftop; she's careful, with Yumi. (She still feels a little guilt, for hurting her wrist so badly, back then.) "It's big, right?" She asks, as Tokyo stretches out beneath them. "I never really understood taking it over... but I wasn't raised to lead, so I guess I wouldn't get it. I hope my Lord Brother can find something good to do, when I help him get free, too... probably something handling people, I guess. I guess politics wouldn't be a lie if I can convince my family to give up their claim on Japan, so... maybe that? That's leading lots of people all at once. But maybe my Lord Brother wouldn't like that, since it was, funny, how people thought the Emperor was the Emperor and the Prime Minister mattered and stuff..." Would it still be a joke if the Minagis released their stranglehold on the country? Mikoto doesn't know.

Mikoto sighs, hands sagging over the handles of the wheelchair to rest on Yumi's shoulders, instead. "It's hard to imagine that stuff," her Lord Brother's redemption?, "but Yumi gets it, right?" And surely, she's talking about how much she wants to save her brother from Dark Fall.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yes! It's a thing she can do! But... Yumi notices the concern, and reconsiders. ...But not just yet. She doesn't want to talk over Mikoto yet. And she'd probably stop all over if Yumi started mentioning something else...

"Okay," Yumi says a little more quietly, when she wants to let her help. And Yumi does appreciate that Mikoto is careful; she still resents being in this position, but that's not Mikoto's fault... and she rarely even thinks about how Mikoto hurt her back then.

Taking over Tokyo...

"I..." Yumi hms. "...I would've said a while ago that I didn't get it at all. But that's not really true." She pauses. Mikoto's Lord Brother... Yumi doesn't have anything good to say about him. But if he gets 'free', if he decides not to hurt the world, wouldn't he need something to do? ...She's still quiet when she says,

"If he could help people like that it'd be really good," Yumi settles on. "But maybe it'd be better to start smaller."

It's hard to think about, to imagine... That's true. But...

"Yeah, I get it," Yumi says, and doesn't clarify which one ''she'' means. "But..."

"I was thinking about... how I've been having these weird dreams, lately. When you looked all concerned at me, I realized you would worry if I didn't tell you. So that's all it is. But they're nothing bad."

"I mean, I can tell in the dreams... there's these weird voices, but I know they're trying to... cheer me on, kind of. So it's not bad."

She brings up a hand to rest on Mikoto's hand on her shoulder. "..It's... It's okay..." She's been getting quieter; she winces a little, as she leans back. "Nn..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A3gO4Oy7iA Sefiros - Everything = Nothing

"Yeah," Mikoto agrees, vaguely. "I guess starting smaller is better."

Perhaps even just starting with one person...

And... her dreams, again.

Mikoto's hand squeezes Yumi's shoulder, gently. "Yumi? Yumi, you okay?" She prompts, with clear concern. "We can go back if you gotta. It's okay. I'll come back again. I'll bring Yumi's stuff, too!" If they're too worried to let Hanae in, they must be willing to let Mikoto in. Mikoto rarely gets sick, after all.

"It's okay," she repeats, again. "And it's okay if the dreams are weird, even if they're not bad. I,"

The mora hang there, wa-ta-shi, all too polite for her rough-and-tumble exterior. Mikoto's gaze lifts, from Yumi, to the encroaching purple of the night sky. It stops, but it never meant to stop.

She takes a breath.

"I think some of my dreams are like that... I don't really remember, but sometimes when I wake up, it's, nostalgic. And sometimes I don't feel like I was sleeping good at all, even though I went to bed sleepy... um, I don't really think about it."

Mikoto smiles, because it is so easy, for Mikoto to smile. "But it's okay, Yumi. Dreams are just stories your brain makes up to figure out what's going on. It's still in your head, so you'll get it, even if the dreams don't make sense." And that might have been useful -- even factual -- advice, for a normal girl, at a normal time.

Certainly, it sounds legitimate.

"I bet Tama has dreams like that all the time! 'Cause Tama's the boss, and people always gave her fish!" Mikoto says, and she is bright as a star, leaning forward to be able to talk to Yumi better. "Except I guess people don't bring her fish too much no more... I better get Tama another fish soon." With a thoughtful noise, a master plan comes to Mikoto, all out of the blue. "Hey, Yumi, you wanna have another Tama nap? I bet she'd feel better being good influence!"

This way, it's not about Yumi ''having'' to go back inside. Mikoto is so smart!

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"I-I'm..." It stings, that it hurts. It's worse because of it, because she's going to have to go back. Because it means she probably isn't going home today. But before she can dwell too much, Mikoto repeats herself. It's okay, she says. And she'll bring her stuff...

"Okay," Yumi answers softly. And there, he sky...

"...Yeah," Yumi says. "It's a little like that."

It is very easy for Mikoto to smile. It's nice, in the moment. "To figure out what's going on... OK," she says. "These... These help me figure things out, so..."

But bringing up Tama--Yumi sees, after a few moments, what Mikoto is doing. Not at first--because at first she's not doing it. But when that bright plan comes up, Yumi gets it. And it's so ''nice''.

"Yeah. You should get her some more fish." She bites her lip, and if she's crying, she's trying to hide it. "...I think..." Another sting. "Yeah. A nap is a good idea."

"Come back tomorrow, okay...?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto, being fair, isn't the sort of person who engages in master plans very often, so it's entirely reasonable Yumi would recognise it so quickly. But she's trying, very hard. She can think for herself, and the thoughts she's chosen to have are about how to get Yumi to be okay taking care of herself.

Mikoto reaches out, towards Yumi's face, before she realises that she's trying to ''hide'' her own tears; her fingers curl, and she straightens up, so she's looking ahead of Yumi instead of at her sidelong. She steps back over to the bench, in fact, to shrug Miroku back onto her shoulder -- she's back in an instant, hands on the handles of her wheelchair.

"Mm," she agrees, she encourages. "Naps are good!" She pulls Yumi back from the edge -- of the hospital roof -- and redirects her back, towards the door, to go inside.

"I will," she assures her, as they head back in. "Right after school. I promise."

And Mikoto has always taken promises very, very seriously.

Even the ones she can't remember.

2022-04-11 - All My Best Laid Plans

2022-04-12T11:17:44Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: i'm always ready to be spooky you don't even know

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: All My Best Laid Plans'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto shares her hopes for winter with Yumi -- and her anxieties, courtesy her Lord Brother's input. They feel down, and then they make plans, anyway.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Yumi Ohzora]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Infinity Institute - Dorms
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2022-04-11 - 2016-01-24
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto is a frequent visitor, in the afternoons. She takes pains not to be late for dinner -- for the obvious reasons, and so Mai won't worry, too -- but earlier in the day, she's free to roam.

She didn't, for a little while after Christmas. She was scared. But she's got her confidence back, now. She isn't powerless. She might even have the power to...

Well, she hasn't told anyone about that.

This is not to say she has nothing to say. "Yumi, Yumi!" Mikoto calls, chipper, at her door. And when she's let in, she bounces out of her shoes, unshouldering the weight on her back to rest it by the doorway. (Thresholds suit Miroku.) "It's snowing outside!" She says, as she shucks her new coat -- a nice, muted navy blue which brings out her eyes, thanks to Yumi's own intervention. Let's not speak of her first choice.

"This winter's really fun, Yumi!" Mikoto insists, and does not speak of past winters, in her evaluation. "Me and Eri set off fireworks for New Years! Fireworks! And there's theatre in Juuban! And Mai made ramen!" That last one is still an important event, no matter how many times it happens. Whether it happened ''just last night'' or ''in the preceding weeks,'' like some of those other events, is also up for debate.

She ''is'' looking a lot more chipper -- and a lot more chipper being ''out alone,'' at that -- than she was in late December, though.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi is a frequent visit-ee! A lot of her hobbies are kind of sedentary actually, and she doesn't have to leave Infinity Institute for most things. She does get out, but it's easier to visit her than the other way around, sometimes. Like today! And today, in January, that is extra true because it is COLD. Snowy! Very cold!

"Hi Mikoto!" she says, letting her in and smiling at her once she mentions the snow. "Yeah, it's allon my window too," she comments about the snow, dressed for her part in ordinary clothes.

The winter... "Yeah!" Yumi says. it's really pretty too, isn't it?"

Fireworks... and theatre... and ramen. Yes, ramen. Of course ramen.

"The winter sure seems to be agreeing with you though," she says. "How're you feeling, Mikoto-chan?" She is already going for the snacks. Obviously.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto is inarguably much, MUCH more active than Yumi is. To wit: today, she's chased three cats over the rooftops to see what they were up to, climbed five trees ''not'' pursuant to getting on a rooftop, and had a terrifying near-miss in the slippery snow as she balance-beamed along a high fence.

You know. An average afternoon.

She can't climb Infinity Tower, though -- she's tried. So maybe she's a ''little'' jealous of the snow which can get a foothold by Yumi's window, anyway. (She is, of course, wearing black tights under her obnoxiously yellow skirt and pink shirt with cat decal upon it. Her turtleneck isn't magenta, though; it's a lighter shade of yellow. ... she doesn't wear long magenta sleeves these days.) "Cold out there," she remarks, "but I've got a coat, so I'm okay."

Yeah, the winter agrees with her just fine.

She nods, and shares something of those adventures, too: "I lied down and looked the snow falling on the roof," Mikoto has never understood the distinction between laid and lay, and so she finds a way to be wrong ''both'' ways. "A snowflake landed on my nose!" Judging by her tone, this was amazing.

By this point Mikoto's all ready to trail after Yumi, in search of those snacks. "So I'm good!" She summarises how those adventures make her feel, cheerfully. "There's lots of winter things I get to do now... so I'm happy, Yumi!"

(She DID send Yumi a nengajo postcard, for New Years. The message she penned was about how fireworks are like magic spells. This didn't ''quite'' fulfill the letter of nengajo, but perhaps it hit the spirit well enough.)

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Oh it's not even a contest. It would be like saying the ocean is wetter than the land. It's true, but it's also not very informative.

Yumi is wearing tights and a sweater even inside, even given that her apartment has heat. She is naturally pretty cold most of the time anyway. So it's fine. As usual, she favors pale colors, greens and yellows for today, with a little pink.

"You do!" Yumi says, and remembers the trip where they got that coat. It's nice. It was a good day.

Yumi does not care even slightly about grammar so she doesn't bother about Mikoto being Double Wrong. Instead she says, "Oh, fun! It's nice to just sit around and watch it, right?" Yumi does that... though from inside, more of the time. Out from her window...

But Yumi has wordlessly promised Snacks and she delivers, having acquired (not baked) a bunch of cookies that she brings down in a jar and offers to Mikoto. "Here you go," she says. "I'm glad you're happy." Yumi's card was a little more traditional, but she gave Mikoto one, too.

"...The colors in winter are really sharp, too. It's a good season for painting."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It was a ''great'' day. Especially when they got takoyaki afterwards. Who knew Easter Department Store had ''so many snacks'' on its dining level?

"Mm!" Mikoto hums cheerful assent, as Yumi asks whether it's nice to watch it. "Like now, look!" She points to one of the snowflakes, fluttering down outside Yumi's window.

She's easily distracted from this distraction, though -- a ''distraction'' distraction -- by the promise of Snacks. Yumi never ''said'' she had snacks, but she walked to the Snack Zone, and if Mikoto has learned anything from her cat friends, it's the power of observation. Behaviours are predictive!

Her eyes grow a full three sizes as Yumi puts down her jar of cookies. (It's fine if they're store-brought; it's kind of novel being the ''better cook'' compared to one of her friends, considering Eri's recent improvements in the field and Mai's obvious mastery.) Mikoto's sound of excitement is wordless, but no less heartfelt, as she reaches in to grab a cookie and subsequently destroy that cookie. GNOMPH gnomph gnomph gnomph...

"It is?" Mikoto asks -- thankfully, not around the cookie, she at least swallowed that first. (After so many years, ''some'' of Mai's lessons on manners had to stick.) There might still be some crumbs to the side of her lip, though. That's just a fact of cookie life. "Yumi, want to come out there with me sometime? We can paint!"

(It hasn't escaped Mikoto that Yumi is an indoors sort of person, in this weather; even if she doesn't quite grok the details, she can guess her health has something to do with it. But surely if Mikoto ''helps,'' it's fine, right? Like keeping the crowds from jostling her during big events and giving her someone to lean on!)

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Many snack...
"Oh!" Yumi smiles at the window, noting the particular shape of the snowflake. They're always different, despite how many there are. Maybe there's something to that... But that distraction doesn't keep her distracted any longer than it does Mikoto, because there are Snacks. And Yumi is providing them. She takes a couple for herself, but only nibbles. Just a little nibble, not a full nomph. Mikoto can do that.

Crumbs...
"Mm-hm!" Yumi confirms about it being a good season for it. And Mikoto makes an offer...

"...Sure," Yumi says, though she has to think about it a few moments, thinking what she'll have to do, how to make it work... and someone with her in case something happens is probably good enough.

"It'd be fun to do that together."

She gestures Mikoto over, and starts for the couch instead. "Though we've got balconies on the higher floors that might be as good. Or maybe just out somewhere.." She considers. "Little hard on the fingers, but worth it, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto ''is'' good at nomphing. She devours a full half-dozen cookies in the time it takes Yumi to think. Hers is the engine, always idling ready; the same force which lets her rebalance so quick on a fence-post leaves her so very, eternally, once again HUNGRY.

She's sated enough to nod, though, with all that chipper brightness which sets her braids to bouncing up and tumbling down. Mikoto, at least, doesn't think long on the details -- all thoughts are for snacks. "Yup!" She agrees, happily, when Yumi decides it would be fun.

It's easy enough to redirect her; Mikoto follows Yumi's gesture, piling onto the couch beside her. She leans against her side, with all the comfortable warmth-giving of someone who's entirely used to the idea. "Gloves, Yumi!" Mikoto points out, lifting up a hand towards the ceiling and wriggling her fingers. She's ''not'' wearing gloves, but apparently it's easy enough to imagine.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

HUNGRY. ...But that's just Mikoto! Yumi is used to it, and it makes it easy to make things comfortable for her friend. Just provide snacks! So with that chipper brightness Mikoto nods and tumbles, and Yumi herself smiles back before she moves to the couch. She leans a little on Mikoto too, nibbling still at her first cookie between words, and Mikoto--Yes. "Sometimes gloves make my hands a little clumsy," se admits. "But I think that'll mostly be the answer."

it is very easy to imagine!

She sticks close to Mikoto, and as usual, Yumi is already a little cold, despite the heat in the apartment. "So..."

"Any more special winter plans?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"It's weird for me too," Mikoto agrees. "Like Tokyo socks... lots of times they're not tabi, so it was hard for me to get used to them." It was like she was wearing MITTENS on her FEET. How do people climb like that, she thought? With their toes all hidden in a single sleeve?!

"... but I got used to it!" She answers both her past self and her current advice, cheerfully.

(It's interesting, in passing -- how she ascribes Western fashion to Tokyo, rather than the wider world. Perhaps Tokyo ''is'' the wider world, to her.)

Mikoto has always run warmer than Yumi does; blame it on that same idling engine inside her. "I wanna go on trips!" She volunteers, immediately. "And build snow men! And go to ice skating!" Mikoto doesn't really understand what all goes into ice skating, but she heard Aoi talk about how romantic it was, so ''now'' she's interested.

But once she's outpoured her immediate enthusiasm, she pauses, head canting to the side as she looks up to the ceiling lights. "But... I'm not sure I wanna make special plans," Mikoto adds, a moment later, a shade quieter.

"Maybe it's better if I just let stuff happen."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Oh, yeah? That makes sense." Mikoto would have more 'traditional' clothes where she came from, of course. Yumi on the other hand is used to modern socks... though she likes toe socks. She doesn't climb in them very much, but they're warmer. And fun!

Of course, Tokyo would be the wider world, wouldn't it? Compared to...

"Trips!" Yumi answers, and nods along. She is not so sure about snowmen, but she's definitely sure they can do ice skating, and trips, and.... These are things she can help make happen! Which is a nice feeling--and she wants to go places, too, not be stuck inside all the time. But--that pause...

"Mikoto..."

"...Are you sure about that?" she asks. "When you just 'let things happen', you kind of get stuck with whatever everyone else wants... I'm used to that; it's how I used to live a lot."

"But I think that even if your plans don't work out the way you want them to, it's good to make them."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"I guess..." Mikoto starts, and looks down at her hands, rather than finish her sentence. Her fingers lace together, on her lap, only to pull apart; one hand rests over the other, a nervous little twitch of her thumb.

There are pine-tree scratches on the back of her hand. You know. From all those trees. She doesn't much think about things like that.

It's the kind of silence which ''could'' just stretch out forever; it's not uncommon for Mikoto to decide ''not'' to speak. She does, though, eventually, with a little puff of a sigh to remind her throat how words work. "But if I make plans, my Lord Brother might get involved, Yumi. When I wanted to have a birthday party, and when I wanted to invite Mai out for Christmas Eve, too... so, I'm scared it'll happen again."

Well, Mikoto was never the child meant to plan and plot, anyway.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

It stretches out, but Yumi doesn't mind silence so much. She's willing to let Mikoto take the time she needs for what she is thinking about. She stays, sitting close with her friend, absorbing a little heat but maybe, if she's lucky, absorbing a little of that worry and gloom, too. If she can.

Scratches....

"Mm," she says. "I thought... that might be it," she admits. "That you might be worried about what he would do..."

She reaches for Mikoto's hand, "But if you don't make plans because you're afraid he might get involved, he's already involved. He's controlling what you can do. ..Sure, maybe he'll try to interfere. But that doesn't mean that you don't do things. It just means that we work that much harder to make things OK again."

"You're not alone, OK?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto takes Yumi's hand. Her skin is more vibrant from the sun; still, it's clear she comes from pale stock. She has a strong grip, but she doesn't employ it, here, loose fingers and lax wrist. She doesn't want to hurt her. She doesn't want to...

Well, holding too tightly to something is something Mikoto has some experience with.

He's already involved... is it.

Mikoto looks down at their hands, and it takes a moment, for her to lift those too-gold eyes back to Yumi proper. With an affirmative grunt, she nods: "Yeah." She's not alone.

"... I don't really get it," she says, after a moment more. She speaks hesitantly; on the other hand, she speaks, at all. "I was here for years before I, came to my Lord Brother," tripping over the words, a little, because it's hard for her to say she ''found'' him under those circumstances. "Before then, I never heard from him... but it wasn't too long after that I had to fight. And fight more and more... and even now I left, my Lord Brother won't let me move on. Everything keeps coming back to him..."

(She keeps coming back to --)

Her eyes squeeze shut; she shakes her head. Whippity-whip, her braids slap the sides of her face, the one concession to length in her otherwise short hair.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi's hand is pale; not just pale stock, but staying inside a lot, too. She knows full well that Mikoto could hold on a lot harder if she wanted to, to Yumi's delicate, artist's hand. A hand for holding brushes or other hands, not for holding weapons like swords. But she doesn't get to be that peaceful, herself; just like Mikoto, she has a weapon bound to her.

But Mikoto doesn't get it...

"Yeah," Yumi says. "It's weird, huh? Maybe there was some plan or smething that required time to pass before he could..." She considers. Well. No. It's very simple; he didn't reach out to her until he could ''use'' her. But Yumi can't say it that way.

"...he wants it that way," she says instead. "To make it all come back to him. It's... really selfish. Not to let you live your own life. You should be able to do what you want to do, Mikoto."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto once said that everyone else in her life using her was just ''borrowing'' her, loaned out against her final, ultimate purpose.

... Yumi can't say it that way, but that doesn't mean Mikoto doesn't know. She knows she was like that.

She believes she's not, any more.

Still, the sadness of him ''wanting'' things this way weighs heavy, in her eyes. Why won't he let her live in peace with everyone..? Why does he want her to...

Mikoto can't hold violence and victory and Yumi's hand at the same time. It's always been her puzzle; her blade monopolises her hands, and so she's never been able to reach out to anyone, in a fight.

She sighs. "I'm worried, Yumi," Mikoto borrows the way the other girl phrased it, back there. "I'm worried something is happening... something's making my Lord Brother move." Mikoto isn't alone -- but ''he'' is, she thinks.

And being alone is scary, but it's dangerous, too.

"If he's gotta face it alone... maybe that's why he keeps trying to reach me. But, all we ever learned was how to make it hurt, so..." She flinches, lips all twisting up like one of those broad oaks for a moment, and abandons that sentence. "Being selfish isn't bad, but..." No, that one's no good, either.

She shakes her head, again, a light squeeze of Yumi's fingers. (She's careful, of course. She remembers what happened when she wasn't.) "I wanted to show him there was a way that didn't hurt, but... I wasn't brave enough to send that card." Her gaze drops down, with her chin, glancing aside to the edge of the couch. (Does Tama like to claw the furniture, or is she above such petty pursuits..?) "So I just tossed it away..."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi knows that Mikoto knows. But sometimes what you say and don't say matters even so. The effort of kindness matters; that's something Yumi believes.

"Mm..." Something is happening. Mikoto worries that it's something forced on him; Yumi... does not. It's that his plans are advancing now, that something is coming to a head and that he wants is on the way. She thinks she understands him better, that way.

"It's OK to be selfish sometimes," Yumi says. "That's important. You gotta take care of yourself, too. But... not all the time. Sometimes it's hurting other people to make yourself happier. It's not simple."

Careful, careful, not to break or sprain Yumi's fragile arm, like that one time.

"...Aw, Mikoto. That's... a nice idea. I wish that it could be like that; that it could be just that he doesn't ''know'' a better way. ...But I don't think it is."

Tama is above such things. She is a disciplined cat. It's fine.

"I'm sorry. I know that must've been hard. ...I know you want to keep reaching out to him, giving him chances. And it's good that someone cares to. But... You've gotta do what's best for you, too."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto feels a kinship, with her Lord Brother; they both lived through their childhood, horrifically supportive as it was. At the same time, he is an all-powerful being, in her mind. That someone can be perfect and vulnerable all at once is not a concept she questions; is not a concept she was ever ''equipped'' to question.

(After all, he ''showed'' her his vulnerability, when they found each other again.)

That's why she thinks he's ''responding'' to a threat...

... rather than creating one out of whole cloth.

She hums, through her lips, as she considers what Yumi says. Hurting other people to make yourself happier... that doesn't sound any good, Mikoto thinks.

(She wonders, briefly, if she's hurting ''him'' to make herself happier -- before she shakes her head sharply to dislodge the thought, face all scrunching up. That's not true! Her friends are kind people, so if that was true, someone would have said something!)

But... even though it's a nice idea, Yumi doesn't think it's like that. Mikoto swallows, at a lump in her throat. Someone would have said something, huh... but all her friends are saying things like this, instead, she thinks.

Mikoto thought her Lord Brother sounded sweet. Not one of the girls she's spoken to from that day have agreed. What does that say about her -- about him?

"It's... hard," Mikoto finds her voice, finally. "I said... it doesn't gotta hurt up here. And I was doing good. 'Cause, I thought... maybe he was worried. But I said I loved him, too... and that's scary, 'cause I'm not supposed to love anyone other than my Lord Brother. Including him in a group... I don't know if my Lord Brother would accept that, since it's always been just us."

Mikoto relates why it was hard, and doesn't realise, in her account, just how ambiguous her transgression is. She thinks it's obvious she's disobeyed family law, but...

... there's more than one way to take 'too', when someone has clearly already expressed their own affection.

(In their sick existence, it might just be clear.)

"I wasn't brave enough to say anything like that to his face..." Not that he was ''facing'' them, entirely, there in the shadows. Close enough, according to Mikoto. "But, I thought... I thought I should try. No one else would, right..? 'Cause I'm not alone." Her mind is of the type to view things adversarially; because everyone cares about her, they must ''not'' care for her Lord Brother.

And Mikoto has seen what happens to people in Dark Fall, when no one cares about them. Sometimes... even when people ''do'' care. It takes real effort, to save someone.

She's scared of him, but she's scared ''for'' him, too.

"But... Yumi's right," Mikoto sighs, finally. "Making it so I'm always worried about what he'll do, and why... it's hard for me to live freely when I'm thinking about that. I guess that's the point... my Lord Brother's getting back at me, or something like that. I feel really down when I think about that..."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Is it so strange, to feel kinship with family? ...is it so strange to feel that family can be all-powerful, too? Yumi knows that dichotomy, though she could not voice it as similar, would not call it at all the same. But maybe that's why she has an easier time with Mikoto's difficulties than some might.

'Too', though. Yumi catches it. "...Love... shouldn't require you to only love one person, I think." She is less certain of this; this is territory she does not know so well. But it is something that is growing, like a bit of ivy, slowly over the doubt and wonder Yumi has.

But he's working faster... Something is going on. Yumi wonders what that might be. She wonders how she can protect her friend.

"..Yeah," Yumi says. "That makes sense. You want to try. I think if I were you, I'd want to try, too."

"...Well," Yumi says, "...I won't give up on the idea that you can reach him, if it's important to you to try, even if I'm pretty mad at him for how he treats you. But I don't want ''you'' to give up on living your own life, either.

"So, let's feel down about it... and then make some plans, OK?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

<SoundTracker> Florence and the Machine - Heavy In Your Arms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_eOmvM-4zc

Yumi speaks slowly, and slowly Mikoto's free hand raises, two fingers to her cheek. They are calloused by years of iron grips and secrets.

One, one more.

"Not up here," she tells her, gently. "Not in Tokyo."

Not in this modern world, with its socks like mittens and its clumsy gloves. It's a good message, isn't it? That their hearts are so large, here in this metropolis? Here, compared to --

Dichotomies. Adversaries. Each thing one or the other.

And her eyes are so, so gold.

Mikoto blinks; drops her hand to Yumi's shoulder; trusts her intuition. She wants to try... and Yumi will try for her sake, even if not his. "Okay," she says, with a small smile. "Then, let's plan, Yumi."

She takes a breath, and squeezes her hand.

"What about you?" A little safer to ask her, perhaps; or perhaps there's just safety in the familiar. "Said you got stuck... so what's Yumi wanna do?"

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Not up here... But down there. Down there it's like that. And Yumi still thinks it shouldn't be. But it's hard to say should and shouldn't, when it comes to down there. Because Yumi can't just speak it out of existence, any more than she can the ancient traditions of witches. ....But that's not the same thing. Is it?

Gold... Precious gold.

"Yeah," Yumi says when Mikoto smiles, and smiles back. As her hand is squeezed, she thinks--ah. Her...

"Hmmmm yeah. I did say that, didn't I? It used to happen a lot at school especially. But what do I want to do..."

"I want to go to the mountains," she thinks, "With nice springs against the cold and forests I can get lost in and little fairies I can say hi to while I'm there."

"Ahahah.. I guess I'm saying I want to get away..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto keeps saying it's okay for things to be different.

But that means they're different, right?

Between here, and 'somewhere else'...

Miroku's still propped up, there, by the threshold. Mikoto's not looking at it, though; she's looking to Yumi, with wide, wondering eyes. That she wants to know is no beguilement; she cares so ''much,'' about those wishes Yumi had to put aside too often. Her heart will break from the sheer volume of her love for her friends, all spilling past the dambreak, all consuming.

(That's why --)

She wants to go to the mountains, and Mikoto understands that very well. Her grin blooms wildflower-bright across her face, cheeks all raised, pushing crinkles to her eyes. "Let's go together!" She declares, cheer returning as soon as it left. "Let's run away, Yumi!"

Is that really something she should say so happily..?

(This probably isn't the first fantasy of flight Mikoto has ever entertained.)

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi is rarely looking at Miroku, but that doesn't mean she's unaware. It's hard not to be... aware. Maybe that has something to do with the Staff, but maybe not. But Yumi, too, is focused on someone right now: on Mikoto, with heartbreaking love and wide wondering eyes and all--hm.

Mikoto grins, and Yumi blinks as Mikoto makes the suggestion. "Oh! Oh, I, uh--"

She thinks about it for a moment. And for a moment, she thinks about it. And smiles. "...Maybe not run off immediately," she allows after a moment with a little laugh. "But it'd be fun to go. Maybe one of these weekends soon. It'd be.. nice."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Is Miroku unaware..? Well, Mikoto can't feel it, pressing in against her thoughts. So if it's paying attention, it must just be listening. Is that any wonder, though? They share a heart, and Mikoto is the listener, after all.

Wouldn't Miroku be the same?

With all these eyes to witness --

Bright gold looks up to Yumi, and her teeth gleam as her smile widens. "We can go now!" Mikoto presses, cheerfully, head canting to the side; she's ''teasing'' her, a little. "Come on, I'm ready! I'll just call Mai..!" To tell her she'll be late for dinner, obviously, on account of the hiking.

Mikoto laughs, thonking back against the couch. Her head lolls against the headrest, with that rakish grin. "Or later, later," she lilts in repeat, giving Yumi a break. "But let's go soon, okay? Don't worry! I'll carry stuff!"

She is, after all, VERY strong... and never misses a chance to show off. Well, she ''is'' still a Minagi, after all. Mikoto loves to be adored, too.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Listening... what is it to listen?

What is it to watch?

Mikoto presses, and Yumi blinks a little, on the back foot despite not actually standing at all. "A-already? But I haven't even--I'm not sure wherewe'll--" Call Mai, and that's that. But Mikoto laughs, and that grin of hers makes Yumi laugh, too. "Mikoto!" she says, and then laughs a little more. "Soon is good though. And oh totally, you can carry stuff, that works for me!"

Very strong... and Yumi does appreciate that. And Mikoto.
"I'll see if I can't make some bookings..."

"Maybe we can get in some ice skating too..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto beams, laughing. Yumi said she didn't want her to give up, so now she's felt down, it's time to make plans. It's really as simple as that.

(Is she really as simple as that..?)

She ''does'' feel better now she's thinking about Yumi's wintry hopes and dreams, though. She'll have to tell Eri she managed to tease Yumi..! That's where she learned something as horrible as this, after all.

Mikoto, of course, isn't good at ''all'' things; oversight tasks like 'managing to actually book into places' are much more Yumi's strength than hers. She nods, with cheerful affirmative noises, as she muses about their next steps.

And then pauses, mid-nod. Her braids, arrested in their movement, fall a moment later.

"So how's ice skating work, anyway?"

Oh, no.

2022-02-13 - Cake and College

2022-04-12T11:11:07Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: ren go to cool leg

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Cake and College'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto, Fuu, and Ren catch up at Lindem(sic) Baum. They talk about their plans for the future, and also, the wonderful future of arcade games ahead of them. And, of course, the complications of family.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Ren Aizawa]], [[Fuu Hououji]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Linden Baum
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2022-02-13 - 2016-01-13
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's a nice, lazy Sunday, and a message appears on several girls' phones sometime in the afternoon:

> Lets get cake!!!!!!
> Cake at lindem baum!!!!!!!

Apparently, it's as easy as that for Mikoto to reach people, in the new year. After her scare over Christmas, she's finally gotten comfortable going outside on her own again, and has used these terrible powers in order to enact the finest crime of all: inviting some friends she hasn't seen for a while out to afternoon tea.

Assuming, here, that 'afternoon tea' means 'cake', because they're teenagers, and no one can tell them what is and is not appropriate afternoon food.

She slips her phone back into its handmade cosy, and bounds off to the diner --

Which is, appropriately enough, enjoying plenty of activity on a Sunday afternoon. Luckily for Mikoto, she's well-recognised amongst the patrons of the Germanic diner, so she manages to get a table ''anyway.'' She goes ahead and orders some cake while she's waiting, so that there are plates with slices all laid out. ... and a couple of empty plates in front of Mikoto, where she snacked on the cake before anyone got here...

But she sent out an open call, so she's sure people will get here before she feels the need to eat ''all'' the cake.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

It was indeed a lazy Sunday. And Ren was doing absolutely nothing by laying around. Splayed out on her bed and staring up at the ceiling, she contemplates taking a light nap when her phone goes off. A text message? Sitting up she rubs her eyes and grabs her phone off the stand next to her bed, opening the message to see it was from none other than Mikoto.

"Cake?" Ren says aloud, blinking a bit. She then smiles and types out a reply.

> <Oh yeah! Sure thing! Be right there!>

Her stomach rumbled at the thought of cake, meaning there was no way she could've turned Mikoto down. Hoping up off the bed she began to get ready...

About twenty or so minutes later Ren walked into the Linden Baum diner, squinting as she peered around for Mikoto. She spotted her soon enough and hurried on over, a bright smile and a wave given to the girl once she got close enough, plopping down in the seat across from her.

"Hi! Oh, I see you got started without me!" She teases, knowing how hungry Mikoto usually is --especially'' for cake.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Seeing the message from Mikoto surprises Fuu Hououji far less than it probably should. Fuu has been exceptionally scarce in social and magical circles for a while - a mix of school, club, and family obligations coming thicker and faster than bears much consideration, but she's finally managed to start clawing her way out of those proverbial woods.

When she arrives at Linden Baum, Fuu is wearing a white blouse under a dark green sweater, and a knee-length skirt which nearly matches the sweater's hue; her legs are clad in white stockings, and brown boots keep her feet warm in the Tokyo winter.

"Mikoto-san, Ren-san, it's been quite a while!" Fuu greets the other two as she spots them. "I'm sorry I've been out of touch for so long, things kept piling up on top of me. I couldn't even plan for a birthday party this year ..." She permits herself to look frustrated for a moment, then smiles anew.

"How have you been?" Fuu asks, resting her hand on the back of a free chair. Presumably she'd be fine to just sit down, but manners dictate at least giving Mikoto (or Ren) the chance to invite her to join them. Even if that was implicit from the text.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Yup!" Mikoto agrees, cheerfully, when Ren immediately notices the empty plates. She is utterly shameless about her love of cake. But she's sure to point out, waving Ren in: "There's more cake!"

Mikoto, after all, has studied at the foot of the noble Kyouko Sakura's throne, and knows the vital importance of ''providing enough snacks.''

(It helps that they are literally inside a diner. There are basically unlimited snacks.)

Mikoto, for her part, is wearing an ''obnoxiously'' pink sweater with a cartoon cat embroided onto it, and a cold-weather-practical combination of white tights and polka-dot yellow-pink skirt. And when Fuu appears, she gestures to her, too, energetic wave melding easily into come-here hand-flapping. "Fuu, Fuu!"

Her eyes go ''quite'' wide, in real dismay, as Fuu reveals -- ''she wasn't able to plan for her party.'' "No! That's no good!" Mikoto declares, shoving, like -- ''three whole plates of cake slices at Fuu,'' that will solve the problem. "We'll make a party for Fuu, too!" Mikoto has strong feelings on birthday parties! After all, Fuu helped save hers, too.

But she brightens up, soon enough. "I've been good!" Mikoto says, which is true if incomplete -- her ''most recent experiences'' have been good ones, and apparently that's what weighs the scales, for Mikoto. After a moment she turns to the other girl, and presses: "Ren, Ren! There's new dancing machines in the arcade, did you see?"

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

Ren laughs at Mikoto's response, nodding. "Yes! Thank you so much for the invite! I didn't know how hungry I was for cake until I got your message!" She clasps her hands together and tilts her head a bit. "Truly what we needed today, huh?"

Then Fuu arrives! Ren's eyes light up upon seeing the girl. "Fuu-san!" She ''really'' hasn't seen her in awhile! "I'm so glad you came! We need to catch up!" Despite them going to the same school, seeing one another isn't all that easy, especially when said school is Infinity.

"Oh no!" Ren has the same reaction as Mikoto more or less when hearing that Fuu was so busy she didn't even get to do a birthday party! Mikoto, being ever so thoughtful, shoves cake in Fuu's direction, earning a laugh from Ren. "Yeah! Have some cake to make up for it!"

When Fuu asks them about how they've been faring, Ren answers, "Yeah! Been doing alright! Focused on the end of school. It's hard to believe I'll be graduating soon..." She trails off, getting a bit of a wistful look in her eyes before shaking her head and turning to Mikoto, who has excitedly addressed her about arcade matters.

"I did! I haven't gotten to try them, yet, but I've been hearing how challenging they are! I want to give 'em a shot!"

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"It's not like we didn't celebrate it at all," Fuu says wryly as she settles into her seat. "My parents weren't about to let my birthday pass unnoticed, after all, nor Kuu-neesan. I just didn't have the chance to invite anyone from outside the family to celebrate it with us. But I appreciate the thought, however belated it might be," she smiles to Mikoto.

She picks up her fork, sectioning off a bite of cake from one of the slices. "Are you planning for college next, Ren-san, or are you not decided yet? You'll be graduating with quite a prestigious degree, although I can well imagine wanting to figure out what you'd major in before you apply."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Today! Tomorrow, too!" Mikoto agrees, cheerfully, on the matter of cake and when it is required. There may be the terrible impression that Mikoto thinks they need cake...

... ''all the time.''

Alas, they can't eat cake every day, despite Mikoto's clear advice. But Mikoto is still encouraged to hear Fuu ''did'' get to eat cake for her birthday, here assuming that her birthday being noticed involved birthday cake. When she assures them that her family was looking out for her, Mikoto -- well, there's a flicker of something, in her eyes, a little wavering of her smile. Momentary flinch reaction. It lasts only as long as it takes for her to remind herself that ''Fuu's'' family is perfectly nice, and she beams, again. "Good!" Mikoto chirps, reassured. "I'm happy it was good when Fuu's family helped."

(There was that excitement, during ''Mikoto's'' party, but she never ended up explaining precisely what that was about. ... not widely, anyway.)

She turns to Ren, with eyes just as wide. "Like Mai!" Mikoto says, in realisation. "So that's why Ren's busy..." Mikoto has been doing quite a lot of helping* with revision for those perilous entry exams, herself.

*mostly just hanging off of Mai's side reminding her to take breaks and eat snacks, really.

"Too busy for the arcade...? ... it's okay!" Mikoto assures her, reaching over to grab another slice of cake ''herself.'' Big spoonful. Nomph. "It'll be there later!"

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

"Oh good! I'm glad your family got to celebrate it with you!" Ren says happily, then takes a fork and uses it to break off a piece of cake, spearing it and then bringing it up to her mouth to take a bite. It's ''delicious''. She wonders when's the last time she'd had cake, chewing and savoring it. Probably... Mikoto's birthday party? Yeah, that seems about right. She swallows and grins a bit sheepishly at Fuu's question.

"Ahhh... I've been thinking about it and it might work best if I entered Infinity's university program. You know, since they have a..."

She looks around as if wondering if anyone might be listening, then leans forward, a serious look on her face.

"...Magic Program." She says lowly, nodding sagely before leaning back, using her fork to take another piece of cake which is then shoved into her mouth to be consumed. "Though, you know, I don't know what I'd tell my parents if I went that route. They've been ''really'' interested in my plans since the school year started, and it's only grown a lot since then..." Mikoto and Fuu might not know this but Ren's parents are both scientists and thus ''very'' academic-minded. Not to mention her older brother who is currently studying Science himself at Tokyo University, earning top marks like he has his entire life. Thus, there's a ''lot'' of pressure on her...

"...But it's good to know Mai-san is studying hard, as well." Ren says, trying to forget her "troubles" for now. "Annnnd, as ''soon'' as it's all over we can definitely go to arcade." She nods at Mikoto, "Promise!"

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Fuu winces slightly as well in tandem with Mikoto's flinch; she's ... somewhat aware of Mikoto's own family situation, particularly when it comes to her 'lord brother' - one individual with whom Fuu still needs to have some words, specifically very *pointed* ones, should the opportunity ever arise. But there wasn't really a way to completely dodge the topic of family, and Fuu makes a mental note that she should have Mikoto meet the other Hououji's sometime.

"Oh yes, Mai-san is a senior as well, isn't she?" Fuu asks, recalling that the redhead is - well, that would make it two years ahead of Fuu herself, but that still sounds about right. "Please tell her I said hello and wished her luck on her exams. I doubt I'm up to that level, but if I can help her study a bit, I'd be glad to lend her a hand. And you as well if you believe you could use it, Ren-san," she adds, her attention shifting to her same-school sempai. "The fact that you're basically set on a college should put your parents' concerns at rest, shouldn't it? And even if you're not studying the same science they might have pointed you at, it's certainly still *a* science."

Fuu pauses, partly to chew another bite of cake, but visibly weighing what she just said. So then she swallows the mouthful of cake, and appends: "Except when it's an art."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Some families are better than others! Like Mai's relationship with her brother! ... okay yeah Mikoto should definitely meet some functional families sometime. That is just 100% right on the money.

Mikoto's party ''did'' have some great cake, though, even if it had to be rescued a little.

She leans forward, conspiratorially, to listen to Ren's justification. (Luckily, even though there are a lot of patrons at this family diner, everyone seems pretty occupied with their personal conversations. It's privacy through obscurity!) Her eyes go all wide as she nods, intently, settling back into her seat. She doesn't know that Ren has been raised by ''real scientists,'' but she can appreciate the conflict between what she wants to study and what she can ''tell them'' she wants to study, because --

Okay, Mikoto just flat assumes Ren's family doesn't know what she's about. After all, her family isn't evil, so according to Mikoto they ''probably'' don't know about magic. (Then again, not ''every'' family is evil and knows about magic. She can think of at least one girl -- but does that even count? It's magic, but it's not ''magic...'')

"Yup!" Mikoto confirms, on her favourite topic: Mai Tokiha. "I will!" She adds, to Fuu, cheerfully. She nods, eagerly, to the idea of the ''arcade,'' too.

And here, she tilts her head. "Infinity can't say it's magic out loud," she points out. "So why not just say it's science?" Mikoto evidently hasn't thought about what happens when Ren's parents ask her about sodium-potassium pumps in the middle of what is supposed to be a biology course.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

Ren listens intently to what Fuu, then Mikoto, have to say on the matter. She has to admit, talking about it aloud with people who understand makes her feel a lot better about her position.

"Those are good points." She says in response to the both of them. "I did do some thinking... and I've realized I don't think they're quite ready to know about magic yet? I feel like it would flip their whole world view around and I don't know if I want to be responsible for doing that to them..." ''Of course'' she could just tell them she's studying Science... but part of her wishes she didn't have to continue keeping the magical side of her life away from her family. But again, their reactions...

She eats another piece of cake, then smiles at Fuu. "Thank you, Fuu-san. I might just take you up on that offer."

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Technically, Fuu should be working out her own college plans as well, for all that she has two whole years before she graduates from high school. Even if her parents aren't applying quite as much pressure as some mothers and fathers might, even if they realize that Fuu has more on her plate than just school and its associated activities.

"I don't think I've ever really heard what your parents do, for that matter, Ren-san?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto's college plans:

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

And those are Mikoto's college plans!

She listens, though, as Ren talks about her parents being ''ready'' to know about magic. "I never had to think about that," Mikoto remarks, and thinks it must be ''awfully'' complicated balancing those scales. (She wonders how Mai is doing, all a sudden. Just kidding! It's not sudden. There is a part of Mikoto's brain permanently partitioned to Mai Tokiha.)

"It sounds hard," she guesses. "'Cause they're not part of your life like that." Mikoto nods, firmly. She knows exactly how painful it is to have to lock family out of a part of her life. (That's not the same thing at all, Mikoto!) "But," she adds, because she's had a lot of time to think about things like this "they're responsible for them, Ren. Even if you tell them and they don't like it, that doesn't mean you were hurting them."

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

"Oh!" Ren says, blinking. "I never did speak about them much before now around you guys, huh?" She blushes a bit, setting the fork down. "They're scientists. Physicists, really. My brother is studying the same thing right now. I think he's planning on joining them in their lab." Yuu Aizawa definitely had the brains for it, that's for sure. "I umm... don't think I could follow in all of their footsteps like that." She says as-a-matter-of-factly, smiling slightly.

And then Mikoto says something very nice and helpful, and Ren nods, smile growing wider. "You're right. I just didn't want them to worry about me and have to deal with them possibly trying to stop me. I don't think I would've listened to them if they found out and told me I couldn't use Heraut anymore."

She pauses to look down at the silver ring on her finger, the bronze jewel in the center pulsing slightly. No. Abandoning her duties was out of the question, even if it meant a "normal" life.

"But! We came here to enjoy cake. Not to ponder over my problems. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to turn this into something somber."

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Physicists," muses Fuu. "That would probably make learning of magic's reality a more interesting prospect for their sense of the world, wouldn't it?"

She can't pursue that train of thought much further, though, when Ren suggests a change of subject. "Fair enough," she agrees without batting an eye. "I think you were talking about a new game at the arcade when I came in?" The question is split between Ren and Mikoto; either of them could pick up the new thread and run with it. Or they might turn the discussion in yet another direction.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto's head cants this way and that. "Physicists... studying psychics..?"

THOSE WORDS DO NOT MEAN THE SAME THING, MIKOTO. Tragically, Fuu's explanation doesn't remind Mikoto of this in the slightest.

She reaches over, and pat-pats Ren on the arm. "It's okay," she assures her. "I don't think I can follow in my family's footsteps neither." She means this to be entirely reassuring. Maybe it is! Despite the... horrific evil implied on one side of that equation.

(And she thinks Ren must be very brave, if she'd just defy her family like that. Maybe she can teach Mikoto a trick or two.)

Mikoto smiles, brightly, taking another spoonful of cake in her hand instead. "Don't worry!" She assures her, again. "'Cause when problems come out, they're not causing problems inside!" She knows an awful lot about keeping the sad things to herself, after all. But when Fuu offers a conversational out, Mikoto leaps on it like a rabbit just leapt into her field of view.

"Yeah! New dancing game! It's real fast, and has two boxes for people playing, too! So you can play together!" Or ''against'' each other, but Mikoto, who isn't as competitive as some girls in the realm of video games, doesn't immediately think of that.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

What Fuu points out does make sense. And Heraut ''is'' quite mechanical in addition to being magical. She imagines her parents wanting to study him in a lab, though, and isn't sure she's very comfortable with that. Mikoto's mixup of what it is her parents study followed by her proclamation regarding problems earns a giggle out of her, though. If only her parents ''did'' study psychics! Then maybe telling them the truth would be much easier for her.

Fuu does turn the conversation to something a lot lighter, and Ren nods eagerly as Mikoto explains further. "A lot of people at school have been talking about it. Even though it's hard, it's supposed to be a really fun way to relive stress!" If getting sweaty and out of breath could be considered a stress reliever, that is. Ren thinks it's perfectly fine as long as you're having fun!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Dancing game, huh," Fuuu muses, savoring another bite of cake as she weighs that. Exercise *is* a known stress-reliever - burning off excess nervous energy, as well as the endorphins that come with a good workout. "It would be worth checking out, at the very least. I'm not sure how well I'd do at it, but there's not much to lose by trying, right?"

On the flip side, high speed and high difficulty don't usually add up to a *relaxing* experience for a lot of people. The fact that Mikoto takes to a dancing game like a duck to water isn't really surprising, and while Fuu's hardly a couch potato, there's a reason why archery - a sport where discipline and mental focus are more critical than physical strength, agility, or endurance - is Fuu's athletic outlet of choice.

Still, Fuu does manage to keep up in gym class pretty well regardless of the specific sport. Unless she sees people having to be *carried* off the new game's dance stages, she'd probably at least give it a try ... maybe when the weather is warmer so she doesn't have to plan around being dressed for cold weather. "Let me know when the two of you want to go?" she asks. "I'm curious enough to see this for myself, and maybe give it a try."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Yup!" Mikoto nods, all eager-beaver, to Ren's confirmation. Her braids go ''up'' with the motion, flop back ''down'' moments later. She nomphs another spoonful of cake. She requires all this energy so as to recharge her power to do such feats as succeed at frantic dancing games.

Or jump up over rooftops, which is just a thing she does, all the time? Like? The sidewalk is RIGHT THERE, Mikoto?

Her eyes shine, as Fuu decides she'd like to try, too. "Okay!" She agrees, eagerly. "Let's do arcade dancing soon!" Mikoto pauses, and adds, looking to Ren: "But not until Ren's done studying. 'Cause you're coming too, right? Right?"

Mikoto's eyes are big as saucers, smile bright enough to replace the sun which is all obscured by clouds out there today. She just ''really wants Ren to come dancing.''

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

Mikoto has nothing to worry about. Ren nods. "Of course I'll come! I wouldn't miss it!" She reassures them both, pumping a fist into the air. "It'll be a good reward for passing my exams." Well, at least she seems confident!

"It'll be great! We can make a whole day out of it, even. There's a really good restaurant near the arcade that we can hit up, too. And maybe we can invite some other people and ''really'' make it a party, you know?" It's really not a bad suggestion. Everyone could use it as a way to destress from end-of-term exams.

"We'll take over the arcade! Ok, well, maybe not take over but you know what I mean." She laughs, rubbing the back of her neck.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Yup!" Mikoto nods, all eager-beaver, to Ren's confirmation. Her braids go ''up'' with the motion, flop back ''down'' moments later. She nomphs another spoonful of cake. She requires all this energy so as to recharge her power to do such feats as succeed at frantic dancing games.

Or jump up over rooftops, which is just a thing she does, all the time? Like? The sidewalk is RIGHT THERE, Mikoto?

Her eyes shine, as Fuu decides she'd like to try, too. "Okay!" She agrees, eagerly. "Let's do arcade dancing soon!" Mikoto pauses, and adds, looking to Ren: "But not until Ren's done studying. 'Cause you're coming too, right? Right?"

Mikoto's eyes are big as saucers, smile bright enough to replace the sun which is all obscured by clouds out there today. She just ''really wants Ren to come dancing.''

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

Mikoto has nothing to worry about. Ren nods. "Of course I'll come! I wouldn't miss it!" She reassures them both, pumping a fist into the air. "It'll be a good reward for passing my exams." Well, at least she seems confident!

"It'll be great! We can make a whole day out of it, even. There's a really good restaurant near the arcade that we can hit up, too. And maybe we can invite some other people and ''really'' make it a party, you know?" It's really not a bad suggestion. Everyone could use it as a way to destress from end-of-term exams.

"We'll take over the arcade! Ok, well, maybe not take over but you know what I mean." She laughs, rubbing the back of her neck.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"When *are* your exams, Ren-san?" wonders Fuu. "Or are they at the same time as finals will be for me? But yes, a day at the arcade for a larger group sounds like an excellent way to blow off steam after exams are done ..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Mm!" Mikoto nods, eagerly, right up until Ren suggests --

"-- we can't do that!!" The girl from Dark Fall yelps, glancing nervously to the black case resting by the table. "That's --" a joke. "Oh," Mikoto says, shedding her alarm. She laughs, too, but it's a little nervous.

She looks to Fuu, and Fuu's question, and then looks to Ren, searching wordlessly for the answer.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

"They are!" Ren confirms with Fuu. "They'll count for my end-of-year exams ''and'' my college entrance exams for Infinity. My parents told me I should have a few other universities in mind just in case, but I'd have to take another exam for those so..." She shrugs, smiling nevertheless. "I don't know if I could focus on studying for ''two'' different sets of exams."

Mikoto's reaction garners a confused blink, though once the girl realizes Ren wasn't being serious about taking over the arcade she chuckles.

"No worries Mikoto-chan. We're not staging an ''actual'' take over. I don't think the owners would like us very much if we did that."

She picks the fork up again. "Now. Let's finish all this cake before it goes to waste!"

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"That's quite a lot of cake to work through," Fuu remarks - Mikoto *did* order a fair amount without knowing how many people would show up. "But we can probably take some home if push comes to shove. In the meantime ..."

She digs into her next slice. Cake is best when it's fresh, after all, and there'll still be enough to take a few slices home by her estimate.

2022-01-13 - Whose Fault Is It, Anyway?

2022-02-06T00:01:02Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: formatting is HARD and i SUFFER

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Whose Fault Is It, Anyway?'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Setsuna takes Rei to relax in the hot springs after her hard work during the Hatsumode festival, but New Years can bring up old wounds, too.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Rei Hino]], [[Setsuna Higashi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Hibikijima Hot Springs
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
13-01-2022 - 04-01-2016
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

ON THE FIRST:

'It seems the spirits were hard at work for you this year. I hope you found the love you were looking for.'

AND THE SECOND:

'If your fortune didn't favour you, be sure to tie it to the pine. Oh, don't worry -- it can hold all those fortunes!'

AND THE THIRD:

'An amulet for protecting young families..? I have just the thing.'

AND THE FOURTH:

"Muuuuurrrrrghhhhh."

That's the approximate noise Rei made, face-down on her bed, scarcely bothering to lift a hand to swat at her friend. The busiest festival of the month is ''right at the start,'' and after three days of helping what feels like half of Tokyo put their yearly affairs in order, the inexhaustible Rei Hino is all out of juice. She doesn't even want to ''think'' about Little New Year right now.

It probably says something about how much she trusts Setsuna that she let her ''in'' without straightening herself out; even tired as she is, it's hard to imagine Rei letting anyone see her dishevelled.

It's this power of appearances which lets her get ready, when Setsuna insists, to go out to --

THE HOT SPRINGS:

"Ayaaah... I'm saved!"

''That's'' the sound of Rei sinking into Hibikijima's hot springs, her fashionable dayclothes temporarily traded for a towel. Her black hair hangs heavy until it hits the water, whereby it fans out, a hundred roots to an ancient tree. "You're right... the hot springs are marvellous this time of year! Ahh, this is so much better than being at home..!"

She streeetches out over the stones at the edge, and she's finally ''really'' smiling, instead of putting on a good act.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

What was Setsuna Higashi doing on the first, the second, and the third? It's a mystery! Because it ''wasn't'' working at a shrine. She has had the vaunted 'free time' instead, and has spent it well on things that suit the beginning of a new year. But now...

Well, now there's something else to handle, and that's a certain friend who has ''not'' had free time. Setsuna knows full well how tired Rei has to be after all that anyway, and it does say something that she trusts her enough to let her see. To her credit, Setsuna doesn't even comment on it... except to mention her PLAN.

AT THE SPRINGS:

"Mm-hm," Setsuna Higashi comments laconically, sinking into the springs after. Her purple hair fans out less impressively, longer than it used to be but still not so long as Rei's, and she relaxes amiably against the rocks, leaning her head back. "Much."

But she turns her head a little, and opens her eyes again, to smile back at Rei. "I thought it would be."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

There are plenty of things to do in the New Year... and notably, despite everything ''else'' she had to do, Rei's room back there was ''still clean.''

Now safely entrenched in the hot springs, Rei waves her hand -- which, given it's most of the way in the water, ends up stirring up the smokey water, too. "All right, all right," she concedes, goodnaturedly, "you were right." Mark one point to Setsuna. Luckily, ''she's'' not keeping a logbook of all these events. Right???

(Rei still needs to take custody of that one notebook of Usagi's. Call it a new year's resolution. These crimes cannot stand.)

She s i n k s a few extra inches down, flopped back against the rocks. "Between keeping Grandpa in line, and delegating what Yuuichiro can handle... ahh, geez," Rei sighs, head lolling to look at those old timber logs protecting their privacy. "''Obviously'' we can handle it, but this time of year makes it entirely too clear how many people depend on Hikawa. Ahh," she adds, with a little shrug, "not to say I'm not glad the city remembers its spirituality... it would be more depressing if we didn't get any visitors."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Rei Hino is powerful...

Setsuna nods in satisfaction at the acknowledgement though, not putting on much of a facade for the moment--which means she's a little harder to read, but Rei knows her well enough by now. And... she's ''not'' keeping a log book.

But she might be part-computer...

"Yes," Setsuna answers, nodding along to Rei's list of tasks. "I don't know much about spirituality," she admits. But she ''did'' visit a shrine with the Momozonos for the new year, so there's that. However, Rei said something interesting too...

"Was it your idea to send him to that exorcism then?" Setsuna wonders of Rei, surprised at the thought. "At the Konishi house."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"More than some," Rei supposes, on the topic of Setsuna's spirituality. But then, she's shared some strange theories with Setsuna, in her time. The life of a tree...

She's distracted from that, though, by Setsuna's question. Rei blinks, head turning to look directly to her again. "Eh? Konishi house..?"

Mind you, Rei's phone -- safely in her bag out of the water, mind you -- has this in its recent message history:

From Usagi: rei-chan! act proud of yuuichirou-san when you see him 
To Usagi: Just what has he done that's worth any praise? 
From Usagi: jus do it Rei-chan!!!

... which is really all the context Rei has to say: "Is ''that'' what he was so happy about!" She folds her arms, with a mighty pout. "I can't believe him! He's still in training -- that's so dangerous! Ugh... at least Usagi was with him... ahh, and you too, right?" Rei puts the pieces together, her grumpy expression getting a shade more gratitude. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"That's..." Setsuna considers. "Hm." She probably ''does'' know more than some. "That's not great." Because she considers her own knowledge of the matter to be very lacking, even with a Personal Spiritual Advisor in her friend Rei here; she just didn't grow up with it. But the distraction is fine, because it's Setsuna's question!

"I think so," Setsuna answers, since obviously she wouldn't know for sure. "It was pretty dangerous," Setsuna admits, "But it turned out all right. He did his best!"

"Lera was there too, and La Sirene, and even Sailor Uranus. So he had plenty of backup. But I think he did all right."

Pause. "I'm not sure it was actually a ghost, but Hiroko-san seemed to think it was all solved..."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"He did mention..." Rei muses, trailing off, as she taps a finger to her lip. "... ah, and he said Nori-chan was ringing him, when he finally managed to ''interrupt me.'' But that was later," she waves her hand, dismissively, and splishes it back into the water.

(Rei had her own problems, over Christmas Eve; she wasn't particularly nice about them.)

She sighs, looking up. "It's often not a ghost," Rei says. "In my experience, plain old hauntings are actually pretty rare... but youma acting like ghosts are all too common. That's why it's way too much for Yuuichiro to handle! He's just lucky you were all there!" She grouses, sinking deeper into the water. Bubble, bubble, goes the water around her mouth as she huffs.

"I don't get that boy at all," she finally grumbles ''out'' of the water, when she pushes herself back up a bit. "It's not like he isn't talented, but he's always such a pain in my side! Running off on his own to exorcise a house... what was he thinking?!"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Rei is often hard to interrupt. Setsuna takes that at face value; she was talking a lot, for whatever reason, at the time. "Right."

Setsuna had very few problems on Christmas Eve, frankly. Or Christmas Day. Oh, ''some'', to be sure, since the world had some... but on the whole hers went very well!

"Ghosts seem to be pretty shy," Setsuna reflects thoughtfully, and then looks back to Rei. SHe continues to be utterly relaxed, at perhaps maximum chill in the lovely springs. She is not quite so deep as Rei though.

"Hmmm..."

"I don't know how boys think," Setsuna admits. "But if I were him... Maybe I'd be thinking, 'I'll do something to prove myself.'"

"Maybe he wants to impress you?"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"I'm reluctant to paint every spirit with one brush," Rei says, "but certainly, many of them do keep to their own business." Whatever that unfinished business might happen to be.

Rei, of course, has the superpower of getting nettled ''even here in the seat of relaxation.'' Maybe that's just a sign she's regaining her energy..?

She shifts in the water, so the she can rest an elbow on the rocks, a hand to her cheek. Conveniently, this makes it easier to look at Setsuna, too. "Well, I'm not impressed!" She huffs, waving her other hand. "And you'd better ''bet'' I'm going to give Usagi a ''piece of my mind'' for making him think I'd condone such a ridiculous thing! Why would I be proud of him foolishly risking himself?! It's completely unnecessary!" She's awfully worked up about it, but, then... it ''is'' Rei.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"We never had any spirit problems back in Labyrinth that I knew of," Setsuna says, which may be a feature of Mobius's rule or it may be a feature of Labyrinth. It's not Earth, after all. "But I've heard of hauntings here..."

Rei is definitely getting her energy back. It's a good thing.

But Setsuna casually watches her friend huffing and puffing and considers what she's saying... Foolish, unnecessary risks...

"That's true. If he puts himself in danger, he risks trouble for the people who care about him, like you." Yep. She said it.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Even here at Lake Hibikijima..." Rei will play along with the inn's ghost stories. Is it because Rei knows something they don't, or because Rei has a particular sense of humour?

She's not telling.

The problem is that Setsuna ''also'' has a particular sense, and Rei walks right into it. She straightens up all a sudden, water going splish-splash around her. "W-wait a second!" Rei yelps, looking DEEPLY offended. Scandalised, really. "Who said I cared about a moron like him?! I could care less what he does with his miserable life!" Which is an interesting slip from someone whose grammar is normally so good.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"I think I heard about that..." Setsuna thinks. She isn't sure. Because she's kind of like that, it doesn't involve snacks so she might forget about it. But that's fine. Super fine. Because Setsuna indeed has a sense...

"That's true too," Setsuna says. "You ''could'' care a lot less about him, I think."

She delivers that line completely straight, and then grins faintly at Rei, to show that she isn't quite as space case as she once was. "...But of course you do, or you wouldn't worry about him. And why not? He's been with the Shrine for a while now, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"That's -- that's not what I -- ugh!" Rei sinks back down into the springs until only her deeply frowning eyes are visible, bubble bubble bubble.

She rises up to drape over the side of the pool, with all the drama the situation demands. (Rei, tragically, cannot summon fainting couches from nowhere.) "He has!" She laments, cheek to her outstretched arm. "And he's as stupid as anyone else in my family! Do you ''know'' how much of a pain it is to be the only one with any sense?!"

Here she pauses, and lifts her head to add: "... oh, yeah, come to think of it."

Beat: "So you know how annoying it is!"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Frown. Deep, deep frown. Setsuna eyes Rei's frown and doesn't even laugh at her. Rei knows she's capable of it. But she doesn't. She is good. ...Also she seems to be relatively serious about it.

Setsuna maintains her perfectly comfortable position, her arms now floating lazily in the water while her head is still mostly back. ''Does'' she know how it feels to be the only one with any sense...?

"Don't worry," Rei's extradimensional friend says. "I won't tell him or anything. But I think it's nice that you're trying to look out for him."

Then a beat, "...Of course, a lot of our friends aren't exactly full up on sense..."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"It's not like I'm worried," Rei grumbles, which might be a response to worrying about Setsuna talking, or worrying about Yuuichiro's safety, and either way is probably playing havoc with the truth.

She sighs, head flopping back down. "Oh, tell me about it. Usagi has been as airheaded as ever! Secchan, how ''do'' you just let all this just roll off your back? I swear..!" One way or another, or perhaps in both senses.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

It's OK. Setsuna doesn't have to call out blatant lies. It's just not necessary.

Besides, it's not ''like'' she's worried, because she is! It is itself!

"She seemed to be that night too," Setsuna answers, though it's not un-fond. She likes Usagi rather a lot, after all. They share that friendship. "But how? Hmmm..."

She considers the airheads in her life.

"I find it a bit charming," she admits. "I used to get mad at it... but I don't so much anymore."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Rei, who is both fully herself and full of herself, doesn't catch that slip, either. She slips a little deeper into the water, instead, when Setsuna shares her feelings on airheads. Considering Usagi and Minako...

"Aaah, geez!" Rei, who has not had quite the trajectory Setsuna has, wails. "I'm ''swearing you to secrecy on this'' --" here she points at Setsuna, with an incisive expression, "-- but I guess I'm not so different. It's..."

She's the one who puts her own back to the wall, as she shifts in the water, head tilting back against the rocks. "Oh, I don't know," Rei defers, with a long s i g h. "Maybe I had to grow up too fast... it's people like that who remind me not everything is that serious. I'm busy taking care of the family, but..." This time, when she trails off, she doesn't immediately manage to pick the thread back up again.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Usagi, Minako.... Love. Sometimes Lera.

"Ahahahah," Setsuna laughs, finally allowing herself to move a little bit. She lowers her hands, and then nods seriously. "Right." Secrecy is serious stuff!

"...It's hard not to appreciate them a little," she says. "Maybe that's true.. I didn't really get to be a 'kid' either," she says thoughtfully. "I was always so serious... and people managing to break that up is part of what saved me, I think."

She's busy, but... Hmm. "It's important to have your own life too," Setsuna says. "That's what I think."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"That's what saved you, huh..?" Rei reflects, hands curling in closer to herself. "I can sympathise with something like that." Because before Usagi befriended her, Rei...

Well, never mind that.

"Ahh," she breathes out, looking over to the timber screen. "You think..? But men are so unreliable... it's a lot of pressure, but I'm the one who can actually take care of things." It's an interesting conclusion to reach, because while Grandpa Hino is occasionally profit-driven or overinterested in improving the shrine's image, he's always been there maintaining Hikawa Shrine -- and Setsuna has ''seen'' how dedicated Yuuichiro is.

Rei shakes her head. "... but Usagi would say the same thing, I suppose," and it's telling that she says it in the sort of tone which presumes that's ''why'' it's correct. "You know, something like, 'I know you can take care of everyone else, but don't forget about you, either!'... haa," her shoulders lift, in a vast shrug, "maybe I'm overdoing it."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Not ''just'' that," Setsuna allows equitably enough, "...But that, yes. Seeing there was more to life than the mission... It made me mad. It made me jealous. And it made me want to see it for myself."

Setsuna looks out into the distance, and then back to Rei, thoughtfully. "Are they?" she wonders. "Love's father seems pretty reliable. There's Endo..." She can think of a few, at least. But, "It's a balance anyway; you do need to take care of your responsibilities... But you're young, too."

They both are, Setsuna would say. But Usagi--yes. "Usagi-chan is right," Setsuna says. "You probably are. But I think it's a good impulse. You have to take some time for yourself... but it's not ''bad'' to care about your 'mission', too."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"And that's why I like you!" Rei replies, with a sly smile. "A girl's got to have ambition in life. Ambition!" Sometimes ambition means getting so mad that you switch sides to figure something out. And sometimes it means eating an entire steak, but this isn't about Setsuna's culinary talents.

She blows air out through her lips, neck crik-cracking as she moves it back and forth. "Yeah," she agrees. "Besides, Usagi knows better than to tell me to chill out!" It's delivered like a joke, but is it REALLY a joke..?

"After all, I'm calm city," the girl who's been howling this whole time asides.

She lifts a hand from the water, a dozen sparkling droplets, to wipe her damp hair from her face; weighted down as it is, she has no hope of tossing it over her shoulder, the way she normally would. "Ahh, but I mean... it's not like there aren't other men out there," she gestures, vaguely, as if to encompass all the Uminos of the world in her fingers. "I guess when I say that, I'm thinking of one man, after all..."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Is that why?" Setsuna asks, and Rei might not be able to tell if Setsuna is serious or not. She smiles back a moment later, though. Ambition!! Setsuna... Hmm. Is that what 'ambition' means to her now...?

"I do have things I want," she admits thoughtfully. But she is happy to move to the matter of Usagi and nod firmly. "Fire shouldn't be cold," she agrees, and is she... using a metaphor???? Maybe. Only maybe though.

Setsuna does not call Rei out on not being calm city. This time. But she looks at her for a moment. Just looks, no particular emotion.

Setsuna lowers herself deeper under the water for a few moments, just to let her hair get evenly wet, and then bobs back up again. "True," she says. "There are many men in the world."

"...Do you mean...?"

She has a guess. But she isn't confident in that guess--or in herself, on matters of family.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Was that a ''metaphor,'' Secchan?" Rei gasps, hand to her chest. "I'll always remember this day!" It's kind of a joke, but it also kind of ''isn't,'' given how literally Setsuna has taken certain statements in the past. She can be proud of her for that!

On the other hand, Setsuna is plenty adept at meaningful looks, and Rei ends up pouting by the end of that one. She has the opportunity to sink back into the nice hot water while Setsuna is dipping, and even when she comes back up, she's still ''mostly'' submerged. Her head tilts up, in the water, and it might seem like she didn't hear the question, for a moment.

(That's not entirely true.)

"... I don't know if you'd have noticed, since it doesn't really affect us," Rei starts, after a moment. "But there's a Minister Hino in parliament, too... in the Democratic Liberal Party." Her lips press to a thin, unimpressed line. "My father."

The silence stretches out. It is hot not like springs but like rage.

"A man so useless, he couldn't even find his way to his wife's deathbed." Her eyes narrow, voice dropping to the floor. "Though the ''funeral'' made a fine photo-op."

It's not something she typically speaks on, but then, she ''did'' swear Setsuna to silence.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Yes," Setsuna answers simply. It is not quite proud herself, but it's not ''not'' proud. She... might've had to think about that one to make it work. Or maybe she got lucky! It's fine. "Will you?" ...It's very fine.

Yes. Setsuna is good at the Look. She gives it without really even having to try. She comes back up partly out of the water and leans on the rocks again, getting more comfortable again--or at least trying to. But... The matter of a man. A man in particular, who Rei knows.

"...I read the name, once or twice," she says. She has paid attention to News, though mostly for school purposes. But that rage... Setsuna can't quite...

"I don't..." She looks down. "...Mm."

She does understand leaving a family, actually. She feels guilty, all of a sudden.

"...I can't really understand all the way," she admits then. "I never... had a father." A pause. "...But someone who can't make it to something that important... That is pretty unreliable."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Rei, like a shark, lurks half-beneath the water. The scowl on her face might well bury her expression the rest of the way.

She has to pay attention to the news for school, too. The people around her are all quite aware of each others' relative status; Rei is quite used to her fellow students trying to score points with her through her family name, whenever it has occasion to come up.

Politics in Japan don't follow family lineages -- but that doesn't mean there isn't power in having one. There are many people, in Ohtori, who think that making friends with Rei will be politically convenient later in life.

How... disgusting.

But she looks up at Setsuna, downcast, and her frown gains another dimension. Rei pushes herself up, from the water, reaching out to pat a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Ahh, don't worry about it, don't worry! A man like that isn't worth giving any thought to, anyway!" She's all but laughing it off, all but declaring herself bulletproof.

... she doesn't want to isolate Setsuna, just because she had a unique upbringing.

Her hand pulls back, to cup at her cheek, head tilting to the side. "Secchan, I'm sure you know enough unreliable people too, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna would be pretty well lost in something like Ohtori's environment; as it stands, a lot of the scheming there goes entirely over her head. She is friendly enough, and nice, and popular herself... but she doesn't put out much of an effort to be, either. She doesn't 'get' people the same way that Rei does.

"I'm sorry," Setsuna says first, and 'downcast' is a good way to describe her expression. She feels guilty for leaving; she feels guilty for not being able to understand Rei. And she worries that she's missed something important...

"...If you say so," she says about 'that man', but she seems dubious. The question turned around to her thought makes her tilt her head, thinking about it.

"Yes," she says.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Ohtori is a complicated place. Rei fits in better, now she's not such a witch. That... wasn't always the case. But even now she has her very own fan club...

Well, there's a reason ''most'' of her friends are in Juuban, instead.

But it's also true that growing up in the arms of Ohtori has given Rei a certain social understanding. She hears the way Setsuna's responses become more short, the doubt in her voice; ahh, Rei thinks, where is Usagi, at a time like this? She'd obviously make a mess of it, but the messes Usagi makes with people's feelings always seem to work out in the end, because Usagi has a certain power to reach people. Rei has to acknowledge -- admire -- that, because she reached her, after all.

"So you see," Rei says, glancing away from Setsuna to the wooden privacy-screen to give her a break from eye contact, "you understand the important parts, don't you think?" She's enforcing herself on the question; she's making an effort, anyway.

Setsuna didn't understand all the way... ugh, Rei thinks. Is her own reluctance making this worse? It's not exactly comfortable, but it's not like she means to lock Setsuna out of something like this. She's characteristically grouchy, as she adds: "Even if it's not family specifically... well, it's not like he ever shows up, so frankly I think I'm the best argument that fathers are totally unnecessary anyway." She snorts a laugh, derisive, through her nose. "You know he sends his assistant to visit me on my birthday? Mr. Kaidou." It's an awkward acknowledgement, these days. "... really, if my father doesn't have time to have a family, why even pretend? It's all just stupid convenience. Using each other to get ahead or look good... no wonder he put me somewhere I wouldn't embarrass him when I called him on his ''crap.''"

... is that why Rei lives with her Grandpa?

Is that why she's a shrine maiden, instead of a political starlet?

The reason she's making it on her own, in the end...

"But what's done is done," Rei shrugs. "It's my territory now, and unlike ''some people,'' I don't just leave things half-finished so I can make everyone who can help me happy." She pauses, and sighs, shoulders sagging from the sheer velocity of breathing out all that tension. "... but I guess it's true I push pretty hard, so... you really helped me out here, Secchan."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

A fan club! Setsuna has fans of her own, though they haven't formed a ''club'' like Rei's have. ...That she knows of. But speaking of things that she knows of, she doesn't realize in the moment how transparent she is to Rei; she may not be emoting very much, but the signs are still very much there for someone who knows how to read them.

She appreciates the break in eye contact, though she doesn't realize she appreciates it in the moment either--it's a little like relief. "You think so?" she wonders.

But Rei is grouchy, and that's fine, and she explains, and--that does make more sense. "Really?" she asks, and shakes hr head. At least in this case it seems more like she gets why if nothing else that's something crazy. "...he can't have it both ways," Setsuna ventures.

Rei was 'put somewhere'. Setsuna understand what that's like.

"That's true," she says. "You don't do that." She pauses, and that is a lot of tension, but...

"...I'm glad I was able to help," she settles on. It is subtle, but she seems--relieved? More comfortable, certainly. She can't quite figure out what to ''say'' to Rei about all of it but she thinks she understands better, at least.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"You'd think he can't have it both ways," Rei sighs, "but he gets plenty of milage out of being a family man with a tragic backstory. But that's fine," she insists, in exactly the sort of tone which suggests it isn't, really. "He can live his life, and I'll live mine." She scowls, deeply, briefly.

He'll be ''sorry,'' she thinks but does not say, when Rei ends up more loved and more famous than he could ever be. One day he'll lose the wrong election and be regulated to the dustbin of politics, and her star will still be rising. Even at her young age, Rei already has so much experience in performance, project management, public events...

... if she didn't have an axe to grind against ''politics,'' she'd be a terrifying opponent in his own backyard.

(But politics is the one slice of fame Rei is antipathic about. No wonder, with a story like this.)

She shakes her head, though, with a rueful smile. "Ah, geez," she says, looking back to Setsuna. "Look at me oversharing all these personal details... it's a little embarrassing, huh?" She laughs, a shade nervously; a hand comes up, to rub at the back of her head. "I just found some photos while I was doing my New Years' cleanup, so I guess it brought up some things which were already settled..."

They're not settled. She just swallowed them down, seething in her belly like every other wrong ever done to her.

"... but, I mean..." Fumbling over her defences, she is slower in her addendum, slower to trust. "It's... not like I mind you seeing that or anything," Rei settles on, after a moment. "And it's not like I didn't trust you to share this before, either. I just... don't talk about this sort of thing, you know? It's just... messy." It isn't the first time she's described her feelings like that, to Setsuna.

Rei is someone who keeps a clean house. Never mind all the garbage she has to shove in the closets to make it look that way.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

It definitely isn't fine. Setsuna can tell that much. She frowns a little, remembering to put on the expression now that she's more comfortable. "...Living your own life is important."

Rei has a lot of impressive qualities in her life so far. Not that Setsuna's inclined to ''tell'' her that, even just now, but she definitely thinks it.

Setsuna puts on a small smile herself--a little thing, but knowing how little Setsuna emotes in the first place, maybe it means more for it. "I don't mind," she says at the matter of embarrassment. Instead, she listens, tilts her head... Photos...

"Memories can be... complicated," she settles on. She doesn't have any photos of her time in Labyrinth, or even at the mansion. But she has memories enough. And that's on its own.

Rei settles on she doesn't mind, and... Setsuna appreciates that. "...Thank you," she says, perhaps a little awkwardly, to the implied compliment behind all the prickliness.

"...It is messy," she agrees after a moment. "It's hard to talk about things that bother you."

"...Feelings are... very messy, I think." She picks out each word carefully, so very carefully. "And it always seems like things you thought were settled... can come up again, and not be so much, after all."

She pauses. "...For me, at least, it's like that."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Setsuna is emoting! Rei notices that; she might be given to passion, but she has plenty of friends who aren't, after all. She nods, with confidence, when Setsuna agrees that living her own life is important. It is!

But -- Setsuna doesn't mind, which is relieving, even if it's only one part of the puzzle. (Rei has her own standards for disclosure, after all. She's always hardest on herself.) She smiles, a little awkwardly, a little unsteady, but warm regardless.

Memories... and feelings. She tilts her head to indicate engagement, looking to Setsuna as she speaks her piece, too. She's as careful with her words as Rei is careless with hers, so the least Rei can do is listen.

(Let's not think too hard on how many times Rei DOESN'T listen.)

"So, that's how it is for you," Rei sighs, looking up to the sky, for a moment, before she looks back to Setsuna. (It's another of her gambits to give the other girl a break from eye contact.) "Well, I can understand that," she says, a little evasive, but not unkind. "Sometimes it's just too complicated to properly sort out, or something like that..?"

She thinks of the North Pole, not for the first time in recent memory.

She'll address that, hmm... never!

(Rei isn't the only one who prefers not to talk about sad things too much, after all.)

"Ahh, it's a pain for someone like me, because getting caught up in things like that make divination quite difficult. A quiet -- well, that doesn't really apply here," Rei cuts herself off, because she can't espouse clearing her mind of thoughts for greater clarity to the girl who grew up in ''Labyrinth.'' "But in normal life, too..."

Rei is circling around the point. It's a good thing there are no drains in the hot springs, or else she'd be doomed. Her fingers touch her cheek, a delicate bend; they're unpainted, right now, because she was preserving the traditional appearance of the shrine maiden for hatsumode. "I mean, what I'm trying to say is... is this just in general, or did something come up?" There. THERE. She expressed concern for her friend. WAS THAT SO HARD, REI?

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna certainly has Passion, but not really in the same way that Rei does. In a very distinct way, in fact.

Setsuna makes eye contact again when Rei looks back at her, though once again it helps to get a little break from it. Evasive... Yes, evasive, but Setsuna doesn't really expect Rei to come out with her feelings outright, as a general rule.

"Mm," she agrees about complication, though. "Or you thought you had... but there's something to it that you didn't think about before."

Setsuna doesn't talk that much about dying, either. She definitely doesn't talk about the North Pole--she wasn't there. She was far, far away from Beryl back then, as far as she could get.

A quiet... what? A quiet mind? "Yes," Setsuna agrees. It's a pain in normal life, too. But she watches Rei--what she's trying to say, and what she does say--Setsuna looks a little surprised, when she works it out. "Oh..."

"...I usually have a lot on my mind," she admits. "But in this case I was just thinking..." She trails off. Can she say it? Rei was able to express herself.

"...I left a 'family', too," she says quietly. "Westar... always wanted us to have a relationship like that. But I never wanted to listen. And now..."

She looks down. She can't quite keep eye contact up herself at this point. "Did I... abandon him...?"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

It's true, passion and ''Passion'' are different things. Rei is involved in one, and Setsuna, the other.

Well, she thinks, it's true that the multifarious viewpoints of everyone around her sometimes see things she wasn't looking at. Not that she couldn't see them, she thinks, deliberately. But some of these things matter more to other people! And sometimes they point that out.

Rei wonders, briefly, how she should feel about Setsuna being surprised she asked what was on her mind. She resolves not to dwell on it, because she's listening to the other girl, instead.

Setsuna trails off, and Rei scrunches her damp little toes up in a physical reminder not to jump in and draw her conclusions ''for'' her. (Why her toes? She's trying not to make it obvious. They're hidden under the water! It's plenty cloudy!) It's not like Rei isn't trying to take care of her friends when she does things like that, but Setsuna is trying to find her own words. So she waits for her to find them, gaze drifting to the wood-wall, again.

And give her credit, Setsuna ''does'' find them, eventually. Her eyes find their way back to Setsuna when she speaks up, quietly; in the splish-splash of the water, part of her attention is entirely practical. Speaking quietly, Rei might miss something, if she isn't oriented properly on Setsuna. And Rei doesn't want to mishear something it was this hard to say.

(She knows something about how hard it is to say things like this, after all, even if she talked brashly ''around'' the point instead of going silent. They're just two different expressions of the same struggle.)

And it's a family... she didn't acknowledge.

Maybe a family she ''couldn't'' acknowledge, Rei thinks.

Her expression softens, brow arcing up, lips parting in an unsaid word. She reaches out, again, to put a hand on Setsuna's shoulder; this time she just lets it sit there, as a kind of quiet shorthand for physical connection.

"Hey, no way," she says, more seriously than the lighthearted dismissal and casual bitterness she's treated half her feelings here. "Maybe Westar was onto something first, but it's not your fault you weren't ready to hear about it. There was a lot of pressure on you back then, Secchan. Would -- would ''she'' have really accepted you relying on each other like that?" Rei catches herself before she names Northa; the weight to the pronoun is clue enough. She glances away, and it's not just for Setsuna's benefit, this time. "It... you can't be blamed for not listening when you weren't in a safe place, anyway."

She squeezes her shoulder, gently. The frown on her face is gentle, too. "Come on... you're really being unfair to yourself if you say it like that. In the end, it's not like Labyrinth tolerated you being in both worlds. You chose to live your own life," which might sound a little different, repeated in this context, the idea of living given particular nuance. "That doesn't mean you wanted to leave anyone behind. Look --"

Rei takes a breath, and looks back, to Setsuna. "If Westar came to us today and asked for help getting out of there, you'd definitely help him, right?" She resists the urge to complete the question; her very important point can wait for Setsuna's feelings.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna is the type to bottle things up, too, just like Rei in that respect. They do it a little differently, but she's more likely to circle around an idea herself than just to move on from it. The lack of drains in here is probably good for both of them. But...

Given the chance to draw her own conclusions, Setsuna does. It just takes her a bit. And she ''does'' speak quietly. Perhaps to her credit she comes out with it, instead of talking around it... but maybe she just isn't as good at talking around things as Rei, either.

Rei has a near-immediate answer for her--that hand on her shoulder says things that the words don't, at first. Setsuna looks up at Rei and listens, her dark red eyes like a sunsetting ocean in how liquid they are in the moment. "...No," she admits. 'She'. The weight of the pronoun is more than enough. Setsuna knows that it wouldn't have been tolerated.

It wasn't tolerated as it was. ''She'' wasn't tolerated as it was.

But Rei is gentle enough with Setsuna here that the girl from Labyrinth nods after a moment, and looks back up at Rei. "...Yes," she answers simply. She would. But it's not an 'of course'. But she seems to be waiting on Rei to finish whatever point she's making, before she says anything else.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Rei didn't expect any other answer. She does pause, though, for a moment after Setsuna's answer, just to make sure she doesn't want to say anything else.

"Knowing that," she goes on, after that beat, "how could ''anyone'' say you've abandoned him? Just because you accepted help... I wouldn't put it past Dark Fall to encourage feeling like that, but if there's anything worse than politicians, it's that group!" Despite herself, her voice raises, with her upset. "Something like that -- have you just been carrying it by yourself?! Why would you --"

(why would Rei --)

Except the realisation that someone could say that to Rei just as easily comes with it the context of the whole conversation, and Rei's demands deflate, head hanging down. "Oh, damn it, it's... I'm ''sorry,'' Setsuna." It's too close to home; she feels close to crying. She won't, though, for the same reason she keeps her hand on Setsuna's shoulders. "I wasn't considering your feelings at all... listen, it's not the same at all, all right? What happened to you and what my father did... they're not the same at all."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Nothing else there at the moment. There is more she wants to say, but she wants to understand Rei's point, first. And so--

"Well..." Anyone, is it? Rei is clearly upset herself, and Setsuna can understand that, she thinks. Definitely, considering. "...I've talked about it with Lera a little," she admits. "But..."

Rei deflates, and she figures it out. It was much too close to home for her. She feels like crying already, and she won't, because she has her own apology to make. "...It's all right," she says to Rei. "It's... It just..."

She looks down again. "...I'm sorry too," she says, and looks back up again. "You were telling me something important, but I couldn't help but think..."

She shakes her head. "...I'm sorry about your father. I think he's a fool."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

... a little, Setsuna says.

It's always a ''little'' with people like them, isn't it?

"Don't-- you-- you told me something important too," Rei says, the words hitching over themselves. Her other hand reaches up, to rub at her eyes. The steam got in them, obviously. "You were trying to tell me for ages, weren't you? You were trying..."

Rei sniffles. Obviously, her hair is wet, so it's dripping all over her face. That's... that's what this is.

(That's not what this is.)

"My father's awful," Rei agrees, shaking her head. "And that whole situation with Labyrinth is just the worst, too. Like... Gods, we're stupid." Her hand lifts, to swipe, gently, at the back of Setsuna's head before she pulls it back. "Why are we sitting here feeling bad about ourselves when there are way better people to blame for all this?" She laughs. It's a halting, shuddering sort of noise, but it shucks the lump in her throat, anyway.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Always a little. Rei rubs at her eyes, and Setsuna's are wet, not just 'like the sea'. It's both of them, now. Setsuna can't entirely help it. It is not what it is.

"...It is a little dumb, isn't it?" she asks, as Rei swipes at her. Feeling bad about themselves, when...

Setsuna has a reason for that, she thinks. The reason is very simple. It's that Northa is really, really, really scary, and blaming her is terrifying.

"...but we're supposed to live our own lives, with our eyes open. So let's do that." It helps her, to think about it that way. To remember the chance she was given...

"We have another chance. So let's take it."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

It's comfortable for Rei to operate in the realm of blame; someone else might have phrased it differently, but in Rei's eyes, it's not Setsuna's fault for leaving Westar behind ''because'' her previous organisation forced her hand. It's easy for her to blame Labyrinth, and Dark Fall. For leaving Setsuna feeling that way, and...

Rei is a fault-finder. She finds faults. Sometimes this is useful, like when examining bridges. Sometimes this isn't terribly useful, like when inviting earthquakes.

But maybe it's useful enough, today.

"We can't let it slip away," Rei agrees. "Perseverance is the mark of the true woman!"

She leans back, in the water.

"... and when he's ready to take a chance," Rei adds, not quite as sharp and ferocious, "I know you'll meet that with eyes open, too." Rei doesn't say she'd help him, though certainly she would, because the point isn't that Rei would help Westar if he chose to turn away from the dark. Rather, Setsuna... "If you live your life well, I'm sure one day he'll be ready to hear about it." She draw connections between Setsuna and Westar, then and now, but she doesn't drag it completely out into the light.

Sometimes, saying a little is fine. But she can say a little more, too.

"Besides," Rei adds, wagging a finger in the air, "I can't have you falling behind me! It would just be sad if you didn't put up a challenge!" IS REI IMPLYING THAT LIVING A GOOD LIFE IS A A COMPETITI-- obviously she is. "I just organised an entire multi-day festival... what are ''you'' going to do with the new year, huh?"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna Higashi, though she's gotten better about it in the time since she's left Dark Fall, is still good at finding fault with herself. It's something she may never entirely get out of, but with good friends, and good counsel, she can get through the worst of it. ...And maybe she will get out of it.

Today it's useful.

"Right!" Setsuna agrees. The 'true woman' sounds good. And Setsuna, too, leans back in the water, listening at the matter of... Yes, of Westar. Maybe even of Soular, too. If she lives well... That's a good thought.

"...Mm." Pause. Finger wagged in the air. Of ''course'' she is. So Setsuna doesn't say 'don't tell anyone I care about Westar'. That's just assumed. Instead...

"Oh, that's easy," the girl from Labyrinth who lives in Tokyo answers.

"I'm going to spend more time with my girlfriend."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Since Rei swore Setsuna to silence, it's only polite she would respect the same covenant, after all. And --

"Aaaaie!" Rei squeals, hands to her cheeks. "You said it so straight out! You two... geez, I'm so jealous!" Wriggle wriggle, she twists around in the water.

Does that mean Setsuna won this round..?

2022-01-13 - Whose Fault Is It, Anyway?

2022-02-06T00:00:34Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: don't examine rei being jealous of how cute setsuna's lesbian relationship is. that's definitely not important!

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Whose Fault Is It, Anyway%3F'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Setsuna takes Rei to relax in the hot springs after her hard work during the Hatsumode festival, but New Years can bring up old wounds, too.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Rei Hino]], [[Setsuna Higashi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Hibikijima Hot Springs
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
13-01-2022 - 04-01-2016
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

ON THE FIRST:

'It seems the spirits were hard at work for you this year. I hope you found the love you were looking for.'

AND THE SECOND:

'If your fortune didn't favour you, be sure to tie it to the pine. Oh, don't worry -- it can hold all those fortunes!'

AND THE THIRD:

'An amulet for protecting young families..? I have just the thing.'

AND THE FOURTH:

"Muuuuurrrrrghhhhh."

That's the approximate noise Rei made, face-down on her bed, scarcely bothering to lift a hand to swat at her friend. The busiest festival of the month is ''right at the start,'' and after three days of helping what feels like half of Tokyo put their yearly affairs in order, the inexhaustible Rei Hino is all out of juice. She doesn't even want to ''think'' about Little New Year right now.

It probably says something about how much she trusts Setsuna that she let her ''in'' without straightening herself out; even tired as she is, it's hard to imagine Rei letting anyone see her dishevelled.

It's this power of appearances which lets her get ready, when Setsuna insists, to go out to --

THE HOT SPRINGS:

"Ayaaah... I'm saved!"

''That's'' the sound of Rei sinking into Hibikijima's hot springs, her fashionable dayclothes temporarily traded for a towel. Her black hair hangs heavy until it hits the water, whereby it fans out, a hundred roots to an ancient tree. "You're right... the hot springs are marvellous this time of year! Ahh, this is so much better than being at home..!"

She streeetches out over the stones at the edge, and she's finally ''really'' smiling, instead of putting on a good act.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

What was Setsuna Higashi doing on the first, the second, and the third? It's a mystery! Because it ''wasn't'' working at a shrine. She has had the vaunted 'free time' instead, and has spent it well on things that suit the beginning of a new year. But now...

Well, now there's something else to handle, and that's a certain friend who has ''not'' had free time. Setsuna knows full well how tired Rei has to be after all that anyway, and it does say something that she trusts her enough to let her see. To her credit, Setsuna doesn't even comment on it... except to mention her PLAN.

AT THE SPRINGS:

"Mm-hm," Setsuna Higashi comments laconically, sinking into the springs after. Her purple hair fans out less impressively, longer than it used to be but still not so long as Rei's, and she relaxes amiably against the rocks, leaning her head back. "Much."

But she turns her head a little, and opens her eyes again, to smile back at Rei. "I thought it would be."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

There are plenty of things to do in the New Year... and notably, despite everything ''else'' she had to do, Rei's room back there was ''still clean.''

Now safely entrenched in the hot springs, Rei waves her hand -- which, given it's most of the way in the water, ends up stirring up the smokey water, too. "All right, all right," she concedes, goodnaturedly, "you were right." Mark one point to Setsuna. Luckily, ''she's'' not keeping a logbook of all these events. Right???

(Rei still needs to take custody of that one notebook of Usagi's. Call it a new year's resolution. These crimes cannot stand.)

She s i n k s a few extra inches down, flopped back against the rocks. "Between keeping Grandpa in line, and delegating what Yuuichiro can handle... ahh, geez," Rei sighs, head lolling to look at those old timber logs protecting their privacy. "''Obviously'' we can handle it, but this time of year makes it entirely too clear how many people depend on Hikawa. Ahh," she adds, with a little shrug, "not to say I'm not glad the city remembers its spirituality... it would be more depressing if we didn't get any visitors."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Rei Hino is powerful...

Setsuna nods in satisfaction at the acknowledgement though, not putting on much of a facade for the moment--which means she's a little harder to read, but Rei knows her well enough by now. And... she's ''not'' keeping a log book.

But she might be part-computer...

"Yes," Setsuna answers, nodding along to Rei's list of tasks. "I don't know much about spirituality," she admits. But she ''did'' visit a shrine with the Momozonos for the new year, so there's that. However, Rei said something interesting too...

"Was it your idea to send him to that exorcism then?" Setsuna wonders of Rei, surprised at the thought. "At the Konishi house."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"More than some," Rei supposes, on the topic of Setsuna's spirituality. But then, she's shared some strange theories with Setsuna, in her time. The life of a tree...

She's distracted from that, though, by Setsuna's question. Rei blinks, head turning to look directly to her again. "Eh? Konishi house..?"

Mind you, Rei's phone -- safely in her bag out of the water, mind you -- has this in its recent message history:

From Usagi: rei-chan! act proud of yuuichirou-san when you see him 
To Usagi: Just what has he done that's worth any praise? 
From Usagi: jus do it Rei-chan!!!

... which is really all the context Rei has to say: "Is ''that'' what he was so happy about!" She folds her arms, with a mighty pout. "I can't believe him! He's still in training -- that's so dangerous! Ugh... at least Usagi was with him... ahh, and you too, right?" Rei puts the pieces together, her grumpy expression getting a shade more gratitude. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"That's..." Setsuna considers. "Hm." She probably ''does'' know more than some. "That's not great." Because she considers her own knowledge of the matter to be very lacking, even with a Personal Spiritual Advisor in her friend Rei here; she just didn't grow up with it. But the distraction is fine, because it's Setsuna's question!

"I think so," Setsuna answers, since obviously she wouldn't know for sure. "It was pretty dangerous," Setsuna admits, "But it turned out all right. He did his best!"

"Lera was there too, and La Sirene, and even Sailor Uranus. So he had plenty of backup. But I think he did all right."

Pause. "I'm not sure it was actually a ghost, but Hiroko-san seemed to think it was all solved..."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"He did mention..." Rei muses, trailing off, as she taps a finger to her lip. "... ah, and he said Nori-chan was ringing him, when he finally managed to ''interrupt me.'' But that was later," she waves her hand, dismissively, and splishes it back into the water.

(Rei had her own problems, over Christmas Eve; she wasn't particularly nice about them.)

She sighs, looking up. "It's often not a ghost," Rei says. "In my experience, plain old hauntings are actually pretty rare... but youma acting like ghosts are all too common. That's why it's way too much for Yuuichiro to handle! He's just lucky you were all there!" She grouses, sinking deeper into the water. Bubble, bubble, goes the water around her mouth as she huffs.

"I don't get that boy at all," she finally grumbles ''out'' of the water, when she pushes herself back up a bit. "It's not like he isn't talented, but he's always such a pain in my side! Running off on his own to exorcise a house... what was he thinking?!"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Rei is often hard to interrupt. Setsuna takes that at face value; she was talking a lot, for whatever reason, at the time. "Right."

Setsuna had very few problems on Christmas Eve, frankly. Or Christmas Day. Oh, ''some'', to be sure, since the world had some... but on the whole hers went very well!

"Ghosts seem to be pretty shy," Setsuna reflects thoughtfully, and then looks back to Rei. SHe continues to be utterly relaxed, at perhaps maximum chill in the lovely springs. She is not quite so deep as Rei though.

"Hmmm..."

"I don't know how boys think," Setsuna admits. "But if I were him... Maybe I'd be thinking, 'I'll do something to prove myself.'"

"Maybe he wants to impress you?"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"I'm reluctant to paint every spirit with one brush," Rei says, "but certainly, many of them do keep to their own business." Whatever that unfinished business might happen to be.

Rei, of course, has the superpower of getting nettled ''even here in the seat of relaxation.'' Maybe that's just a sign she's regaining her energy..?

She shifts in the water, so the she can rest an elbow on the rocks, a hand to her cheek. Conveniently, this makes it easier to look at Setsuna, too. "Well, I'm not impressed!" She huffs, waving her other hand. "And you'd better ''bet'' I'm going to give Usagi a ''piece of my mind'' for making him think I'd condone such a ridiculous thing! Why would I be proud of him foolishly risking himself?! It's completely unnecessary!" She's awfully worked up about it, but, then... it ''is'' Rei.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"We never had any spirit problems back in Labyrinth that I knew of," Setsuna says, which may be a feature of Mobius's rule or it may be a feature of Labyrinth. It's not Earth, after all. "But I've heard of hauntings here..."

Rei is definitely getting her energy back. It's a good thing.

But Setsuna casually watches her friend huffing and puffing and considers what she's saying... Foolish, unnecessary risks...

"That's true. If he puts himself in danger, he risks trouble for the people who care about him, like you." Yep. She said it.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Even here at Lake Hibikijima..." Rei will play along with the inn's ghost stories. Is it because Rei knows something they don't, or because Rei has a particular sense of humour?

She's not telling.

The problem is that Setsuna ''also'' has a particular sense, and Rei walks right into it. She straightens up all a sudden, water going splish-splash around her. "W-wait a second!" Rei yelps, looking DEEPLY offended. Scandalised, really. "Who said I cared about a moron like him?! I could care less what he does with his miserable life!" Which is an interesting slip from someone whose grammar is normally so good.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"I think I heard about that..." Setsuna thinks. She isn't sure. Because she's kind of like that, it doesn't involve snacks so she might forget about it. But that's fine. Super fine. Because Setsuna indeed has a sense...

"That's true too," Setsuna says. "You ''could'' care a lot less about him, I think."

She delivers that line completely straight, and then grins faintly at Rei, to show that she isn't quite as space case as she once was. "...But of course you do, or you wouldn't worry about him. And why not? He's been with the Shrine for a while now, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"That's -- that's not what I -- ugh!" Rei sinks back down into the springs until only her deeply frowning eyes are visible, bubble bubble bubble.

She rises up to drape over the side of the pool, with all the drama the situation demands. (Rei, tragically, cannot summon fainting couches from nowhere.) "He has!" She laments, cheek to her outstretched arm. "And he's as stupid as anyone else in my family! Do you ''know'' how much of a pain it is to be the only one with any sense?!"

Here she pauses, and lifts her head to add: "... oh, yeah, come to think of it."

Beat: "So you know how annoying it is!"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Frown. Deep, deep frown. Setsuna eyes Rei's frown and doesn't even laugh at her. Rei knows she's capable of it. But she doesn't. She is good. ...Also she seems to be relatively serious about it.

Setsuna maintains her perfectly comfortable position, her arms now floating lazily in the water while her head is still mostly back. ''Does'' she know how it feels to be the only one with any sense...?

"Don't worry," Rei's extradimensional friend says. "I won't tell him or anything. But I think it's nice that you're trying to look out for him."

Then a beat, "...Of course, a lot of our friends aren't exactly full up on sense..."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"It's not like I'm worried," Rei grumbles, which might be a response to worrying about Setsuna talking, or worrying about Yuuichiro's safety, and either way is probably playing havoc with the truth.

She sighs, head flopping back down. "Oh, tell me about it. Usagi has been as airheaded as ever! Secchan, how ''do'' you just let all this just roll off your back? I swear..!" One way or another, or perhaps in both senses.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

It's OK. Setsuna doesn't have to call out blatant lies. It's just not necessary.

Besides, it's not ''like'' she's worried, because she is! It is itself!

"She seemed to be that night too," Setsuna answers, though it's not un-fond. She likes Usagi rather a lot, after all. They share that friendship. "But how? Hmmm..."

She considers the airheads in her life.

"I find it a bit charming," she admits. "I used to get mad at it... but I don't so much anymore."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Rei, who is both fully herself and full of herself, doesn't catch that slip, either. She slips a little deeper into the water, instead, when Setsuna shares her feelings on airheads. Considering Usagi and Minako...

"Aaah, geez!" Rei, who has not had quite the trajectory Setsuna has, wails. "I'm ''swearing you to secrecy on this'' --" here she points at Setsuna, with an incisive expression, "-- but I guess I'm not so different. It's..."

She's the one who puts her own back to the wall, as she shifts in the water, head tilting back against the rocks. "Oh, I don't know," Rei defers, with a long s i g h. "Maybe I had to grow up too fast... it's people like that who remind me not everything is that serious. I'm busy taking care of the family, but..." This time, when she trails off, she doesn't immediately manage to pick the thread back up again.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Usagi, Minako.... Love. Sometimes Lera.

"Ahahahah," Setsuna laughs, finally allowing herself to move a little bit. She lowers her hands, and then nods seriously. "Right." Secrecy is serious stuff!

"...It's hard not to appreciate them a little," she says. "Maybe that's true.. I didn't really get to be a 'kid' either," she says thoughtfully. "I was always so serious... and people managing to break that up is part of what saved me, I think."

She's busy, but... Hmm. "It's important to have your own life too," Setsuna says. "That's what I think."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"That's what saved you, huh..?" Rei reflects, hands curling in closer to herself. "I can sympathise with something like that." Because before Usagi befriended her, Rei...

Well, never mind that.

"Ahh," she breathes out, looking over to the timber screen. "You think..? But men are so unreliable... it's a lot of pressure, but I'm the one who can actually take care of things." It's an interesting conclusion to reach, because while Grandpa Hino is occasionally profit-driven or overinterested in improving the shrine's image, he's always been there maintaining Hikawa Shrine -- and Setsuna has ''seen'' how dedicated Yuuichiro is.

Rei shakes her head. "... but Usagi would say the same thing, I suppose," and it's telling that she says it in the sort of tone which presumes that's ''why'' it's correct. "You know, something like, 'I know you can take care of everyone else, but don't forget about you, either!'... haa," her shoulders lift, in a vast shrug, "maybe I'm overdoing it."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Not ''just'' that," Setsuna allows equitably enough, "...But that, yes. Seeing there was more to life than the mission... It made me mad. It made me jealous. And it made me want to see it for myself."

Setsuna looks out into the distance, and then back to Rei, thoughtfully. "Are they?" she wonders. "Love's father seems pretty reliable. There's Endo..." She can think of a few, at least. But, "It's a balance anyway; you do need to take care of your responsibilities... But you're young, too."

They both are, Setsuna would say. But Usagi--yes. "Usagi-chan is right," Setsuna says. "You probably are. But I think it's a good impulse. You have to take some time for yourself... but it's not ''bad'' to care about your 'mission', too."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"And that's why I like you!" Rei replies, with a sly smile. "A girl's got to have ambition in life. Ambition!" Sometimes ambition means getting so mad that you switch sides to figure something out. And sometimes it means eating an entire steak, but this isn't about Setsuna's culinary talents.

She blows air out through her lips, neck crik-cracking as she moves it back and forth. "Yeah," she agrees. "Besides, Usagi knows better than to tell me to chill out!" It's delivered like a joke, but is it REALLY a joke..?

"After all, I'm calm city," the girl who's been howling this whole time asides.

She lifts a hand from the water, a dozen sparkling droplets, to wipe her damp hair from her face; weighted down as it is, she has no hope of tossing it over her shoulder, the way she normally would. "Ahh, but I mean... it's not like there aren't other men out there," she gestures, vaguely, as if to encompass all the Uminos of the world in her fingers. "I guess when I say that, I'm thinking of one man, after all..."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Is that why?" Setsuna asks, and Rei might not be able to tell if Setsuna is serious or not. She smiles back a moment later, though. Ambition!! Setsuna... Hmm. Is that what 'ambition' means to her now...?

"I do have things I want," she admits thoughtfully. But she is happy to move to the matter of Usagi and nod firmly. "Fire shouldn't be cold," she agrees, and is she... using a metaphor???? Maybe. Only maybe though.

Setsuna does not call Rei out on not being calm city. This time. But she looks at her for a moment. Just looks, no particular emotion.

Setsuna lowers herself deeper under the water for a few moments, just to let her hair get evenly wet, and then bobs back up again. "True," she says. "There are many men in the world."

"...Do you mean...?"

She has a guess. But she isn't confident in that guess--or in herself, on matters of family.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Was that a ''metaphor,'' Secchan?" Rei gasps, hand to her chest. "I'll always remember this day!" It's kind of a joke, but it also kind of ''isn't,'' given how literally Setsuna has taken certain statements in the past. She can be proud of her for that!

On the other hand, Setsuna is plenty adept at meaningful looks, and Rei ends up pouting by the end of that one. She has the opportunity to sink back into the nice hot water while Setsuna is dipping, and even when she comes back up, she's still ''mostly'' submerged. Her head tilts up, in the water, and it might seem like she didn't hear the question, for a moment.

(That's not entirely true.)

"... I don't know if you'd have noticed, since it doesn't really affect us," Rei starts, after a moment. "But there's a Minister Hino in parliament, too... in the Democratic Liberal Party." Her lips press to a thin, unimpressed line. "My father."

The silence stretches out. It is hot not like springs but like rage.

"A man so useless, he couldn't even find his way to his wife's deathbed." Her eyes narrow, voice dropping to the floor. "Though the ''funeral'' made a fine photo-op."

It's not something she typically speaks on, but then, she ''did'' swear Setsuna to silence.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Yes," Setsuna answers simply. It is not quite proud herself, but it's not ''not'' proud. She... might've had to think about that one to make it work. Or maybe she got lucky! It's fine. "Will you?" ...It's very fine.

Yes. Setsuna is good at the Look. She gives it without really even having to try. She comes back up partly out of the water and leans on the rocks again, getting more comfortable again--or at least trying to. But... The matter of a man. A man in particular, who Rei knows.

"...I read the name, once or twice," she says. She has paid attention to News, though mostly for school purposes. But that rage... Setsuna can't quite...

"I don't..." She looks down. "...Mm."

She does understand leaving a family, actually. She feels guilty, all of a sudden.

"...I can't really understand all the way," she admits then. "I never... had a father." A pause. "...But someone who can't make it to something that important... That is pretty unreliable."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Rei, like a shark, lurks half-beneath the water. The scowl on her face might well bury her expression the rest of the way.

She has to pay attention to the news for school, too. The people around her are all quite aware of each others' relative status; Rei is quite used to her fellow students trying to score points with her through her family name, whenever it has occasion to come up.

Politics in Japan don't follow family lineages -- but that doesn't mean there isn't power in having one. There are many people, in Ohtori, who think that making friends with Rei will be politically convenient later in life.

How... disgusting.

But she looks up at Setsuna, downcast, and her frown gains another dimension. Rei pushes herself up, from the water, reaching out to pat a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Ahh, don't worry about it, don't worry! A man like that isn't worth giving any thought to, anyway!" She's all but laughing it off, all but declaring herself bulletproof.

... she doesn't want to isolate Setsuna, just because she had a unique upbringing.

Her hand pulls back, to cup at her cheek, head tilting to the side. "Secchan, I'm sure you know enough unreliable people too, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna would be pretty well lost in something like Ohtori's environment; as it stands, a lot of the scheming there goes entirely over her head. She is friendly enough, and nice, and popular herself... but she doesn't put out much of an effort to be, either. She doesn't 'get' people the same way that Rei does.

"I'm sorry," Setsuna says first, and 'downcast' is a good way to describe her expression. She feels guilty for leaving; she feels guilty for not being able to understand Rei. And she worries that she's missed something important...

"...If you say so," she says about 'that man', but she seems dubious. The question turned around to her thought makes her tilt her head, thinking about it.

"Yes," she says.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Ohtori is a complicated place. Rei fits in better, now she's not such a witch. That... wasn't always the case. But even now she has her very own fan club...

Well, there's a reason ''most'' of her friends are in Juuban, instead.

But it's also true that growing up in the arms of Ohtori has given Rei a certain social understanding. She hears the way Setsuna's responses become more short, the doubt in her voice; ahh, Rei thinks, where is Usagi, at a time like this? She'd obviously make a mess of it, but the messes Usagi makes with people's feelings always seem to work out in the end, because Usagi has a certain power to reach people. Rei has to acknowledge -- admire -- that, because she reached her, after all.

"So you see," Rei says, glancing away from Setsuna to the wooden privacy-screen to give her a break from eye contact, "you understand the important parts, don't you think?" She's enforcing herself on the question; she's making an effort, anyway.

Setsuna didn't understand all the way... ugh, Rei thinks. Is her own reluctance making this worse? It's not exactly comfortable, but it's not like she means to lock Setsuna out of something like this. She's characteristically grouchy, as she adds: "Even if it's not family specifically... well, it's not like he ever shows up, so frankly I think I'm the best argument that fathers are totally unnecessary anyway." She snorts a laugh, derisive, through her nose. "You know he sends his assistant to visit me on my birthday? Mr. Kaidou." It's an awkward acknowledgement, these days. "... really, if my father doesn't have time to have a family, why even pretend? It's all just stupid convenience. Using each other to get ahead or look good... no wonder he put me somewhere I wouldn't embarrass him when I called him on his ''crap.''"

... is that why Rei lives with her Grandpa?

Is that why she's a shrine maiden, instead of a political starlet?

The reason she's making it on her own, in the end...

"But what's done is done," Rei shrugs. "It's my territory now, and unlike ''some people,'' I don't just leave things half-finished so I can make everyone who can help me happy." She pauses, and sighs, shoulders sagging from the sheer velocity of breathing out all that tension. "... but I guess it's true I push pretty hard, so... you really helped me out here, Secchan."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

A fan club! Setsuna has fans of her own, though they haven't formed a ''club'' like Rei's have. ...That she knows of. But speaking of things that she knows of, she doesn't realize in the moment how transparent she is to Rei; she may not be emoting very much, but the signs are still very much there for someone who knows how to read them.

She appreciates the break in eye contact, though she doesn't realize she appreciates it in the moment either--it's a little like relief. "You think so?" she wonders.

But Rei is grouchy, and that's fine, and she explains, and--that does make more sense. "Really?" she asks, and shakes hr head. At least in this case it seems more like she gets why if nothing else that's something crazy. "...he can't have it both ways," Setsuna ventures.

Rei was 'put somewhere'. Setsuna understand what that's like.

"That's true," she says. "You don't do that." She pauses, and that is a lot of tension, but...

"...I'm glad I was able to help," she settles on. It is subtle, but she seems--relieved? More comfortable, certainly. She can't quite figure out what to ''say'' to Rei about all of it but she thinks she understands better, at least.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"You'd think he can't have it both ways," Rei sighs, "but he gets plenty of milage out of being a family man with a tragic backstory. But that's fine," she insists, in exactly the sort of tone which suggests it isn't, really. "He can live his life, and I'll live mine." She scowls, deeply, briefly.

He'll be ''sorry,'' she thinks but does not say, when Rei ends up more loved and more famous than he could ever be. One day he'll lose the wrong election and be regulated to the dustbin of politics, and her star will still be rising. Even at her young age, Rei already has so much experience in performance, project management, public events...

... if she didn't have an axe to grind against ''politics,'' she'd be a terrifying opponent in his own backyard.

(But politics is the one slice of fame Rei is antipathic about. No wonder, with a story like this.)

She shakes her head, though, with a rueful smile. "Ah, geez," she says, looking back to Setsuna. "Look at me oversharing all these personal details... it's a little embarrassing, huh?" She laughs, a shade nervously; a hand comes up, to rub at the back of her head. "I just found some photos while I was doing my New Years' cleanup, so I guess it brought up some things which were already settled..."

They're not settled. She just swallowed them down, seething in her belly like every other wrong ever done to her.

"... but, I mean..." Fumbling over her defences, she is slower in her addendum, slower to trust. "It's... not like I mind you seeing that or anything," Rei settles on, after a moment. "And it's not like I didn't trust you to share this before, either. I just... don't talk about this sort of thing, you know? It's just... messy." It isn't the first time she's described her feelings like that, to Setsuna.

Rei is someone who keeps a clean house. Never mind all the garbage she has to shove in the closets to make it look that way.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

It definitely isn't fine. Setsuna can tell that much. She frowns a little, remembering to put on the expression now that she's more comfortable. "...Living your own life is important."

Rei has a lot of impressive qualities in her life so far. Not that Setsuna's inclined to ''tell'' her that, even just now, but she definitely thinks it.

Setsuna puts on a small smile herself--a little thing, but knowing how little Setsuna emotes in the first place, maybe it means more for it. "I don't mind," she says at the matter of embarrassment. Instead, she listens, tilts her head... Photos...

"Memories can be... complicated," she settles on. She doesn't have any photos of her time in Labyrinth, or even at the mansion. But she has memories enough. And that's on its own.

Rei settles on she doesn't mind, and... Setsuna appreciates that. "...Thank you," she says, perhaps a little awkwardly, to the implied compliment behind all the prickliness.

"...It is messy," she agrees after a moment. "It's hard to talk about things that bother you."

"...Feelings are... very messy, I think." She picks out each word carefully, so very carefully. "And it always seems like things you thought were settled... can come up again, and not be so much, after all."

She pauses. "...For me, at least, it's like that."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Setsuna is emoting! Rei notices that; she might be given to passion, but she has plenty of friends who aren't, after all. She nods, with confidence, when Setsuna agrees that living her own life is important. It is!

But -- Setsuna doesn't mind, which is relieving, even if it's only one part of the puzzle. (Rei has her own standards for disclosure, after all. She's always hardest on herself.) She smiles, a little awkwardly, a little unsteady, but warm regardless.

Memories... and feelings. She tilts her head to indicate engagement, looking to Setsuna as she speaks her piece, too. She's as careful with her words as Rei is careless with hers, so the least Rei can do is listen.

(Let's not think too hard on how many times Rei DOESN'T listen.)

"So, that's how it is for you," Rei sighs, looking up to the sky, for a moment, before she looks back to Setsuna. (It's another of her gambits to give the other girl a break from eye contact.) "Well, I can understand that," she says, a little evasive, but not unkind. "Sometimes it's just too complicated to properly sort out, or something like that..?"

She thinks of the North Pole, not for the first time in recent memory.

She'll address that, hmm... never!

(Rei isn't the only one who prefers not to talk about sad things too much, after all.)

"Ahh, it's a pain for someone like me, because getting caught up in things like that make divination quite difficult. A quiet -- well, that doesn't really apply here," Rei cuts herself off, because she can't espouse clearing her mind of thoughts for greater clarity to the girl who grew up in ''Labyrinth.'' "But in normal life, too..."

Rei is circling around the point. It's a good thing there are no drains in the hot springs, or else she'd be doomed. Her fingers touch her cheek, a delicate bend; they're unpainted, right now, because she was preserving the traditional appearance of the shrine maiden for hatsumode. "I mean, what I'm trying to say is... is this just in general, or did something come up?" There. THERE. She expressed concern for her friend. WAS THAT SO HARD, REI?

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna certainly has Passion, but not really in the same way that Rei does. In a very distinct way, in fact.

Setsuna makes eye contact again when Rei looks back at her, though once again it helps to get a little break from it. Evasive... Yes, evasive, but Setsuna doesn't really expect Rei to come out with her feelings outright, as a general rule.

"Mm," she agrees about complication, though. "Or you thought you had... but there's something to it that you didn't think about before."

Setsuna doesn't talk that much about dying, either. She definitely doesn't talk about the North Pole--she wasn't there. She was far, far away from Beryl back then, as far as she could get.

A quiet... what? A quiet mind? "Yes," Setsuna agrees. It's a pain in normal life, too. But she watches Rei--what she's trying to say, and what she does say--Setsuna looks a little surprised, when she works it out. "Oh..."

"...I usually have a lot on my mind," she admits. "But in this case I was just thinking..." She trails off. Can she say it? Rei was able to express herself.

"...I left a 'family', too," she says quietly. "Westar... always wanted us to have a relationship like that. But I never wanted to listen. And now..."

She looks down. She can't quite keep eye contact up herself at this point. "Did I... abandon him...?"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

It's true, passion and ''Passion'' are different things. Rei is involved in one, and Setsuna, the other.

Well, she thinks, it's true that the multifarious viewpoints of everyone around her sometimes see things she wasn't looking at. Not that she couldn't see them, she thinks, deliberately. But some of these things matter more to other people! And sometimes they point that out.

Rei wonders, briefly, how she should feel about Setsuna being surprised she asked what was on her mind. She resolves not to dwell on it, because she's listening to the other girl, instead.

Setsuna trails off, and Rei scrunches her damp little toes up in a physical reminder not to jump in and draw her conclusions ''for'' her. (Why her toes? She's trying not to make it obvious. They're hidden under the water! It's plenty cloudy!) It's not like Rei isn't trying to take care of her friends when she does things like that, but Setsuna is trying to find her own words. So she waits for her to find them, gaze drifting to the wood-wall, again.

And give her credit, Setsuna ''does'' find them, eventually. Her eyes find their way back to Setsuna when she speaks up, quietly; in the splish-splash of the water, part of her attention is entirely practical. Speaking quietly, Rei might miss something, if she isn't oriented properly on Setsuna. And Rei doesn't want to mishear something it was this hard to say.

(She knows something about how hard it is to say things like this, after all, even if she talked brashly ''around'' the point instead of going silent. They're just two different expressions of the same struggle.)

And it's a family... she didn't acknowledge.

Maybe a family she ''couldn't'' acknowledge, Rei thinks.

Her expression softens, brow arcing up, lips parting in an unsaid word. She reaches out, again, to put a hand on Setsuna's shoulder; this time she just lets it sit there, as a kind of quiet shorthand for physical connection.

"Hey, no way," she says, more seriously than the lighthearted dismissal and casual bitterness she's treated half her feelings here. "Maybe Westar was onto something first, but it's not your fault you weren't ready to hear about it. There was a lot of pressure on you back then, Secchan. Would -- would ''she'' have really accepted you relying on each other like that?" Rei catches herself before she names Northa; the weight to the pronoun is clue enough. She glances away, and it's not just for Setsuna's benefit, this time. "It... you can't be blamed for not listening when you weren't in a safe place, anyway."

She squeezes her shoulder, gently. The frown on her face is gentle, too. "Come on... you're really being unfair to yourself if you say it like that. In the end, it's not like Labyrinth tolerated you being in both worlds. You chose to live your own life," which might sound a little different, repeated in this context, the idea of living given particular nuance. "That doesn't mean you wanted to leave anyone behind. Look --"

Rei takes a breath, and looks back, to Setsuna. "If Westar came to us today and asked for help getting out of there, you'd definitely help him, right?" She resists the urge to complete the question; her very important point can wait for Setsuna's feelings.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna is the type to bottle things up, too, just like Rei in that respect. They do it a little differently, but she's more likely to circle around an idea herself than just to move on from it. The lack of drains in here is probably good for both of them. But...

Given the chance to draw her own conclusions, Setsuna does. It just takes her a bit. And she ''does'' speak quietly. Perhaps to her credit she comes out with it, instead of talking around it... but maybe she just isn't as good at talking around things as Rei, either.

Rei has a near-immediate answer for her--that hand on her shoulder says things that the words don't, at first. Setsuna looks up at Rei and listens, her dark red eyes like a sunsetting ocean in how liquid they are in the moment. "...No," she admits. 'She'. The weight of the pronoun is more than enough. Setsuna knows that it wouldn't have been tolerated.

It wasn't tolerated as it was. ''She'' wasn't tolerated as it was.

But Rei is gentle enough with Setsuna here that the girl from Labyrinth nods after a moment, and looks back up at Rei. "...Yes," she answers simply. She would. But it's not an 'of course'. But she seems to be waiting on Rei to finish whatever point she's making, before she says anything else.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Rei didn't expect any other answer. She does pause, though, for a moment after Setsuna's answer, just to make sure she doesn't want to say anything else.

"Knowing that," she goes on, after that beat, "how could ''anyone'' say you've abandoned him? Just because you accepted help... I wouldn't put it past Dark Fall to encourage feeling like that, but if there's anything worse than politicians, it's that group!" Despite herself, her voice raises, with her upset. "Something like that -- have you just been carrying it by yourself?! Why would you --"

(why would Rei --)

Except the realisation that someone could say that to Rei just as easily comes with it the context of the whole conversation, and Rei's demands deflate, head hanging down. "Oh, damn it, it's... I'm ''sorry,'' Setsuna." It's too close to home; she feels close to crying. She won't, though, for the same reason she keeps her hand on Setsuna's shoulders. "I wasn't considering your feelings at all... listen, it's not the same at all, all right? What happened to you and what my father did... they're not the same at all."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Nothing else there at the moment. There is more she wants to say, but she wants to understand Rei's point, first. And so--

"Well..." Anyone, is it? Rei is clearly upset herself, and Setsuna can understand that, she thinks. Definitely, considering. "...I've talked about it with Lera a little," she admits. "But..."

Rei deflates, and she figures it out. It was much too close to home for her. She feels like crying already, and she won't, because she has her own apology to make. "...It's all right," she says to Rei. "It's... It just..."

She looks down again. "...I'm sorry too," she says, and looks back up again. "You were telling me something important, but I couldn't help but think..."

She shakes her head. "...I'm sorry about your father. I think he's a fool."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

... a little, Setsuna says.

It's always a ''little'' with people like them, isn't it?

"Don't-- you-- you told me something important too," Rei says, the words hitching over themselves. Her other hand reaches up, to rub at her eyes. The steam got in them, obviously. "You were trying to tell me for ages, weren't you? You were trying..."

Rei sniffles. Obviously, her hair is wet, so it's dripping all over her face. That's... that's what this is.

(That's not what this is.)

"My father's awful," Rei agrees, shaking her head. "And that whole situation with Labyrinth is just the worst, too. Like... Gods, we're stupid." Her hand lifts, to swipe, gently, at the back of Setsuna's head before she pulls it back. "Why are we sitting here feeling bad about ourselves when there are way better people to blame for all this?" She laughs. It's a halting, shuddering sort of noise, but it shucks the lump in her throat, anyway.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Always a little. Rei rubs at her eyes, and Setsuna's are wet, not just 'like the sea'. It's both of them, now. Setsuna can't entirely help it. It is not what it is.

"...It is a little dumb, isn't it?" she asks, as Rei swipes at her. Feeling bad about themselves, when...

Setsuna has a reason for that, she thinks. The reason is very simple. It's that Northa is really, really, really scary, and blaming her is terrifying.

"...but we're supposed to live our own lives, with our eyes open. So let's do that." It helps her, to think about it that way. To remember the chance she was given...

"We have another chance. So let's take it."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

It's comfortable for Rei to operate in the realm of blame; someone else might have phrased it differently, but in Rei's eyes, it's not Setsuna's fault for leaving Westar behind ''because'' her previous organisation forced her hand. It's easy for her to blame Labyrinth, and Dark Fall. For leaving Setsuna feeling that way, and...

Rei is a fault-finder. She finds faults. Sometimes this is useful, like when examining bridges. Sometimes this isn't terribly useful, like when inviting earthquakes.

But maybe it's useful enough, today.

"We can't let it slip away," Rei agrees. "Perseverance is the mark of the true woman!"

She leans back, in the water.

"... and when he's ready to take a chance," Rei adds, not quite as sharp and ferocious, "I know you'll meet that with eyes open, too." Rei doesn't say she'd help him, though certainly she would, because the point isn't that Rei would help Westar if he chose to turn away from the dark. Rather, Setsuna... "If you live your life well, I'm sure one day he'll be ready to hear about it." She draw connections between Setsuna and Westar, then and now, but she doesn't drag it completely out into the light.

Sometimes, saying a little is fine. But she can say a little more, too.

"Besides," Rei adds, wagging a finger in the air, "I can't have you falling behind me! It would just be sad if you didn't put up a challenge!" IS REI IMPLYING THAT LIVING A GOOD LIFE IS A A COMPETITI-- obviously she is. "I just organised an entire multi-day festival... what are ''you'' going to do with the new year, huh?"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna Higashi, though she's gotten better about it in the time since she's left Dark Fall, is still good at finding fault with herself. It's something she may never entirely get out of, but with good friends, and good counsel, she can get through the worst of it. ...And maybe she will get out of it.

Today it's useful.

"Right!" Setsuna agrees. The 'true woman' sounds good. And Setsuna, too, leans back in the water, listening at the matter of... Yes, of Westar. Maybe even of Soular, too. If she lives well... That's a good thought.

"...Mm." Pause. Finger wagged in the air. Of ''course'' she is. So Setsuna doesn't say 'don't tell anyone I care about Westar'. That's just assumed. Instead...

"Oh, that's easy," the girl from Labyrinth who lives in Tokyo answers.

"I'm going to spend more time with my girlfriend."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Since Rei swore Setsuna to silence, it's only polite she would respect the same covenant, after all. And --

"Aaaaie!" Rei squeals, hands to her cheeks. "You said it so straight out! You two... geez, I'm so jealous!" Wriggle wriggle, she twists around in the water.

Does that mean Setsuna won this round..?

2022-01-07 - Hatsumode Crossroad

2022-01-08T05:12:20Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: it's new years, so let's celebrate new years! a unique holiday happening both IC and OOC...!!

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Hatsumode Crossroad'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Hikawa Shrine is observing Hatsumode, the traditional New Years' celebration. Good or bad, there's sure to be fortune for the coming year.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Rei Hino]], [[Chibi-Usa Tsukino]], [[Hotaru Tomoe]], [[Ye-jin Song]], [[Fuu Hououji]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Hikawa Shrine
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2022-01-07 - 2016-01-01
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Sarah Slean - Day One https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHKmAOh4qhg

''Hatsumode'' is the celebration of the New Year, which, in Japan, falls on January 1st. The first half of the first day, traditionally, is a matter for domestic worship; once the ''toso'' sake has been drunk and the ''osechi-ryori'' breakfast has been eaten, it's time to face the day. And for many (many, MANY) people here, on those first few days of the new year, everyone returns to their local (or favourite!) shrine or temple to pray for the year's prosperity.

Of course, the New Year is a time for cleanliness -- clean room, clean soul. The first of these involves organising one's living space, to more or less complaint depending on this individual; the second is a matter of shrines. The ''omamori'' amulets which everyone has acquired over the year (for such blessings as safe travelling, avoidance of evil, good fortune, good education, romance, and personal and commercial prosperity) have absorbed so much bad luck, it's now customary to return them to where they came and receive a new blessing. The old amulet is burned, not simply discarded, to offer thanks to the deities who watched over them; receiving the new year's amulets is a matter of great importance to many.

Really, a great MANY people -- all dressed up in fancy clothes for the event, which, in the case of the girls here, typically involves their best ''furisode'' kimono. Long sleeves are just the thing for winter!

And that's why...

All the shrines and temples of Tokyo have been packed like sardines, all day. Long lines stretch out past those steep stone steps, as the devoted and the determined alike gather together, worn omanori clutched in their hands, to pray. The sun climbs, over the collection; mercifully, it's not a ''snowy'' day, today. And then... the sun ''sets,'' and still, not everyone has visited the shrines they want.

"Caw, caw!" Calls a large black bird, as a crow flies over the crowd waiting for entry to Hikawa Shrine. One may get the distinct -- if, perhaps, slightly unsettling -- impression that she, and the ''other'' crow currently perched atop the torii gate leading into the shrine, are both acting as ushers to keep the line orderly. (This is, of course, impossible, because as clever as crows are, they're still just crows. Right?) "Caw!" Cries that leaner bird as she alights, announcing another group leaving the shrine. The line has to squish a little to let them out, but it ''also'' means that everyone who has been waiting so long, now ''finally'' gets to climb up and visit...

Hikawa Shrine has been hard at work all day receiving everyone's prayers, of course, and now the sun has set on the first day of the year, they're ''still working.'' The lighting out tonight reveals a pine tree which already has a great many bad fortunes tied to it -- a great bell to pray by -- and, of course, a spiritual bonfire. This is attended by the shrine maiden, Rei Hino, to make sure those old omamori are properly burned. "It seems the spirits were hard at work for you this year," she says, to one girl, as she throws her charm onto the fire. "I hope you found the love you were looking for." (Hikawa Shrine, of course, dispenses ''plenty'' of love charms to the youth.)

"Come find your fortune! It only takes a little offering!" That's Grandpa Hino, who, of course, is collecting offerings in exchange for ''omikuji'' fortunes. These are random but nonetheless ''detailed'' fortunes, estimating the reader's chances to have good health, love, fortune, or fulfilled hopes. Good fortune can be kept for luck, of course, but there is always the pine tree -- or the ''matsu,'' which happens to be the word for 'waiting,' too. Bad fortunes can be tied on the pine tree, in hopes that the bad luck will be stuck waiting by the tree. But wait! ''Good'' fortunes can be tied there, too, so that the good luck will amplify on itself as it waits, causing it to have an even greater effect.

Meanwhile, Yuuichiro Kumada, resident trainee priest who recently banished a ghost all on his own that's definitely how that happened, is helping to make sure the crowds are moving in an orderly fashion and everyone's prayers are being heard. He's sympathetically saying things like, "Oh, was it a bad fortune..? Just come over this way, and tie it to the tree!" -- all the while gesturing people off towards the pine.

It's certainly BUSY, but that's because so, so many people have so, ''so'' many prayers for the future.

What's yours?

<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

What is Chibi-Usa's wish for the new year? For the future as a whole?

...That's a secret. She has too many wishes to share all of them... and too few to word properly. The future is a very important subject to this little girl...

And she's here! She wouldn't miss Hikawa Shrine! Not with so many of her friends here! Like Rei, who is admittedly busy, and Hotaru, who... isn't... actually here yet.

Chibi-Usa waits down at the stairs for the moment, dressed in a lovely small red kimono with pink obi, happily waiting for her friend. It is very busy, but she is slightly to the side, where even she can stand out--and there might be people watching out for her nearby....

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

Hotaru arrived separately. She and Chibi-Usa planned to meet at Hikawa Shrine, an invitation tendered to the former by the latter via the rabbit backpack that has become their shared, back-and-forth, maximally cute mailbox.

But at first, Hotaru didn't see her best friend in the crowd. Then she DID, but she would have had to cut in line to meet up with her, and was too shy to try to join the group further ahead. So, lowering her eyes in the hopes that this will magically render her invisible (because she does not really want a compassionate and enthusiastic Usagi Tsukino, or whoever, to DRAG her to the front of the line, in front of ''all these people''), she waited a couple extra minutes to get in.

What really makes it easy not to see her until she's right on top of everyone is her drab clothing. She's a thin little weed, blackened by winter, in a blooming garden of brightly-hued furisode delights. Hotaru is often kind of a shadow at the best of times, in both physical and emotional affect, and never more than now. It's hard NOT to overlook someone all in nearly skin-tight black (leggings, tunic, shoes), swimming in what looks to be a man's winter overcoat thrown over it. Her father's jacket is very dark green, with a yellow collar, and engulfs her hands completely unless she rolls up the sleeves. Though it helps that she's been seen in it many times before. Doesn't she own anything else?

Maybe not. It's difficult to imagine Kaori Kishi -- let alone Kaolinite(?!) -- purchasing a kimono and helping her wear it. Though she'd look amazing in one, surely. Something about her distinctive combination of fragility and pallor has always evoked a porcelain doll. And the most fun thing to do with a doll is dress them up...

At any rate she seems to have enough ''appreciation'' for the pretty clothes around her, entirely sans jealousy, a pure, deep emotion, outsized in the way feelings can be for small children -- enough, that is to say, to make up for not actually wearing any. Her eyes are huge and round and her mouth only avoids this fate because of a certain native composure. And even that falls away as she spots the prettiest girl in the prettiest kimono of them all.

"Chibi-Usa-chan!" Hotaru closes the last few meters between them quickly, and takes both of her hands in her own. Hers are larger, longer, paler. Chibi-Usa's are pinker and stronger. She loves holding them... "Happy New Year!"

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It is the Year of the Ye-jin.

Or, at the very least the year that the Ye-jin has decided to visit Hikawa shrine. It's the first New Year she's spent in Tokyo, after all.

Morning had been reserved for breakfast and celebration with her grandfather, a traditional meal and equally traditional offerings left at the small shrine in their home. Yet theres only so much time the Song family can spare, and spending the evening alone in an empty penthouse was not the most appealing choice to be made.

So come evening Ye-jin, like a genuine Tokyoite, made her pilgrimage to join the line of visitors that stretch outward from the shrine with thoughts of the future in her heart and a fistful of yen in her hand. Dressed in a heavy white jacket, woolen red dress and thick leggings, she braves the line with her eyes on the prize: A sheet of paper that will confirm how lucky she is.

Yen that is quickly disposed of when she makes it to the front of the queue and makes her offering, trading one paper for another. Theres a lot of squinting after that, consulting with those nearby, and several minutes of effort as she deciphers the sheet of paper shes received. And, once shes finished, she promptly digs into a pocket and fishes out another handful of coins.

"I want a different one."

Maybe she didn't get the part about the tree.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Caw," calls a crow, as Deimos circles over Chibi-Usa's head, as if to serve as a convenient indication over the crowd that Something Important is Here. Or, in this case: some''one,'' all dressed in red.

(Meanwhile, Phobos lands in the branches of a nearby tree, all the better to watch the line. Is she keeping a particular black beady eye on one invisible little girl? Surely not. She's just a bird!)

When Hotaru and Chibi-Usa get inside, they'll find, at least, that Hotaru is not ''entirely'' alone in not wearing one of those furisode kimono -- Rei, waving to them, is all dressed in the white and red of the shrine maiden's robes. (And the priests, in-training or otherwise, naturally have their own robes to wear on the job.) Certainly she notices Hotaru's (lack of?) choice in clothing, as one of the things which drew her attention to those two in particular -- plus a little crow help to point them out in the crowd, of course. She notices, but...

Well, let's just say Rei made her own prayers to the spirits, before they opened the gates. In her eyes, the gods are more likely to answer her wishes for wayward girls than someone like Kaolinite.

She doesn't call them over too obviously, though; she knows both Chibi-Usa and Hotaru can be shy, in their own ways, and as far as she's concerned, they're getting to the age where they'll have to navigate their prayers themselves. Besides, they have plenty of other people to greet --

Like ''Ye-jin,'' who soundly shoves the Fire Monkey out of frame in order to claim 2016 as the Year of the Ye-jin. (It's an easy substitution; both are said to be as ambitious as they are irritable.) Grandpa Hino laughs, good-naturedly, as Ye-jin beholds her omikuji fortune only to demand -- ''a second fortune.'' "My, my! You're the sort of girl who can change luck just by trying again, are you..? Well," he gestures over to that shrine maiden, amused, "that determination reminds me of ''something..!''"

Yuuichiro, who is better (or at least ''younger'') at handling the rich, hears Grandpa's teasing, and steps in to mollify the situation. "If you're not fond of your fortune," he explains, "you can tie it to the pine tree so it won't catch up to you. Don't worry, that's how it works!" Ye-jin isn't the first person he's had to explain this to; there are plenty enough visitors, during hatsumode.

<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Chibi-Usa looks, and looks, and stands on her tiptoes and looks some more. (This does not win her very much height, actually.) But she is rewarded for her persistence by the sight of her very best friend in all the world, in a timeless, classic sort of look--

"Hotaru-chan!" Chibi-Usa steps forward, folding her hands into Hotaru's with a big smile that threatens to brighten the whole sky.

She does not notice certain crows watching over them. Instead she says, "Yay! You're here!" She beams still, and stands there for a moment, in front of everybody, just basking in the presence of her favorite person. And ''then'' she turns, to lead them up to the shrine proper, and start to head that way. "Hikawa's really popular," she comments in the childlike way of pointing out something clear like it's new and nifty. Chibi-Usa's smaller, pinker hand stays in Hotaru's as long as she has something to say about it, as she starts off towards Rei and the fortunes.

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

Hotaru's look is maybe timeless and classic like The Little Match Girl is a timeless, classic bedtime story. But then, Chibi-Usa's furisode was bought on a Tsukino budget. It's lovely, but far from the most luxurious one here. In conclusion they could both be wearing grain sacks and would probably be staring at each other with the same beatific expressions...

Hotaru continues to bask in Chibi-Usa's radiance and is likely to keep at it until interrupted by a comet falling out of the sky onto them (or a youma, whatever comes first). Her bob fans out across her shoulders, just enough above it to not quite touch, as she shakes her head -- in wonder -- at Chibi-Usa's pronouncement. "Wow, so many people," she agrees, impressed by her friend's powers of persuasion. Or maybe a little discomfited by the sheer quantity of people. She was like that back at the Uminari festival, too.

They pass Ye-jin as she makes her counteroffer to fate, and a little complexity leaks into Hotaru's expression, like food coloring into a glass of water. She seems thoughtful, maybe troubled. But the cloud on her face is not threatening to rain.

"Hino-san," she greets politely, as she's towed in front of her regardless of any intent on the shrine maiden's part to stay aloof. "Um, please..." Maybe she would have let that sentence stammer to a stop if not for some of their previous interactions. After all, Rei Hino has done some very kind and supportive things for Hotaru Tomoe over the last year! So, she summons her courage and bulls through, finishing the thought.

"...can you show us what to do? This is my first time... I think."

When you're barely double digits, you're more likely to remember that there's a span of time you DON'T remember.

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Ye-jin notes the presence of Rei Hino when the shrine maiden is gestured at. She has at least a passing familiarity with hearsay about Ohtori's fortune-telling shrine maiden, even if they haven't met personally. This may need to change, but there are other important things to see to first:

"And then I can get a better one." Ye-jin surmises from Yuuichiro's explanation. "After I get rid of this one." She doesn't really say it like a question.

This at least gets her out of the line of fortune seekers, the girl shuffling out of the way and heading for the aforementioned tree. She stands up on tip-toes to tie her sheet of paper to a branch, making sure it assumes the highest and most important position that her height allows. She dusts her hands afterward, content with her work.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Isn't it proper to let other people draw their first fortunes before you reach for a second one, Ye-jin-san?"

It is, in fact, so busily crowded at Hikawa Shrine today that a certain blonde, glasses-wearing archer - from Infinity, of all places - has managed to sneak up on Ye-jin, without even trying to sneak up on anyone, much less the Ohtori-ite. Fuu hasn't had a chance to pick up *her* first fortune yet; she's still carrying several omamori from the past year, including a ceremonial hama-ya ("evil-destroying arrow"), all ready to be offered back to the gods via the fire. Fuu herself is decked out in full kimono, the outermost layer in green (of course) with a bamboo-forest pattern embroidered into it.

Fuu smiles, bowing politely to Ye-jin and Yuuichiro. "A most happy and propitious New Year to both of you, Ye-jin-san, Yuuichiro-san. May any wandering demons who hear your footsteps tremble and flee at your approach."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

This WOULD be the perfect place for a youma to drop out of the sky, wouldn't it..? And yet, for all the people gathered here, evil seems to be minding its manners. Perhaps there are simply too many spiritual guardians present for it to be worth raising a wicked fuss. Or --

Rei is momentarily saved from the storm of Ye-jin, because Chibi-Usa comes to her, Hotaru in tow. "Hi, Chibi-Usa-chan," her hands clasp together, with a warm smile -- "and Hotaru-chan, too. I'm glad you could both make it!" It's an exclamation, but not an overly-loud one; Rei's energy is at least a ''little'' more moderated than some of her other friends.

(Is moderated really the right word for it..? It still counts as high-energy if you put so much energy into looking like you didn't try too hard, Rei.)

She gives Hotaru the space to finish her question in two ways -- firstly by nodding and then by largely looking to Chibi-Usa so she's not staring at that haphazardly-dressed porcelein doll, and secondly by not launching immediately into a screed of her own. (The first one is a natural way to spare someone socially in a group, the sort of thing she learns every day in Ohtori, where she's heard a thing or two about the Vice-President in turn; the second is much more a deliberate decision, considering how much Rei loves hearing herself talk.) Her attention comes back to Hotaru once she screws her courage to the sticking-place and finishes her thought, and Rei looks ''delighted.''

Being entirely fair, that's ''also'' her job -- she's been Pleased Someone Is Making The Effort For The Gods all day, because spiritual guidance and customer service have a surprising amount of overlap in this modern era -- but there's something a little EXTRA genuine in her happiness that Hotaru asked, because it's ''Hotaru'' asking, or perhaps the emphasis is it's Hotaru ''asking,'' or even ''it's Hotaru asking.''

"I'm glad you asked," she says, and gestures to the flames. "This is the bonfire where we offer the past years' lucky amulets to the Gods -- after a whole year, all the bad luck gets pulled into the omamori, so it's better to offer them back to the spirits and take a new blessing. Ah," she adds, gesturing over to the omikuji stand, "you see Fuu-chan, over there? What she's holding? Those are symbols which protected her from evil last year, so you bet she'll be offering them up here."

SPEAKING OF THE YEAR OF THE YE-JIN --

"Haha... those who chase two hares won't even catch one, even lovely young ladies like yourself!" Grandpa Hino laughs to Ye-jin's assumptions, as he offers his wisdom, in his particular way. "But if you'd like some extra help, we do offer ''all kinds'' of omamori! Do you need protection in love? Your studies? Your family? Oh, or is a modern girl like you working already..? We have amulets for business prosperity, too -- oh, tell her, won't you?" He asides, to Yuuichiro, as Ye-jin goes to tie her poor fortune to Godot -- er, the pine.

"Happy New Year to you, too, Hououji-san!" Yuuichiro says, cheerfully, to Fuu. A thumb to his chest, he declares: "Haha... you know no demon's a match for me!" (Okay, so he fell asleep, but he was ''pretty sure'' he banished the ghost when he woke up.)

"That's how you do it," Yuuichiro confirms, encouragingly, as Ye-jin beholds her work tying up the fortune. "So, uh, like the Head Priest was saying, we ''can'' get you fresh omamori..." Yuuichiro is not nearly as much of a salesman as Grandpa is, because he really didn't get into this business expecting it to be so modern. He's... he's doing his best.

Rei beholds all this, a finger to her cheek, with a thoughtful hum which may soon spell Grandpa Hino's destruction. It's a moment's thought which she soon breaks, smiling to Chibi-Usa and Hotaru brightly. "And over there, we're offering omikuji fortunes! They tell you how well the year is going to go for you. Hey, why don't we go over and get some together? I can step away from here for a moment -- oh, Yuuichiro! Would you mind watching the fire a moment?" She calls, waving him over, hopefully in time to avoid him getting eaten alive. The two of them can trade off! (Again. They've traded spots more than once, today.)

Rei is a problem-solver as well as a problem creator, sometimes. Sometimes!

<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Definitely would still be delighted to see her.

No youmas fall indeed, and there are probably a lot of reasons for that. None of that particularly matters to Chibi-Usa at the moment, who is aware of Hotaru's general reaction to crowds and ready to be a pink-haired shield against all excessive people, just by being here. As Ye-jin makes her counteroffer, Chibi-Usa doesn't even seem to notice.

She is too busy being proud of Hotaru for mentioning that she needs to know what to do. "Oh oh, I'll help!" the small pink girl volunteers brightly.

"Of course!" Chibi-Usa chirps to Rei. And to Hotaru, "It's OK if you don't have one; they just give them to you!" She says this brightly, and gets to work on the matter of what to do, getting out her old omamori to offer forward, so thta she can show Hotaru how it works when it's her turn, with a big smile at Fuu ahead of them.

"And we get to draw a new fortune, too... Oh I'm getting ahead of myself!" she says. "But like this!"

Chibi-Usa has eyes for one girl at the moment, now that Rei has moved to rescue Yuuichiro. And she reaches to get last year's amulet...

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

Hotaru is, as always, a little embarrassed to be called by her first name by anyone but Chibi-Usa. It feels like an embarrassment of riches, you see, to potentially have more than one friend in the world, especially when your one friend is the GOAT. Her eyes lower when Rei politely averts herself during her hesitation, but when the whole exchange is over, the shrine maiden is amply rewarded by her particular brand of soft, quiet, intense gratitude. A sort of whole-body experience, as Hotaru is suffused by the feeling of having been HELPED in some way.

"Oh..."

But also, she seems worried, as she looks past Rei to watch some people surrender their amulets to the flames. Chibi-Usa may suspect why. She gets it half right, as Hotaru nods shamefacedly to the notion that she doesn't have one. But then she lowers her mouth to a pink-odango'd ear and whispers, behind a hand:

"Please don't burn my amulet, okay? I don't think it's the right kind. And... it was my mother's."

(It wasn't her mother's, but that lie is ANOTHER timeless, classic bedtime story, told to her by her father this time, and she believes it.)

It was kind of a loud whisper, in order to be heard in such a crowd, and it's possible Rei heard some or all of it.

Straightening up, she is agreeable to the notion of being brought over to the fortunes. But she's also not quite sure what Chibi-Usa wants to do first, and hesitates at her side.

"Which is the part with the wishes?" she asks them both. Chibi-Usa was particularly enthusiastic about the wishes when convincing Hotaru to attend this event. Not that it takes much arm-twisting. Hotaru would follow her anywhere.

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Mmm?" Ye-jin pauses when addressed, lowering herself back to the ground and reorienting to face the blonde-haired girl that's emerged from the crowd. "Aah, have you not gotten one yet, Fuu-san? You'd better hurry, before they run out." Which is probably unlikely, unless they let Ye-jin buy them all.

The archer's well-wishes draw a bright smile from Ye-jin, along with a titter of amused laughter. "You too, Fuu-san."

On the topic of onamori, Grandpa Hino's salespitch seems to also placate Ye-jin somewhat, if only because it was largely complementary of her. She nods her head thoughtfully, one finger tapping her cheek for just a moment before she turns to Yuuichiro.

"Yes." She says. "Give me those."

And, deciding she's going to be extra helpful, she adds: "Whichever ones these are." A gesture is made to Fuu's stock of talismans, because Fuu Hououji seems to know what she's doing.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Fuu raises her eyebrows a little at that last, but helpfully rattles off the omamori she's bought over the past year: "Three for academic success, two for athletic prowess, half a dozen for recovery from illness or injury ..."

It doesn't seem to occur to her that giving away this many of the things she's specifically been praying for *might* not be a good idea. At least, not until she finishes the list with:

"... and one for successfully conquering the known world," with the brightest and most beatific smile you could *possibly* imagine. Does Hikawa even *sell* world conquest omamori? Does *anyone*?

(... at least outside of Akihabara?)

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Chibi-Usa-chan, you really know your way around here," Rei encourages the other girl in red (red and pink, not red and white, but details, schmetails). "You're so reliable! I wish everyone paid attention like you do." It's high praise, of course, but it's given with a different flavour to the way Hotaru and Chibi-Usa are eye-to-eye; Rei has more big sister than best friend energy around Chibi-Usa, which is for the best, really.

(It's maybe not completely TECHNICALLY correct, but if she refers to Usagi yobisute, clearly she's adopted her in some way or another. This must go for her extended family, too.)

However one views her connection to Chibi-Usa -- and, implicitly, her connection to ''Hotaru,'' because one always seems to come with the other in a diminutive matched set -- she's welcoming to that pale wisp of a girl, all buried in her father's coat. She does happen to catch something about not wanting ''her'' amulet burned, but she doesn't reassure her that not every amulet is for burning, because she has the social poise to realise the whisper wasn't for her.

Rei watches Chibi-Usa's charms burn in the fire, all the bad luck drawn away from her by the will of guardian spirits. She watches the flames dance, sparks of yellow and red, rich and formless, and --

She blinks; she shakes her head, the smile dropping from her face to a troubled expression. For just a moment, her sight -- her Sight -- saw just HOW much ill fortune broke to smoke and embers, how MUCH she was protected from evil, HOW MUCH her travels needed warding. It's not the first time the hairs at the back of her neck have stuck up, but for this girl, of all of them --

"Oh, the wishes!" Rei pulls herself up, smiling again, as she looks from the fire to Chibi-Usa and Hotaru. "If we come to the shrine, we'll be able to pray for a prosperous new year! You see that big bell?" She gestures, to it. "That's a good place to pray. If you want something in the new year, you can ask the Gods to oversee your efforts." It's not, exactly, asking the Gods to do it ''for'' them, but Rei is still Rei, in-uniform or out.

Meanwhile, Yuuichiro comes to watch over the fire so Rei can help the kids out, and he looks from Fuu's charms to Ye-jin. "Conquest isn't exactly one of our most popular charms," he laughs, a hand to the back of his scruffy scruffy long hair. "But if that's what you want, we can help." After all, omimori come back to the shrines they were given from; that means that Hikawa has sold at least one amulet with that sort of forcefulness behind it.

He goes around to fetch some of those ominari, and promptly hands them over, to Ye-jin. "Say," he adds, to Fuu, "that's an evil-destroying arrow, too, isn't it? Are you in the Archery Club too, Hououji-san?"

<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Worry!! Chibi-Usa gets it immediately and smiles forward as Hotaru whispers to her. She whispers back, "Don't worry! I'll keep that one safe!"

It is the others she hands over, the ones meant for this purpose.

"It's important to pay attention," Chibi-Usa replies to the compliment, and she is too nice and sweet and happy to say UNLIKE SOMEONE at the moment but its generally implied mot days. She is always happy to be rewarded with good thoughts on Rei.

She doesn't even notice all the bad fortune thateats up off of her amulets.

"Yes!" Chibi-Usa says next. "We'll go over there next." She makes a little prayerful pose at the fire, and then leads Hotaru over to the other place. Wishes ''are'' very important to Chibi-Usa...

Though she has kept them secret from most. Hotaru, though...

World conquest is more for her mother than for her. Right?

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

Hotaru's immediate amulet destruction concerns thus quelled, she clenches something on a chain around her neck while she watches Chibi-Usa burn OTHER amulets. Which she's content enough to do until she gets distracted watching Rei watch Chibi-Usa's amulets. Then she shifts her extremely slight weight in a protective way, as though offering herself as a human shield against what she perceives as Rei's disapproval. Or perhaps against Rei's getting weirded out. The two are basically the same thing to Hotaru herself, who routinely weirds people out, who then disapprove of her. And even after the shrine maiden reverts to all smiles, her own seriousness lingers.

"Okay," she tells Rei. "Thank you very much for your assistance."

From wide-eyed child to adult-in-a-child's-body, just like that. She really doesn't relax often or easily enough. And she's much too attuned to the moods of others...

But she does calm down a LITTLE when Chibi-Usa takes her hand again and leads her off to the bell.

She looks at her friend, solemn as the grave. Then over to the bell, which she doesn't quite have the presumption to RING. But she dutifully replicates the prayerful pose she saw Chibi-Usa do at the fire.

Her lips move; nothing comes out. This is on the presumption that wishes are supposed to be in secret, because someone told her that once around birthday-cake candle wishes and why shouldn't all wishes operate on the same ruleset?

But whatever she wished for, she must want it a lot, because she bows and prays again afterwards, then a third time, just in case it might help.

And if Chibi-Usa was paying attention, one of the words on her lips is especially easy to read: 'Mama.'

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Wait, Hikawa Shrine actually *has* those? Fuu blinks in surprise at how seriously Yuuichiro takes it - but then the subject changes, and Fuu latches onto it with just a hint of relief. "Yes, it is," she replies, holding it so he can see more clearly. "And yes, I'm on the Infinity Institute archery team - captain of the high school division this year, as it happens. I know Rei-san is an archer, but I didn't realize you practice it as well ... ?"

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Ye-jin casts a slanted gaze at Fuu as the other girl lists her fortune collection, lips pursing thoughtfully. Especially at the last bit. She's about to question further when Yuuchiro confirms that world-conquering is on the menu.

"Yes. And give me some of the ones that aren't boring, too." She requests. When Yuuichiro returns she accepts her offerings, gathering them in her hands and giving a short nod toward Fuu. "Thank you for your help, Fuu-san. I'm going to go make a wish now."

She begins to head toward the bell after that, lingering to observe and listen to proper ringing etiquette before she attemps it herself.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

More for her mother? Well, Rei DOES have a world conquest amulet, obviously --

Wait, hang on a second!

There's a ''good reason'' for Rei to hang on a second, too, because Hotaru noticed something about Rei's reaction, and now she's back to being such a serious child again. "Of course!" She assures her, regardless. And to Chibi-Usa, she deputises: "You'll take care of her, right, Chibi-Usa-chan?" Off to pray..!

Rei pauses by the fire to look over to Fuu, and say, cheerfully: "I'm surprised by how careful you are with academic luck, Fuu-chan! But I'm sure the Gods will be pleased you're ensuring your success. Happy New Year!"

Yuuichiro laughs, as he hands over some fresh omimori to Fuu, as well. "Oh, I'm hardly as talented as Rei-san in the field," he says, "but I've picked up a couple of things from her. Wow, though, ''captain''... sounds like you're a pretty hard worker, too. I hope these amulets help!"

He fetches Ye-jin a ''non-boring'' amulet -- which she may notice professes to be a kotsu-anzen, offering protection for travellers and traffic safety to drivers. Does Ye-jin look about the age to drive something..? She must.

Meanwhile, Rei goes over to the omikuji stand, and there is a hushed (in the loosest possible sense of the word) exchange which seems entirely charactertised by her berating someone who is her senior in every possible way. Something about inappropriateness and daring to try and monetise a festival.

This means that by the time anyone ''else'' visits the stand -- particularly if they're small -- Grandpa Hino will be much more well-behaved in offering omikuji blessings. "Here you go, girls! Just reach into the box and pick one out at random! It's the luck of the draw..!!"

Rei, beside him, adds: "If you get bad luck, you can tie it to the pine tree, and it will be stuck waiting by the tree instead of finding you. Leave the bad luck pining, right?" Matsu matsu... at least ''Rei'' giggles, at her bad joke.

<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

"Right!" Chibi-Usa replies cheerfully to Rei, because of course she'll take care of Hotaru. Chibi-Usa stays wide-eyed child a lot longer. She will ring the bell for Hotaru, when she seems to finish her wish; Chibi-Usa does not intrude on the sanctity of a silent wish no matter how curious she might be, because such things are part of the immutable laws of childhood. ...But she was paying attention, and caught that one word. She doesn't ask about it.

Instead, when it is her turn, she fervently makes a wish, one of many... but the one she needs, right now. The important one.

Hotaru may recognize the words 'grow' and 'up' among them. And then she reaches to get a fortune, her other hand still in Hotaru's--

"Oh oh!" she says. "I got best luck!" she says, and looks cheerfully to Hotaru. "I should tie this one to the tree too... Good or bad, if you tie it to the tree, it's more likely to turn out well for you!"

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

Secretly, Hotaru wished for two things. She only wished for Chibi-Usa to be able to save her Mama with her lips and held breath, but more deeply, fast inside those stilled lungs, she wished for the other. In her heart of hearts, she suspects it's an impossible wish. But it doesn't hurt to try. Right?

Wrong.

After waiting with Chibi-Usa for her to make her wish, she goes with her to collect a fortune. Chibi-Usa opens hers first and it's like the sun rises in Hotaru's face, she's so delighted for her friend.

Then she hesitates, like someone who knows what's about to happen, with her thumb and forefinger around her own closed fortune.

A little reluctantly, she opens it.

Her chin lifts; her eyes grow cold. Only her shoulders are allowed to be sad; they tremble a little. It would be easier to see how very sharp her back is if she wasn't swathed in that enormous overcoat.

"Worst luck," she reads aloud coolly. Her mask is slipping faster by the moment, and she clenches her jaw to keep it still. There's no need to get upset by something so inevitable. And Chibi-Usa's so happy. Focus on that.

"I'm really glad for you," she says to her best friend, and means it. It helps so much that she means it. And she does follow her to the tree, and help her tie her good fortune there.

As for her bad one, she almost doesn't tie it at all. Sometimes she just wants all the bad things to get over with already. But... then she wouldn't get her second wish:

To come back next year and do this again together.

She squeezes Chibi-Usa's hand.

"Happy New Year," she repeats, a little bit of wonder returning to her mien. "A new year..."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Congratulations!" Rei says, happy for Chibi-Usa, when she reports the best luck. "You're right, the tree will help you, either way..!"

Either way...

Hotaru reports precisely the opposite luck to Chibi-Usa, and there's sympathy, in Rei's eyes. "It's okay," she assures her, sees that iron jaw. "Hard work is just as important as good fortune." The first bad-luck slip tied to that tree this year, after all, belonged to...

There's not just Rei's slip on the tree, though. There are dozens -- hundreds -- perhaps ''thousands'' of slips of fortune, tied to the Hikawa's pine, to slow down the bad luck and save up the good. Up high and even down low, on the branches low enough for children to reach, neither Hotaru nor Chibi-Usa are alone in their predictions.

But on all the tree, there's no luck worse than Hotaru's.

And on all the tree, there's no luck better than Chibi-Usa's.

2022-01-03 - Alive and Well

2022-01-04T01:04:04Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: mikoto minagi is doing her best

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Alive and Well'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto engages in the hallowed New Years tradition of writing postcards. Only one of them really fulfils the spirit of the activity. Or, perhaps... only one does not.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2022-01-03 - 2015-12-31
|-
|}
[[Category:Cutscenes]]

The Mai-Mikoto Dormhold has been a flurry of studious activity, in the leadup to UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAMS, but ''Mikoto'' hasn't had to open any books since final exams came and went. That's why it's surprising, to see ''her'' drop down a stack of cardstock and calligraphy pens on the dining table (which, between meals, is obviously a studying surface these days).

"Postcards, postcards..!" Mikoto bubbles, cheerfully. "Like Chie said!" Well, it is fair to say that Chie Harada probably explained ''something'' of New Years' Postcards to Mikoto: the idea of sending people you're far from reassurances that you're still well. They're called ''nengajo'', and they're as popular in Tokyo as Christmas Cards are, in the West.

Whether she got the idea...


''Steven, it's New Years cards! For New Years!'' 

''I wanna be cool like Haruka!'' 

''Westar-senpai, I'm thinking of you.'' 

''Fireworks are like magic spells, Yumi!'' 

''New Years seafood, Nori!'' 

''Endo, now we get a year to be friends!'' 

''I wanna be brave like Utena!'' 

''I wanna be connected like Chie!'' 

''Aoi, fireworks are so pretty!'' 

''Georgia, it's New Years! Bang! Bang! Like drums!'' 

''Natsuki, come over more! Don't be alone!'' 

''Eri, let's have a good year together!'' 

Cards for so many friends, delivered to mailboxes or slipped under doors. They're printed with messages of hope for the new year, of course. But the personal messages attached are displays of Mikoto's fine penmanship, and the characters all espouse the qualities of New Years -- or the qualities of her friends -- or ''both,'' all mashed together. In this way, they don't quite understand the true meaning of ''nengajo'', but...

By the time she gets back to Ohtori and slips all those cards somewhere they'll be noticed...

... there's still one left.

----

Mikoto falls silent, when she comes to the last unwritten card, sitting there at the table as she works so hard to fill them all out.

She's not far away from her friends, and they know she's doing well. In this sense, her efforts miss the point of the traditional Japanese New Years' card entirely; Mikoto, who is surrounded by her loved ones, adapts the tradition by necessity. But that's not quite true -- completely -- entirely.

She did leave... one person behind.

Without plan, she begins to write. The greeting is still entirely natural; her writing remains akin to a samurai's hand, more artful and considered than many give her credit for. It is thanks to that long practice her hand does not waver overmuch -- but for a little nervous flick at the edge of an archaic character.

There is space under the generic message, just like every other card. Her ink forms a splotch on the cardstock as she rests her pen on it, unthinking; a moment too late, she realises her thinking is entirely visible, and lifts her pen in a hurry. Her first instinct is to say nothing more -- nothing but recognition of him, just like the North Pole, just like it was before. She shakes her head, with a little grunt, and recalls what Chie told her about the tradition again.

Her first words are reassurance, because even if she voices her doubts to her friends, there is still the ''possibility'' he's concerned for her. Her next line is far too indirect to be an accusation; it's the most direct offering of Tokyo's alternatives she dares to offer.

She lingers on the end of the sentence, for a moment too long, but if he was worried for her --

A question, then, modelling her own concern. If Mikoto is truly committed to showing her family a better way, she has to show everyone there are other ways to express themselves, right..? ... not just Miroku. She can show that care can be expressed without devastation.

By the corner, a deliberate statement, to someone she was to love exclusively, with no room for anyone else in her heart. These characters are swift on the card, written too quickly to be taken back. Too quick, in fact, to realise it's not the only way it can be taken.

At once Mikoto scoops it onto the top of her stack of cards, and hops upright, to bound into the world and deliver them all.

----

Mikoto finds herself on the roof, that last easy postcard delivered. It's not particularly UNUSUAL for her to find herself on the roof; slipping out a window and hoisting herself up to get a good look at school grounds is hardly something she has to think about.

The sun is going down on the very last day of the year, and she takes a moment to turn to it, watching the way the orange tones splash over clouds carrying a fresh wave of snow to Ohtori. Higher in the sky, those warm colours shift to magenta -- violet -- purple. Which of the two is nicer is...

Well, a good sunset has the both of them, doesn't she?

She pulls out that one final postcard, the one with no mailbox or door to match. "... I won't go looking," Mikoto says, to herself, to the weight on her back. She is freed from the search; she will not return. But does it matter if she doesn't deliver it? Her Lord Brother is watching. It's entirely possible he knows, without any need for her to hand it over.

A breeze whips her braids up into the air, and carried on that whim she releases the postcard into the sky, lets it dance up into the air above Ohtori. Mikoto shakes her head, and turns to go sneak her way back inside, before someone can go and close the window on her.

----

''My dearest Lord Brother,'' 
'''Wishing you good health in the New Year.''' 
'''''.''' I'm doing good. Up here, it doesn't have to hurt'''.''' Are you cold..?'' 
''I love you, too.''

2021-12-23 - That's How It Is..? I'll Protect You!

2021-12-25T13:16:02Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: with thanks to maiplayer for consulting on my opening pose

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: That's How It Is..? I'll Protect You!'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Yumi visits Mikoto's dorm to offer her support, and learns just why the smell of death unsettled her so much. Mikoto regains the strength to resist after days of fear, because Yumi won't let her be sacrificed.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Yumi Ohzora]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori - Dormitories
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-12-23 - 2015-12-29
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto has been, by and large, attached to Mai over the Christmas period. (This may or may not be entirely literal.) Something -- she, at least, hasn't said quite ''what'' -- has led her to be particularly clingy for this holiday, and even after Christmas, she's been shy of spending time alone. The fact that she's been latched onto Mai as she furiously studies for her entrance exams doesn't seem to matter to Mikoto in the slightest.

Luckily, Yumi is here to help! Right now Mai is ''not'' here, because she has to go shop for ingredients for New Year's snacks, and the reason Mikoto can bear remaining in the dorm is because her witchiest friend has come over to visit, instead. They've taken down their Christmas decorations, now it's been a few days since the event -- but there are still plenty of decorations in the living room. There's a singing fish on the wall, and a painting of the kanji for 'cat' all deformed in such a way that it looks like a cat curled up in the sun. Even Miroku has a nice, hand-made set of pyjamas, black case all held in a cosy as it rests by the door.

It's a little messy, but, be fair, it ''was'' just Christmas. There are snacks in the fridge, at least, and fluffy cushions to sit on, where Mikoto has presently landed. The television is helpfully playing all the greatest cooking show hits, and she's canted over... and over... until she's ''thonked'' right against Yumi's side, without a single care for propriety.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

It's OK, Yumi knows about it. She's had a lot to do over the Christmas period herself! She's had to see Mother, and she spent some time with her friends after all, though not so much on the day of, and...

Well, she's had concern about Mikoto, obviously. So with presents over with and the holiday done-ish, waiting for the next holiday, Yumi has shown up. She is wearing the scarf Nori gave her, along with her uniform, complete with non-regulation tights because it is entirely too cold not to.

And she showed up cheerfully and took over, and now here she is on the couch, paying rapt attention to a cooking show and leaning back on Mikoto a little as she thonks against her. "Oh I like this one," she says. "I should take notes..."

She doesn't.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto grunts, sceptical, when Yumi says she should take notes on the cooking show. It's not that Mikoto doesn't believe in Yumi, it's just...

... well, Yumi's talents with a pot have always been more alchemical than edible.

Her weight sinks into her, warm like an idling engine; jaws opening wide, Mikoto yaawww-awww--awwwwns. She hasn't complained of sleepiness. She's still not sleeping well. "Tasty..." Mikoto trails off, when she looks at the way they prepare their hot-pot. It's a traditional dish, this time of year.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

It's fine. It's super fine. Yumi makes a vague, "Phbbbbt" of complaint at the skepticism, but that is all, because she knows Mikoto's right. She laughs a little despite herself, and keeps leaning. She is chilly, as a rule; Mikoto is a great source of warmth.

"Yeah," Yumi says. "I want to try it, too..."

But it gets her thinking of that day, that evening with the hot pot they had, too. "...So how're you feeling, Mikoto?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Yumi blows out her lips, and Mikoto chirps out a smile, audibly, head tilting into the taller girl's shoulder in a cosy little headbump.

"Maybe Mai'll make hot pot..." It's a cheery thought, and Mikoto smiles, with unveiled affection. She's a source of warmth in more than one way, judging by the warmth of those words.

But... how is she feeling?

Mikoto reaches out for Yumi's hand, as if they weren't close enough. She's pensive, as she looks down at their fingers. "Mai's working hard... I'm happy I can be with her. But, if something happened... it'd give Mai something else to do, at least. Right?" Certainly she has answered ''a'' question; whether it's Yumi's question is another thing entirely.

"But... it's a burden, I think."

Trouble enters her eyes, tilts her head down.

"I can't tell Mai what happened... she wouldn't like it. My Lord Brother's so generous... it's suspicious, right?" Her tone grows dismal, as she blinks, overlong. "I just want to stay with Mai, but..."

She's talking like it's her fault he keeps contacting her.

'Contact' is a kind word for it.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Bump!

Mai making hot pot is a nice idea, even if Yumi is unlikely to be there for it. But she does ask--and there's Mikoto taking her hand, which is easy. Yumi's fingers are a little chilly, as usual. Poor circulation, probably. It's normal for her.

"I'm glad you can be with her too," Yumi answers first.

But a burden...

Yumi looks over Mikoto's face, and shakes her head. "...''You're'' not suspicious," Yumi asserts. "Sometimes you tell people things they wouldn't like because you know they care to know. ...It's not like it's your ''fault'' that he keeps 'giving' you things. It's his choices, his actions. ...You want to help him and make it better, but... it's still his choice to do what he does, not yours."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto rubs Yumi's fingers with her own, without even really thinking about it. It's normal for her, and it's normal for Mikoto to try and warm her up, too.

Her head dips in a nod, with an unsettled little noise, as Yumi speaks. Mai cares to know..? ... it's not her fault? There's a shade of distance, to her voice, reflective. "Lord Brother said, he'd make the tough decisions... I didn't have to make choices any more. It made me happy, until I realised... I'd choose something else. Then I blamed myself... guess I still am," she adds, a shade apologetically.

It's so hard for her just to accept he's at fault, even knowing what she does now.

"I still don't know if... he's trying to be nice, or he's getting back at me," Mikoto says, after a moment's hesitation. "But, I'm scared. What if he gives me another gift..? Or --" here she flinches, "or what if he decides I'm ''ungrateful?'' I stopped practicing... in case he knew. Maybe I was pushing too hard, and, that's why." It's as if she can't even conceive of the idea that he might be cruel for no reason, just to see what explanation Mikoto makes for it.

Her fingers tighten, momentarily, around Yumi's. "Mai's getting snacks for New Years... but I'm scared. What if my Lord Brother wants to celebrate again..? I wanted to go to festivals and stuff with him, but, but... the way he's giving me what I want feels so bad, Yumi."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi curls her fingers. It's normal, so she appreciates it more as something she's used to than as a novel idea. ...And besides; her mind is on Mikoto's words more than her fingers. That distance...

"It's okay," Yumi says of blaming herself. "Nobody's mad at you for feeling bad, okay?"

Of course it's hard. Yumi doesn't entirely get it, she's sure--she thinks she doesn't have much experience like that, but she can imagine it, of course. And...

"I couldn't say what he feels," Yumi admits. "It could be either, or it could be something different. I only know what I've ''seen''. And what I've seen is he's acting unfair to you."

"...You don't have to stop. It's not your fault--you're not pushing too hard. If he wants to 'celebrate'..." Yumi shakes her head. "Well, I'll be with you, OK?"

"He's ''not'' giving you what you want--or else you wouldn't feel so bad about it. He's giving you things he can say are what you said you wanted... but it's just words, I think. He's really good with them--and I know you have trouble with words. ...But he doesn't, I think."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Yumi says he's acting unfair, and Mikoto glances aside, with a little nod. It's unfair..? ... it's unfair, she repeats, in her mind. Her hand repeats that squeeze, too, when Yumi says she'll be with her. "Mm," she agrees. "I'll be okay, 'cause I'm not alone." The fact that he seemed to anticipate those feelings...

But, what she said she wanted -- it's a key semantic difference. Mikoto is no good with those details, and she nods, when Yumi notices. "My Lord Brother... learned how to lead," she explains, with a shred of hesitation, lingering guilt over revealing their private faces. "I learned how to fight... so I didn't have to know about talking good. I... didn't need to express myself, 'cause Lord Brother already knew. I felt like I was so close to him, he understood, but... it wasn't always how I felt. I didn't... want it like this. Sometimes I think I'm the one being unfair... but," she shakes her head, interrupting her sad thoughts with the fact of the matter, "I was raised to think that way."

Her free hand comes up, to clasp at her heart. "I... I know," she says, her pronoun staggered. "It's not my fault. He's being, really mean, even though he's so nice about it. He knows I'm worried about everyone now, so -- so he put everyone in danger with the Orphans he caught, and now he put the whole world in danger with the bad memories, and... and I know it's not, but, it feels like my fault," Mikoto adds, quietly, looking away. "'Cause I left, now my Lord Brother has to take advantage of things like that." Her shoulders curl in, as if she could make herself even smaller, there beside Yumi. "Sometimes I think... if I apologised, really apologised, would my Lord Brother stop hurting everyone..? If I showed some humility... he deserves that much, right? Since I left him alone for Christmas..." Mikoto swallows, tension all at the edges of her lips. "He said I was, in the nick of time... what if I'm too late next time? My Lord Brother doesn't care about hurting other people... what if the whole world got hurt? A lot of people could die. Can I just stand aside and not take responsibility? And let people die 'cause it's easier for me, again..."

... again.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi knows it takes time and effort to believe things like this. ...She's not sure why she knows that exactly, but she's sure of it. "That's right," Yumi confirms when Mikoto says she's not alone.

And it is a ''very'' key difference, and Yumi sees it... because Yumi, too, learned how to lead. She sees Mikoto's guilt, but Yumi understands, right? "You ''were''," Yumi confirms too when Mikoto says she was raised to think that way. It's important. It's good, that Mikoto knows it. Even if it's hard for her.

"...But he doesn't have to," Yumi says softly when Mikoto finishes. "He doesn't ''have'' to do the things he's doing at all--he might feel pressure to, but just like you, he gets to make his own choices."

"...I understand that you feel that way. The thing is, though..."

"...We promised," Yumi says, "That we wouldn't sacrifice people anymore. And you're a person too, Mikoto. We won't sacrifice you because it ''might'' save some people--we'll stand with you, instead, to try to save those people our own way."

"Whether or not he'd stop--and I'm not so sure that he would, because he was doing it before you left too, right?--...you matter enough. You're important to us. OK?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

He doesn't... have to.

At first Mikoto's lips part, as if to contest that he feels he ''has'' to, this thing they were trained to do from their births. But Yumi addresses the very point before she can make it, extends that charity to him, and reemphasises the role of his own choices.

That's what he chose to do..?

She looks up to Yumi, eyes wide, when she declares that they're not sacrificing ''her,'' either. Is that... what she was talking about? Doing that to everyone, just like Mai did... she can't deny the idea that he might not stop, either. He has something to believe in, too. (He believes in her.) "Even though... my Lord Brother's consideration is causing trouble for everyone else? It's okay..?" She releases Yumi's hand, here, but it's just so she can wrap her arms about her midsection, attaching firmly to the side of the taller girl. "I don't want my Lord Brother to make me a burden for everyone! I want to stay! It's nicer up here, really, really! I don't wanna be tricked..!"

Would she have really made a decision like that..?

Mikoto buries her face against Yumi's side, with a sniffle. "I mean, I, I know why he feels like he's gotta... but... how can my Lord Brother choose to do this to me? I miss him, too, but -- but when it's like this -- it really hurts. It's mean, but, he's sweet and gentle and, and happy to talk to me, and I get so mixed up... it's on purpose, right? Lord Brother is clever, he knows what to say... and... and he must've planned this for a long time," she adds, with sinking realisation, as she puts together her conclusions in the context of him. "Just 'cause he was curious if I could make it... just 'cause of that, he sent us to a boat like that... like dead deer, and... my Lord Brother knew I had to kill him, right..? It, it was his rules..." She trails off, all uncertainty and dread.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

He chose it! Yumi is certain on this point, though certainly she's sure it might seem like he doesn't have a choice to him. ...Well, sure it ''might'' seem like that, because she's not so charitable to him in her private thoughts, but if Mikoto believes then she will at least entertain the possibility.

It's Mikoto's hope; it's not hers to crush.

"Mm-hm," Yumi says. "Even though." Yumi reaches to put an arm around Mikoto too, and then the other, hugging her as she's clinging onto her. "And we want you to stay."

How can he do it...?

"I don't know," Yumi admits. "...I know he's smart. I know the things he's done. But I can't know his heart. ...I know his actions, though. And..."

She bites her lip. Someone Mikoto had to kill....

"...That's something I don't know either," she admits. "What all you had to do because of those rules. I know it's hard. ...But I'm willing to listen if you want to talk about it."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Kawai Kenji - Giwaku https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8ZuVJRxhdE

"... I know... my Lord Brother's heart," Mikoto says, quietly, a shade muffled. "I can't keep up with him... I don't know a lot. But I know... I know we're family. We love each other... we just never learned how to do it nice. That's why I gotta save him. Before it goes too far, and someone makes him memories in a hole, too." She doesn't speak on the similarities between her and the other evildoers of Dark Fall, this time, but it wasn't so long ago she expressed that the only difference between her and the people who couldn't be saved was a fluke of ramen and understanding.

And in that lull, she doesn't quite realise what she's admitted, speaking freely to someone like Yumi. It's only when she trails into admitting she doesn't know what Mikoto had to do that, that she stiffens up in Yumi's arms, chin lifting for a sharp breath. "I --"

She settles back in against her, a moment later, all her strings cut. "I..."

She worries: would Yumi think badly of her? But what did she say, just then? She said she killed someone, didn't she..? ... so even if she said it wasn't important, the damage is done.

"I was brought up to serve my Lord Brother," Mikoto says, finally, and the words are numb about the edges. "Brought up to love no one other than my Lord Brother. But... one day, he left. Our Grandfather took over my training... I worked really hard so my Lord Brother would come back. Grandfather was the only one who was kind to me, after that. But one day, I told Grandfather I loved him, too... it w-wasn't allowed." Here there is a pause, a break in her words, a break in her voice, and her hands clutch fistfuls of that wonderful scarf Nori gave to Yumi.

"I couldn't apologise enough... he told me to get dressed and come outside, even though it was bedtime. I had to kill him. If I didn't, he... my Grandfather was good with swords, too. He wouldn't hesitate, so there was an enemy in front of me... and, without thinking, I... I didn't, either." There's a certain distance to her tone, but the occasional wobbling of her voice stops her tone from being truly ''dull.'' "The moon was out, so I could see it, on the grass... it smelled, it... he held my hand and said I was a fully-fledged HiME, now. 'Cause, I... that's what it took. He was proud of me for doing it... 'cause I could only love Lord Brother. Grandfather told me and Miroku we had to look for my Lord Brother, told me where, and, and... I just... I left him there, in the grass. They took me away to go to Tokyo, then... so I don't know what happened to Grandfather." Her voice ratchets down, a touch quieter, a touch more miserable, a touch more foreboding. "The people I kill... I don't stay to find out. I don't know about funerals at all..."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Mikoto knows, and Yumi has already promised herself that she won't be the one to crush hope today. So she doesn't; she nods. She says, "Right. If I can help you... I will."

She doesn't like him; she doesn't approve of him. She isn't sure he has anything 'good' inside him. ...But he's not hers to give up on.

Mikoto admits something, and she settles, and....

Numb about the edges. Yumi knows that tone, though she couldn't say from where. But she listens, and she listens, and... there's...

Yumi blinks. She is stunned, for an instant, by the story. Mikoto might have an agonizing half-second to worry if Yumi ''does'' disapprove. But only that long, because--

"Oh, Mikoto," Yumi says, and there is warmth and love and ''worry'' in her voice. "That's awful," she says. "That you would have to do that..."

She can't forgive Mikoto's Lord Brother in the moment. For all her high-minded ideals about not crushing Mikoto's hope, the horror she feels in the moment is far, far from hope.

"I'm so sorry," she says, and blinks away tears of hurt for Mikoto. She hangs onto her tightly--Mikoto could surely break free of her grip, but she holds all the same.

It is... profoundly, profoundly ''wrong''. She is not certain, in the moment, that she can forgive Mikoto's Grandfather, either.

"...Most people don't like to think about funerals," she says softly after that. "You're not alone in that, either."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Is it strange, that Mikoto can speak of her hopes to save him, and so soon afterwards speak on the horrific test of loyalty her family thrust on her for his sake? Perhaps, thinking of it that way...

It's an agonising moment. Until Yumi speaks, Mikoto is very, very still.

She could break out of her grip, certainly, but it's the last thing Mikoto ''wants'' to do. Her shoulders shake, and no doubt she's crying, hidden there against Yumi. How could she not? Yumi's crying, too.

"That ship, I thought it was a ritual... like one of Yumi's assignments... I didn't mean to hurt him," Mikoto says, all wobbly-kneed, all muffled. "It was something being used... I didn't see a person. And I treated her like that... I'm still mean, too!"

She takes a breath, tries to calm the pulsing hammer of her heart. "It's... it's okay," she says, swallowing down those tears, trying to calm herself. "Back then... Eri said it's the only way my Grandfather could protect me. If I'd broken the rules and, didn't prove I was loyal... my family wouldn't have liked it. He gave his life for that..."

Mikoto pauses, regret seeping into her voice. "I... I wish he'd protected me. I was only little... but I had to train every day... it was hard for me. But, our destiny was bigger than us. None of us could say no... we had to fulfill our duties. I -- I got to say goodbye, in Obon -- when we went real far to visit another one. Ever since I remembered... even before I remembered... I thought it was my fault. 'Cause I killed him." She shifts, in Yumi's grip, to look at one of her curled hands. "... with these hands, I kill people I love... that's what I can do. It was very hard for me... it's still hard. I'm still all shamed, sometimes. But, I didn't have a choice. It... it wasn't my fault," and each time it is strange to say, and each time it is vital she says it.

"That power... that's what my Lord Brother wanted from me. He needed someone like that on his side... a murderer, who wouldn't hesitate, even if I loved my enemies. I had to be a warrior who could defeat any enemy... I think I would've had to do something like that, even if I did everything right. 'Cause it wasn't my choice." Mikoto glances aside from Yumi's uniform, now, a brief reveal of the deep frown on her face, the tearstreaks on her face. "But... I don't know if it was my Lord Brother's choice, either. Or if it was just the rules they made for us... Lord Brother never talked about Grandfather. Not even during Obon..."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi feels a little guilt, for not thinking of the possibility that he'd been protecting her in the only way he could. It lingers, and will trouble her later as she considers it. But for now...

"I thought so too," Yumi admits. "I didn't think it was a funeral, I thought it was some kind of awful... spell."

But it's okay, she says. "...That makes sense," she says. "You had to prove it..."

But... protection. "I see..." She nods. "...That's right. It isn't your fault."

"You've got it, I think. He needed that warrior. ...I think you're probably right; it would've come to something like that sooner or later either way. Because it wasn't your choice."

She squeezes Mikoto lightly, and looks at her for a long few moments. His choice...

"I don't know," Yumi admits. "...Who are 'they', Mikoto?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto nods, looking up to Yumi, catlike eyes still glossy with tears. It wasn't her fault; it wasn't her choice. When her Lord Brother makes the tough decisions... that's what it looks like, right?

It's not a nice thought.

She blinks in surprise, though, when Yumi asks an unexpected question; a few more tears fall down her cheeks, freed from the prison of her lashes. "It's..." She starts, uncertain, with an evasive glance aside.

She's silent, for a moment, humming doubt through her lips. "I thought of them as my uncles, 'cause they were involved in family business too, but no one really explained it... they came to the shrine sometimes, but they spoke with the men, not me. They weren't too friendly... and they dressed different to us, too." She could never see their eyes... it was unsettling, to her.

Mikoto closes her eyes, grasp tightening around Yumi for a moment. "When I killed my beloved Grandfather... they just watched. They got me to Tokyo... but no one asked if I was okay. I was my Lord Brother's most valuable weapon... but I really felt like a tool when I was around them. They weren't nice to me like my Lord Brother and Grandfather were, so I don't feel good about them. But sometimes I wonder... how many Minagis are still out there, still loyal?" She sighs, deflating into Yumi. "... I'm being rebellious, so I worry about that."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Few of these thoughts are nice.

But an evasive glance, and an answer nonetheless. "Uncles," Yumi repeats, and is thoughtful, thinking for some reason of people in her own life for a moment. She shakes that off easily enough, frowning at the matter of just speaking with the men... and Mikoto holds tighter and that's fine.

"Just watching..." Yumi nods. "I see. Well..."

That doesn't answer who they are exactly, but it makes Yumi wonder. Mysterious people enforcing 'rules' of some kind...

"You're living your life," Yumi says. "And that's okay. And if there are more Minagis out there... then we'll have to give them a chance to live theirs, too."

"That's all there is to it, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It may well be that Mikoto doesn't have the answer, exactly. The men made the decisions, growing up. And she...

"A chance," Mikoto echoes. "... yeah. I want to... help my family, too. I don't really understand everything... but I don't think it was fair."

She nods, with an affirmative noise. "That's all," she agrees, firmly, and she's quiet, for a moment.

"... but..." The trailing addition is quieter, as Mikoto looks up to Yumi, again.

"... sorry Yumi knew what death smelled like. It was... it was really horrible. I didn't know, but... Yumi did right? How it ends up... it must be hard." Even after a revelation like that, she's still worried about Yumi...

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi thinks that's about as much answer as she's likely to get for now in any case, and it's good enough. She can investigate later. For now...

"Yeah. It's not fair," Yumi agrees. And that's all. But? But, a quiet addition, and Yumi tilts her head to listen don at her friend. That question...

"Ah..."

Yumi doesn't go distant--not after this conversation--not exactly. But she sort of looks at a faraway place past Mikoto for a moment, seeing into her memory instead of into the moment.

"Not everybody left the hospital to go home," Yumi settles on saying. "...And I'm familiar with funerals and stuff, too."

"And when you're like me... Well, you think about it, you know? I can't really not. But it's okay. ...Thanks, though. I appreciate that you're worrying over me."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

This time, rather than ''clinging'' to Yumi, Mikoto puts her arms around her so she can hug her properly, too. "Can't not... it's okay," she says, in echo.

"I... I don't wanna worry Yumi," she says, and in Mai's house, the implications may be obvious. "But... I'm happy Yumi's caring about me, too. My Lord Brother made it sound like he was giving permission for me to be with everyone, but, he said everyone was enemies... so I don't think it's 'cause of him Yumi's here."

She gives her a little smile, as she surmises: "'Cause that's Yumi's choice, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi hugs back. It's nice. And...

"I'm gonna worry a little," Yumi says. "Just like you can't help it, neither can I. ...But you've got it exactly right, you know?" The implications can be obvious; Yumi knows about Mai's brother, for one. But...

"It's sure not because of him. I'm here because you're my friend. It's my choice. And one I'd make again."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto makes a happy little chirp of a noise, burrowing in against Yumi's side. "Yumi's my friend, too! I love Yumi! I want to choose Yumi, too!" And, well -- Mikoto applies the word 'love' liberally enough that the meaning is ''probably'' implicit, by now.

"Yumi's protecting me... so I won't be scared!" She decides, and perhaps it's strange, considering the differences in their grip strengths. Or... perhaps not. Yumi learned a different skillset to Mikoto, after all. "It'll be okay."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Yeah," Yumi answers, and beams back. She knows what Mikoto means by love; she's happy with it, even. And as her friend burrows in against her side, she thinks about Mikoto's decision.

"That's right," Yumi says, and maybe it is strange, but it feels... right, to take on this kind of position, too. "I'll protect you. It'll be OK."

2021-12-18 - He Makes Me Dance

2021-12-19T06:55:46Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: mikoto have you ever considered therapy? wait hang on you go to ohtori bad plan BAD PLAN

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: He Makes Me Dance'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto struggles to understand her Lord Brother's machinations, while Nori and Yumi support her through her grief -- and consider the implications. Tama and Batiste offer their help, too.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]]. [[Nori Ankou]], [[Yumi Ohzora]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Infinity Institute - Dormitories
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-12-18 - 2015-12-24 (late at night)
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Icon For Hire - Only Be A Story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=533BF-jT0V8

> Something happened 
> I gotta stau over work Yumi 
> Ok???

Mikoto sent those text messages -- slightly waylaid by an autocorrect which couldn't quite keep up with her trembling fingers -- to Mai, when they returned to reality, and her phone deigned to work again. (Luckily, it was in an ''inside'' pocket, not in her overcoat.) With only brief detachments for her other friends -- and Nagisa, after that, soundly counts as a friend rather than an acquaintance in Mikoto's mind -- she's stuck by Yumi's side on the return, all the way to the dorm they decorated together.

She asked her to cover the mirrors, when they got in. She doesn't explain why, but perhaps that glinting gold in the shadows, memories of her own eyes, are explanation enough.

And that's how they end in the living room with the curtains drawn against the reflection of the windows, comforters all set out for an impromptu sleepover. (Miroku, in its case, leans against the wall.) It's a good place for Nori to find them, when she arrives; a lucky thing she does, too, because Mikoto herself is a terrible conversationalist, tonight. She sat with Yumi, she accepted what care was offered, and gave little comment.

Her comment to see what Nori has brought is light sparking in her eyes, a hesitant twitch inward of her fingers before she reaches out to bury them in black and white, circling the scarf broad around her. "... I like gifts like this better," she says, a little more life to her voice. "Thanks." And there's something in the brief pause, the distinction, which writes a sad story about some of the gifts Mikoto has been offered of late; but then, why else would the Sea have called her?

She buries into that scarf hencewith, which isn't terribly hard, because the pyjamas she's borrowed from Yumi are already exceedingly good at concealing her. It's not that they're that much broader than what she normally wears; it's just so much LONGER. Her hands have been consumed by her sleeves, and now her neck's all bundled up with long edges, too.

Now that portable hot-pot Nori brought bubbles with all the bounty of the sea, and Mikoto watched it until it boiled, with quiet expectation. Still quiet; it's not that she looks unhappy as much as she is pensive, preoccupied, gaze growing distant between any conversation which might be going on around her. She leans against Nori, a hand reaching out to grasp the trailing edge of Yumi's scarf, as if she could stay connected to her by the gifts she was given.

Her other hand lifts, slowly, to play a braid around it. "Merry Christmas..." Mikoto murmurs, twirling those sole long strands of hair around her finger.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Good! I'm glad," Nori answered Mikoto. "I hope it's comfortable for you."

Nori is in her same outfit as she was all along, and has, gently, been pleased by the sight of Mikoto in her too-large outfit. It's adorable, and she thinks, it is something she deserves - Mikoto deserves to be adorable, if she wills it, and not be...

Well...

Nori gives Mikoto a brief, squeezing side hug. "Would you care for a shrimp or perhaps a bit of scallop?" she asks her, holding a long spoon in her other hand. "I understand if you prefer not to rise..."

"I hope it won't seem too much like a lame gift to say, you're welcome to the pot, too, if you want it," Nori offers to Yumi. "I hope they allow them in the dorms." In general, one presumes, not like, right now, when models are in town.

Batiste has absented himself, probably to check his otter mail and''or find the bathroom. He will return, in time.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi loves the scarf! It is well-known that Yumi gets cold very easily. She also enjoys Mikoto's presence! The mirrors... she doesn't have to ask why, when Mikoto asks her to cover them, and frankly Yumi doesn't keep a lot of those out and uncovered in the first place. There are witchy reasons for this, but she's also kind of self-conscious about her appearance a lot of the time, so that's that.

"Yeah, they're great!" Yumi agrees about the scarves, happily twirling with hers for a moment.

She is less buried, because her pajamas are actually sized for her. And Mikoto is pensive, and distant, but...

Tama is definitely close by for the seafoot. Batiste may be after otter mail, but Tama looks up from Mikoto's very comfortable lap to say, "I will have scallop." She is an old lady cat but she knows what she likes.

"Oh, thank you!" Yumi answers. "Nah, it's not lame at all. And I... think they do?" she says. They let Yumi get away with a little extra regardless, for a few reasons.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Between two girls and a cat, Mikoto ''is'' quite comfortable. She's surrounded on all sides by people who care about her. It's something she needs, right now, even if it's not how she'd planned her night to go.

(She never did get to ask Mai if...)

"Yeah," Mikoto bobs her head, in a nod, looking up to Nori. (A touch sidelong, legs folded against her side as she is.) When she is given her bowl of snacks, she dutifully plucks out one of the plumpest, tastiest-looking scallops and waves it about a bit to cool it, before placing it upon her shin for Tama to devour. The fact that Tama has deigned to perch upon her is certainly something Mikoto has noticed; she's done her best to respect her dignity, which is to say she only scritches her ears ''occasionally.''

She nibbles on a shrimp, herself, and tries to be present in the moment of good food. Mikoto likes Nori's seafood, and this is, of course, delicious. If she wasn't so troubled... but, she decides, after a moment too long, "... it's good."

Mikoto blinks, overlong, as her mind catches up to Nori's offer. "I have one," she says. "They don't mind." A pause, and she frowns, looking to the door. "But, it's Ohtori..." And in Ohtori, the amount you can get away with is directly proportional to the amount of Student Council members who like you.

She pops a few more bites into her mouth, and replenishes Tama's scallop stock, once she's munched through her morsel. Finally, looking down at the seafood, Mikoto musters: "... thanks. For being with me," she explains, in the next beat, a little shake of her head. "After my Lord Brother did all that... I'd be scared to be alone. He wouldn't like it..." She trails off, swallowing, as if a piece of shrimp got stuck in her throat. It didn't.

"... but, I wish you didn't see that." It's a quiet confession, face flushing with the shame of her friends ''seeing'' how he speaks to her, entirely outside the stories she's told. (So many of them are nicer than the truth.) She hasn't yet looked up from her bowl.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Tama places her order. Scallop. Mikoto deals with the logistics.

"Well, good! I would just wonder. I remember when I lived in the dorms at Ohtori," Nori says. "It was... peculiar. I was a little jealous of some of the other buildings, though I was hardly deprived... I like what I have now." Converted office space with a concrete floor and weird decor?

YES

Nori reaches forwards now to fish out what had been the leg meat of king crab and is shortly going to be part of Nori. (The crab leg meat came from a bag, tragically... she is perhaps not that luxurious.)

"Mm," she says.

She considers the crab.

"See what?" Nori asks, glancing first up towards Yumi, then towards Mikoto. She does not move further, staying there, present, lean-againstable. She puts the bit of meat into her mouth, quietly chewing in thought.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Tama accepts Mikoto's offering, and accepts ''occasional'' ear-scritches. The scallop will soon disappear into the hunter's maw.

"It's really good!" she says, and then--hmmm. The dorms at Ohtori... "Ohtori's like that," Yumi says. "I guess it's possible they would mind hre in some of the dorms? But I've got my own little kitchen so I think it's fine." She smiles. "I think it's neat that you get to live there!"

Tama's tail curls lightly about Mikoto's arm, when she thanks them.

Yumi also considers crab. But after, she shares that look with Nori, and then looks to Mikoto. "I didn't see anything that made me think less of you," Yumi says simply. She doesn't apply it much to her own situation because--why would it be the same? But she does follow up, "Not a thing."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto is good at figuring out how to execute orders. Maybe don't think about that too hard.

"... I like being with Mai," is what she has to say about Ohtori's dorms. What the dorms are like may not factor into that value judgement very much.

Neither does she question the crab coming from a bag, perhaps for the same reason as stated above. Cooking on a budget means getting an awful lot of things from bags. They can still be very tasty!

But Nori asks, and Mikoto hums, unsettled, though her lips. "How... we talk to each other," she explains, reluctant. There's a tail around her arm, which helps. Yumi doesn't think less of her, and that helps, too.

It didn't look like much of a back-and-forth conversation, but Mikoto sounds like she believes it.

One hand lifts, fingers curling at the hollow of her neck; she still can't quite bring herself to look at either of them, with those too-bright eyes of hers. "I practised so hard, but when my Lord Brother was right there, I couldn't say anything..." She sounds so small, ''looks'' so small, seated there beside Nori. "I couldn't... challenge him. It was like it always was."

How many conversations, between them, have been so one-sided?

From how haunted her eyes are, this isn't the first time his kindness has come at the end of a cudgel.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori smiles at Yumi, for a moment. Her arm squeezes Mikoto, lightly, then, and she turns her attention towards her to listen. About Mai, of course; who she knows Mikoto loves.

And then about...

The other guy.

"You were surely taken by surprise, though," Nori murmurs. "I don't understand how any of that happened, myself. I suppose a miracle, in its way, and we were certainly lucky... or perhaps the real luck were those poor scientists."

"There is no shame in not having anything to say when you're caught flat footed like that," Nori continues. "... But, did you want to challenge him?"

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Right," Yumi says, and smiles at Mikoto. Of course she likes being with Mai! That's--well that's kind of its own whole thing and Yumi isn't going to touch that much right now. Instead, she listens to Mikoto explain further, and so Yumi listens.

"Yeah," Yumi agrees first with Nori. "You were surprised--nobody's at their best taken out of nohere." The luck... the scientists. There's that. "You practiced, but it's like... how when you get a pop quiz you might forget what you studied, because you're surprised."

She pauses. "...I know what you mean, how he talks to you and all. How it... was."

"That's a good question though--did you want to? ...what did you want to say?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto hums vague assent, when Nori says she was taken by surprise. There are plenty of people in Dark Fall she would suspect, targeting Sailor Moon's friends and vulnerabilities like that. But her Lord Brother..? Mikoto didn't expect to find him at the North Pole back then; neither did she expect to find him there ''today.'' It's an unsettling thought, mollified by that squeeze from Nori, and both of their reassurances.

Nori asks if she wanted to challenge him; Yumi asks what she wanted to say. To the first question, silently, she nods. To the other -- "That stuff I said... to the, memory..." Mikoto's voice hitches, skips a beat, as she tries to describe the dark presence they found in that spiralling abyss. "... it's the kinda stuff I've been practicing to say to my Lord Brother. I thought it'd help... since she was dark, too. I wanted to tell him, it wasn't fair, but we don't gotta be like this. It doesn't have to hurt," she says, for the second time tonight. "And, and... I don't want this," she adds, voice lowering to a nervous whisper, gaze darting aside. Yumi's there, so she's safe. She repeats, in variation, meeting her eyes for that shy moment: "Not like this." Certainly she wants her Lord Brother to think of her, to treat her kindly; but she ''knows'' his gifts are no kindness.

Mikoto eats another morsel of shrimp. This time she is able to smile, however faintly. It ''is'' good. She nods, once she's swallowed. (Once she's apportioned another snack to a cat.) "How my Lord Brother talks to me..." She echoes Yumi, scratching at Tama's head, briefly. It's different to how she said it. It sounds like more of a relief to say it this way. "... it feels bad for my friends to hear that," she settles on, after a careful moment.

She's speaking out of order. If anything, it's a reflection of how long it takes for her mind to process the words.

Out of order, she takes a breath, and taps the corner of her bowl, falling silent for a moment. "... I get it," she says, at length, because it's what has run through her mind this whole time. It took her this long, that prompt, to muster the strength to say it. "How it happened." Her tongue darts between her lips, to dampen them, to catch a shred of whiting which previously escaped her maw. It's a nervous reaction; it exposes nerves. "My Lord Brother... told the research ship where to go." It's a certain assumption about the pronouns that wizened man used, in that possessed ship. "He sees... he sees," she repeats, a little shiver up her spine, down her arms. "He, directs people... Nori heard how sweet he was." Mikoto heard sweetness in that smirking voice..?

Here she thinks of that fog, unsettled; but she can't quite settle on words to describe why, and leaves it aside.

"So, he told them what they needed to hear to come here," Mikoto draws what conclusions she can, with that sort of quiet acuity which belies her plain words. "And they took Mio's body out of the hole. That's why it was empty. That's why the memories came out. And she ordered them to do that... and everyone was so mad..." She looks aside, hand reaching over to grasp at Yumi's sleeve, for some vain support. What ''she'' saw, what she heard, on the day of Christmas Eve -- "They were going to fight. All the normal people. Everyone was scared, and, angry. The whole world. My Lord Brother made that happen. Used what was left. He..." She trails off, speaking on his resourcefulness, what he has grasped for himself now she is out of his grip.

What difference is there, between a prince who uses the remnants of his fellows with brutal precision, and a princess who scatters a corpse to the floor like so much garbage? This she wonders and does not say, either.

But they're thoughts which make Mikoto's eyes scrunch up, and her hand grasps in Yumi's pyjamas. "He makes me dance for him, and everyone's in danger! Why does my Lord Brother keep testing me?! He always wants to see what I can do! If I can..! And it's getting worse, too!" She couldn't love him alone; no wonder, then, that holding more and more people hostage stings suffering into her voice, high-strung.

It's not just stress, but ''guilt.'' Not only for what she sees as what ''she'' is putting everyone through... but for speaking so plainly of his plans in the first place. He'd gone so far as to name his little sister -chan, in front of a group, with careful consideration to public disclosure rather than their private truth; Mikoto, meanwhile, isn't respecting ''honne'' and ''tatemae'' at all. It's a subtle point of shame -- that he would be so considerate -- all while she disrespects their secret lives, again and again.

... but then, perhaps that contrast is why it's taking Mikoto so long to find her voice, tonight.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori reaches forwards to collect a scallop from the simmering hot pot. ("Do you think we should add a little chili oil?" she asks Yumi, but it is a gentle parenthetical; perhaps even a ploy, on some level, to make it all seem normal and relaxed. Nori Ankou has dealt with her share of sorrow, even if her techniques are often erratic.)

Then she is quiet, as Mikoto speaks. She dines upon her morsel as she listens.

The first part, the outline of what likely happened, seems plausible to Nori. "But how did they find their way to the Sea," she murmurs, leaning back a little bit. She provides another shrimp for Mikoto at the fiddling of the bowl. On sweetness she is silent.

The topic then leaves Dear Brother, and goes into Mikoto herself. And Nori reaches over to take Mikoto's hand, to squeeze it briefly, and to remain silent for a moment longer, eyes lowered, composing her thoughts.

"It is wrong of him," Nori says.

"Wrong of him to do this to anyone. Wrong of him to do it to Tokyo, to the world. Wrong of him to disturb my home. And most of all, wrong to do these things to you."

Her eyes lift upwards. "It is not your fault, Mikoto. I am sorry that it is - that it is like this..." She trails off, the enormity of this particular 'Christmas gift' defeating her for the moment. Instead she squeezes Mikoto's hand again.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi didn't really expect it either. But the normalcy makes it easier to just kind of keep going with all of this; Yumi is good at these sort of subtle games, hether she thinks of herself as such or not. ("Hmmm. I think best not," she says, and doesn't make it about Mikoto, "I can only do so much spice at a time!" But it's definitely about Mikoto.)

Mikoto comes up with answers... and Yumi nods. "Yeah," she says. "I see." She smiles gently, when Mikoto glances aside--and Tama even tolerates head-scritches for the moment. She is concerned over Mikoto, not that she would say as much for the moment. Still.... 'Sweet'. How he directs people--what happened....

"Not sure," Yumi admits to how they did it. "He might've had a hand in that too... or maybe not." 'Sweet'. "Right. He sees things."

She's so stressed, and it makes Yumi ''angry''. To think of ho her great Lord Brother treats her--

"...It's not fair to you," she says. "To you, I mean. Not just him. What he's doing.... he shouldn't be. This isn't a 'gift', and we'd have been with you anyway. It's..."

She frowns, and can't entirely keep it all in. She sighs.

"Sorry, Mikoto. But I don't like it."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

That Mikoto does not yelp at the possibility of chili is, perhaps, the most damning evidence of her present state of mind.

Her other hand is claimed by Nori, and the imperial hue of her fingers curl loosely, grasping the other girl's palm. She watches Nori without, mercifully, having to meet her eyes, as she speaks so plainly on his wrongdoing. Her brow creases, pained; there's a twitch of her fingers, grasping a little tighter.

It's the pain of alcohol swabs over a cut, really. To hear it spoken so plainly is Nori's own truth, unvarnished, another option. Mikoto doesn't like to think of what she might have done if she'd heard it with that choke-chain about her neck, but now it seems she's free to draw her own conclusions.

She's sad, meeting Nori's eyes, but she's sad because...

Yumi, too, and those unnaturally bright eyes turn to her, as she speaks on where the inequity lies. Just as Nori has modelled, her hand slips down Yumi's sleeve, to slip into her palm, with a light squeeze. Mikoto was holding someone else's hand, in the fortress; but here, she's holding theirs.

"... I know," she says, slowly, looking from Yumi to Nori. "It's... it's punishment. My Lord Brother just makes it sound like... it's good for me. ... it's always been that way," she admits, chin ducking down. She doesn't quite have the strength to speak on all his machinations a second time; she leaves it to implication, because her voice is tremulous enough, trying to honour their feelings when hers are so complex. "It's, okay for you to not agree. He's... he's Dark Fall. Like I was. We didn't learn nice things. Not liking it, it's normal. Okay?" The question is thin, and it wobbles at the knees. It's hard for her, even knowing that all she has said is the truth, and her friends are by and large charitable souls. If they don't like it, they've got a good reason. But...

No matter how much practice she gets with reassuring her friends their feelings are valid, she still feels like she's doing something wrong.

She swallows; she's quiet, for a moment. She looks down to a cat, rather than at either girl. That's safer.

Finally: "... I don't think they found the Sea," Mikoto says, quietly. "They got cobwebs... they'd been travelling a long time. The long way, I think. I think the Sea... got us there quicker, 'cause if we hadn't, everyone... my Lord Brother said we barely made it," she shivers, beside Nori, and perhaps she's regretting her hesitation, there by the yawning abyss. She shakes her head, and asks, instead: "Was it looking out for us..?"

She pauses, for a moment, lips pressing thin together. "But, I don't know how they met us in the Sea," she says. "... Queen Beryl was really, really, really powerful. Even the memories are. Maybe she was so angry... the people she was using found us in another world." Mikoto shakes her head, with a little noise of frustration. "I don't know. Maybe, my Lord Brother did it," she inclines her head, to Yumi, and her own suspicions. "But... I don't know how." This, she offers to Nori, apologetically. She feels bad the Sea was breached like this. If she could explain it, she would.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"You are not a small child," Nori answers Mikoto, on the topic of punishment. "Even with beasts and birds, you know it yourself: you get more with sweetness and savory than with bitter and sour. If he sought to dissuade you from some great danger, I would still hate him, but perhaps I could understand."

She sips from her bottle of juice, leaving the other part unstated: 'he ain't, so I don't.'

"... That's true," Nori continues. "The smell... well, Yumi, I hope you will forgive me for being, er, indelicate about it, but... things had been dead there for quite some time, if not quite so long as to have rotted away entirely... I suppose some of it might have been other things brought on."

"It's funny," Nori says. "The magic that was within them, waiting... it may have preserved them as well. I suppose, anyway. The ship itself was under a wicked enchantment, so perhaps they were only there for a short while..."

"Perhaps the Mother of Sorrows was helping us..."

The idea makes Batiste, who is returning from the little otters room, pause in a gesture of something resembling prayer. He does not seem to have anything much to add, and perhaps reading the room, circles round to chill with Mikoto and provide another source of soft, soft fur.

"If she was that powerful... then her memories and her sorrows would share in those powers. I have known ghosts, but usually they are not able to - to do very much," Nori says. "A slammed door. A shut way. There was a Siren of long ago who appeared once, at a museum, strong enough to see... but it has been a while since Queen Beryl lived, isn't it?"

"I don't know very much about her," Nori concludes.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

It's okay. Yumi is looking out for Mikoto's spice tolerance.

Yumi squeezes Mikoto's hand, too. She is upset, but...not at Mikoto. "Yes," Yumi agrees with Nori. "However he makes it sound... it's not OK that he does that. You don't need to be 'corrected', or punished." She pauses. "...Yeah. They think differently in Dark Fall. Maybe he just doesn't know how to do nice things." Yumi doubts it, but she is willing to let Mikoto hang onto hope, because... is she going to quash hope? "It's OK."

She can't argue with Nori. She nods along, and then--well. The smell... "I don't mind," Yumi says of Nori being indelicate. "Hmm... I couldn't say," she admits.

"I think the Sea helped us too. And Queen Beryl..." Yumi nods. "Yeah. I heard about her. I heard the stories about what she was able to do.. how she drove everybody away."

Magical girls, that is.

"...Ghosts vary," Yumi admits. "But I don't think that was a ghost, exactly. It didn't have the... will. Just the memory."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto hums acknowledgement when Nori and Yumi speak on punishments, a little shamefaced. Correction... he would think she needs correcting, wouldn't he? "... he is sweet," she looks to Nori, after a moment, perhaps confirming just how much of her perspective was in that prior statement. "That's why it's hard, for me. Even when it hurt, when he looked at me like I was the only one who mattered in the whole world... I was happy." And perhaps the dynamic informs the way he spoke to them -- rather, spoke to HER -- as if a world at war were only a passing curiosity, a trifle to test her against. As if all their trials were only a mechanism to bring her together with her allies, company on a special day.

They all saw the way Mikoto weighed people who mattered versus people who didn't, in the world which was -- the way she was willing to let countless people die, so Eri Shimanouchi would live. She had to have learned that logic from somewhere, growing right down to the roots of the family tree.

... at least, that's a nice way to look at it, isn't it? Mikoto is quite skilled in finding the best possible light. It's kind of Yumi not to crush that hope, though Mikoto doesn't quite see enough to be grateful for that specific kindness.

So much was dead; she glances to Yumi, as if in light surprise that Nori has to ''excuse'' the facts of the smell. "Could be magic," she agrees, thoughtfully. Magic is a terribly powerful thing, after all. Mikoto looks down as Batiste circles around her, with a wan smile, and a welcoming noise in the back of her throat. In the back of her mind, she wonders whether the two of them will have enough territory between her to be comfortable. The fact that Tama is a magical cat and Batiste is only metaphorically a cat (of the sea, naturally) does not intrude on this concern in the slightest.

She tilts her head, with a thoughtful grunt, at Nori's mention of doors; there's something about it which strikes her as fitting, but it's one of those feelings she can't quite put to words, again. "Don't know much about ghosts," Mikoto says, apologetically. "It's scary... how someone might come back after they're defeated." Her lips scrunch, and her fingers twitch, in each palm. "Rather they just be stories."

Mikoto was perfectly content thinking ghosts weren't real. She exists in the world of the living.

"Don't know much about Queen Beryl, neither," she adds, with a shrug. "Sailor Moon would know... but last time I saw her, I, um... I think I tried to kill her," Mikoto says, awkwardly, looking up at the ceiling. "So it's kinda awkward... can someone else ask?"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Mm," Nori says. "Maybe there are multiple ghosts. The tears of Queen Beryl, wicked as she is, would find their way there as readily as anyone else's. I would not empathize with her... but it must have been frustrating, in its way, as well."

Nori feels weird to empathize with someone who like, wanted to kill everybody, even if she was really pulling off a purple dress that's still fashionable 20 years later. She sips her juice. Looking back towards Mikoto now.

"I would be glad to ask her if you are not comfortable doing so. Do you want to come along?" Nori looks up to Yumi then. "Did you invite her? I know she has - well; there are people she has to go visit. I know all of us, we tend to be a little solitary, don't we?"

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"...Yeah," Yumi says. "It's pretty special to feel like you're the only one who matters, right?" she says, and she can see kind of what Mikoto means there. That dynamic--and how he spoke--make a lot of sense to her.

A lot of things could be magic. Tama does not move as Batiste comes around, though she peers at him briefly, in acknoledgement. That is about it. They do not for the moment seem to have problems with them.

"...Yeah," Yumi says. "it must've been frustrating. Nobody likes to lose." She won't say too much about ghosts for now. Not knowing that they spook Mikoto. So that's a thing.

"I didn't," Yumi admits about Sailor Moon. "I thought she'd rather go be with her family..." Pause. "Oh, um. Not that--"

"I mean, hers is... ''here'', and..."

She feels awkward having said it that way. "We do, huh? I don't mean to be, but it turns out that way."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto nods, to Yumi, with an affirmative noise. Quietly, she admits: "... he makes me feel special." How she can hold that positive regard in her heart when he is -- just the way Nori and Yumi heard...

She doesn't linger on the point, that juxtaposition between her love, her dread, her frustration. It just is.

"It's not easy," she says, instead, on Beryl. "If Mai hadn't found me... I might've started fighting before I met anyone. Sometimes I wonder if anyone would've understood me then. Or if... I'd just be an enemy." She shakes her head, braids whipping at the sides of her face. "It's different," she adds, quickly, "it's just..."

Maybe she can't dismiss Dark Fall so easily, these days. Not now she's looked behind her.

Mikoto makes an uncertain noise, when Nori invites her. "I don't really know her..." Perhaps that's why she looks surprised to see Nori ask Yumi if ''she'' invited her over, because, in fact -- Mikoto ''still'' hasn't figured out who Sailor Moon is.

Her flinch, when Yumi wonders if she'd rather be with her family, is downright ''audible.'' A little grunt through the lips, as her chin ducks down and her shoulders curl in. If she's still captured any hands, they might find themselves pulled a little, too.

She moves on, too quickly, to the idea of being solitary. "That's not true!" Mikoto protests, perhaps with a little too much volume. She looks a shade nervous, glancing to Yumi, before she settles down. "I mean... we've got lots of friends. If it feels like Nori's on your own, that's bad feelings. But everyone's still here. If we was solitary, Yumi wouldn't have taken me home... Nori wouldn't be here, neither." Her hands slip from those hands so they can move to her face, to cover her eyes, her cheeks, against a sniffle.

"Don't ignore the cake," she implores Nori, without context, and it may be telling that for all the terror she has relayed tonight, ''this'' is what makes her cry. "We're all together, Nori!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Specialness.

Nori considers that. She looks downwards, at her clothing. The clothing that was made under Tsuru's label, and perhaps by her hand. The things she wears by day are usually not the fanciest, or are occasionally things which were considered but not made in large quantities. But this...

To feel special...

And then Mikoto is pleading with her and Nori feels a faint sense as if she could swirl into grief and despair and the wonderful, wonderful thing about being here in Yumi's cozy room and that she's with friends, friends she has won through hard effort, is that it's only an impulse - a pang - a feeling of something that might happen, or almost happens, but then it doesn't.

"Oh, Mikoto," Nori says, leaning forwards and turning round in order to embrace Mikoto in full. It is a rather large gathering-up: Nori is noticeably taller and wider in build than Mikoto, even if she carries herself well. But this is a benefit, here.

"I am sorry, I don't always speak well... I only meant that we don't live with our families, and Sailor Moon *does* - you know? But you are in my life and in my heart too, and just as dear to me as anyone could be, alright? So please, don't worry... I just... ahhh," she continues, "I remember the cake. Don't worry about me. Alright?"

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Special... Yes. Yumi understands that, she thinks. Mikoto would need that. It is what it is.

"Maybes are maybes," Yumi says, shaking her head. "We can't know what might've been, only what actually happened. So it's different, but... it is what it is, OK?" And then--she doesn't know her, and there--that question.

Nori answers first. YUmi is second. "...Yeah," Yumi answers after a moment. "That's true. I'm just worried. I haven't seen Hana-chan much in a while, y'know? ...Or... Well. I feel a little disconnected sometimes from my older friends. But I've got you two, for sure. I..."

They're all together. "...Yeah. And..."

Yumi reaches out to make it a group hug, careful of cat and otter. Cat stays where she is... for now. For now.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Yumi is worried, Nori is stumbling over her words, and Mikoto...

Mikoto sinks into Nori, which may well mean Tama has to shift in her seat to avoid being soundly squished between girls; those lovely clothes Tsuru has made are balled under her hand, as she presses her face into her shoulder and clutches to her. A hand reaches out -- a touch flailish -- to grasp ''Yumi,'' too, when she senses her weight joining them. "Then, talk to her!" Is the first thing her mind latches onto, close to wailing, and it may not be immediately obvious she's talking about Yumi's friend.

Her tears are as runaway a freight train as her force; it's not Nori's fault, not really, not here. Mikoto was pushed so far, hurt so MUCH -- the last time she'd heard his voice, he bid her to hold on, to do whatever it took to reach their glorious future. His acceptance is a knife. It cut straight to the core of the people around her, laying claim, recontextualising.

And it hurts. It hurts, and she covers her wounds with her friends, hungrily, desperately, painfully. Drawing closer, not away. She can't forget the cake, either.

"I-I -- I left, but -- but it's 'cause I love ''everyone!'' I love Nori, and Yumi! And Tama and Batiste, too! I don't want you to feel like that! Not like that, not alone..!" Her voice reaches a crest, and gutters out, a cracked-voice choke of a breath.

There's one thought too upsetting to voice:

She left, and that means he's alone for Christmas.

"I'm sorry," she says, instead, gives voice to the apology, blinks teary eyes. She takes a deep breath in, deliberately. "I'm okay... it's okay."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Batiste straightens up, now. Tama can do what Tama wants, but Batiste is hugging at Mikoto's side, a warm presence. He has had to do this at times, himself.

Nori strokes over Mikoto's back once or twice as she lets out the tears, saying softly, "I will; I will. Oh, please... it's alright. It's quite alright. Shhh..." (Nori looks over Mikoto's shoulder, now, towards Yumi; her eyebrows raise slightly. Several pieces, which had just sort of sat on her head due to fatigue and seafood-related indolence, are being pieced together, to a worrying degree.)

"Sometimes we can be by ourselves; but it isn't the same as alone," Nori concludes, gently. "But it's very good to have other people around, even if we have our spaces. Please, please." She draws back a little, and runs a finger lightly over Mikoto's cheek to gather up the tears.

"Would you like us to get some dessert?" Nori offers. (Now she glances briefly at Batiste, who nods slightly once: good move.)

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Tama skitters out of the girlpile to keep her dignity intact, though she sits down nearby, watching the others. She does not move to also hug Mikoto, but... she's been sitting on her most of the night. It's fine. Her fluffy fur is only a little ruffled.

"...Yeah," Yumi says. "That's a good idea." She was going to today--but then, excuses aren't a thing for this moment. So instead she'll just have to try to do it tomorrow. It is obvious to Yumi, anyway. And...

"It's okay," Yumi says alone, and she recognizes a thought ithout thinking. She looks to Nori too and nods a little, as if to say she understands, but then looks at Mikoto again. "It's okay," she says. "You are. ...And I don't feel alone, not with you with me. You don't have to be sorry."

Dessert...

"I think I might have some cake still in the kitchen," Yumi offers. "Or we could go out and get something special too."

Tama flicks her tail, and hops up onto the back of the couch, taking up a position behind Mikoto's head (well, when she sits back, anyway.) "...It's good, to care about your friends' feelings," the cat opines, and this is all she says for now.

She is trying to be nice. "We love you, too, Mikoto," Yumi says.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Batiste is here, too, and Mikoto's hand moves to squeeze his back -- gently! -- at some point in that whole kerfluffle, too. She does not begrudge Tama her escape. It's the privilege of the old to not have to bend around the young.

Nori's soothing noises do much to help calm down that jackhammer-pounding of her heart, something which can be ''felt,'' this close. She feels a touch wretched to be so hungry for it, but in the end, it's still expressing care, isn't it..? She pulls back when Nori does, to look at her; her eyes widen, for a moment, with those fingers to her cheek, before her expression softens.

She almost apologises again, but for Yumi -- and Mikoto, for all her too-keen senses, does not have eyes in the back of her head, doesn't catch that silent exchange in the slightest. She hears her telling her she doesn't have to be sorry, though, and it relieves that urge to make excuses for herself, for all she carries. "Mm," she nods, gold meeting grey.

And, they love her. "Thanks," Mikoto says, and the words are simple but the gratitude is not. She looks to her side to find Batiste, behind her to find Tama, and repeats: "Thanks." She's quietly grateful that Tama is there, when she turns her head. Mikoto doesn't think Tama knows how much she's had to look behind her, since she left her family, but... then again, who can tell? Cats are very wise, particularly when they get to seventeen. Mikoto is not so wise at seventeen, but these days she has reason to hope she'll live much longer.

"I... I want cake," Mikoto ventures, slowly, as if testing the words. "But --" a sting of nervousness enters her voice, as she looks up to Nori, again, eyes wide as vulnerability. "Don't put chili in it, okay?! It really hurts..!"

... maybe it's a good sign that she can worry about that, now.

2021-12-03 - Rainbow Bridge, Rainbow Heart

2021-12-03T04:46:51Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: "what's the gayest location on grid" i asked, only for both of us to reply in unison: "rainbow bridge"

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Rainbow Bridge, Rainbow Heart'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''As Christmas Eve approaches, Mikoto asks Setsuna for relationship advice, and Setsuna shares the story of how she and Lera came to date each other.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Setsuna Higashi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Rainbow Bridge
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-12-03 - 2015-12-23
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's DECEMBER 23RD, the night before the night before Christmas, which is, allegedly, the most romantic day of the year. It took Mikoto a while to clue into that, but it's okay, she's friends with people like Eri and Nao. Now, ''maybe'' Mai is just harried because of university entrance exams, but, what if...

She's been thinking about THAT...?!

Mikoto, who could just ask her, they ''live together,'' it's not difficult, has instead elected to go and take a walk after dinner. This time of year -- and more to the point, this time of ''night'' -- the shining Rainbow Bridge is all lit up in festive reds and greens, offering sparkling contrast against the white of Mikoto's pale winter coat.

But do you think Mikoto is satisfied just walking along the pedestrian's path of the bridge? You shouldn't, because about midway through, she all a sudden hops up onto the handrail, and from there springs up and up, to grasp a section of those suspension cables. Her arms support her weight entirely for a few precarious moments, as she lifts the rest of her body-weight up to bring her feet onto it. From there, it's just a matter of committing to a balancing act upwards, it's not long until Mikoto is safely hidden... ''atop'' one of the towers which hold up Rainbow Bridge. It is both a deeply complex and incredibly simple process.

She likes hanging out here. No one thinks to look up, and she has a great view of the bay.

Mikoto unslings her sword-case from her shoulders, and lays it down on the concrete, sitting down beside it. "Miroku... Christmas is nice now we're paying attention, right?" The blade offers no reply, but that's okay, because Mikoto wasn't expecting one. She's just leaving the door open for the possibility it might be better, in case Miroku wants to come in, too.

"Hmm hmm," she hums, upbeat, as she looks over the dark waves. She rocks back and forth in her seating as she contemplates the nature of THE MOST ROMANTIC DAY OF THE YEAR, weighing it against Mai's known flighty tendencies around anything affectionate. Her brow knits in concentration. She thinks REAL HARD...

Annd...

Nope.

She's got nothin'.

Mikoto pulls out her phone from its crafted cosy, and taps out a message, an invitation to the most colourful bridge of the city.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna Higashi already has Christmas Eve and Christmas plans, and now, thanks to Mikoto, she has Christmas Eve Eve plans, because of course whn Mikoto invites her, she replies...

>I'll go.

She has been to this particular view many a time, and right now, in the chill, bracing air at the top of this tower...

Blip!

On the perch Mikoto's on pops into existence a girl named Setsuna, dressed for the cold and holding her Linkrun. Akarun twirls around her and trills happily as she looks around, and takes a seat next to Mikoto. She could've climbed, or jumped, but...

Nah.

Her coat is a deep blue, her scarf red, her skirt dark andher tights dark. It is a great view of the bay, and this bay has been important for her in the past.

"Hello," she greets Mikoto with a small smile she remembers to add.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Blip! Mikoto's nose crinkles up as she looks towards the sudden filling of space, noise where there was no noise, all traits of ''teleportation.'' She always looks a shade pertubed at that trick, but then, Mikoto was never one of those Dark Generals who teleported away from a fight. Sure, she opens portals, but she takes things ''out'' of them, it's ''different'' --

ANYWAY, she brightens up a moment later, because weird adjustment of reality or not, it's: "Setsuna!" Mikoto beams, the sun rising in the middle of the night. "Setsuna, Setsuna!"

Once ''she'' remembers how verbalising her thoughts beyond bubbly appellations works, she gestures to Setsuna, down where she's sitting. "Can I ask something?" Mikoto asks, completely forgetting the pleasantries of smalltalk in the process.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna didn't do much teleporting back when she was Eas, either. That's a more recent(ish) development in fact. But she's certainly taken advantage of the ability. Akarun floats away and fades back into wherever she was before after a moment in a little flash of sparkling red light, and Setsuna looks to--

"Mikoto," she retorts. It is important to say the other person's name when they say yours. She's pretty sure.

But she is patient, and does not require small talk. It is not at all a problem to go straight to, "Yes."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto hums cheerful acknowledgement when Setsuna acknowledges her in turn, and rocks back in her seat, legs all folded, hands clasping about her ankles. She rolls a sound in the back of her throat, as she puts the words together.

"Setsuna likes Lera different to everyone else, right?" She asks confirmation, finally, looking over to her. "You're, um... sweet together!" That's not ''exactly'' how that expression works, but it's not like she's on good terms with Kozue to go clarify the slang right now.

Mikoto grunts, looking back over the back. "But," she adds, "Setsuna used to fight Lera, too... so, how'd you get there after hurting her? I can't figure it out." There's a beat of silence, before she glances back up to clarify: "Um, with me."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna sits with her hands on her knees, calm and fairly comfortable. She tilts her head at that sound, the putting the words together...

"Yes," Setsuna answers Mikoto at her question, because she can confirm that very well. That is not the expression or how it works, but she confirms again with another bright nod. She could say any number of things to elaborate on the matter, but Mikoto seems to get it well enough already, so she just leaves it at that, because she is a girl of few words. However... that beat of silence, that... question...

"Mm," Setsuna answers, and peers down at the ground for a moment. "...That's..."

She thinks back, and remembers. "...Back when I was still Eas," Setsuna explains, "I hid my identity from people and acted like 'Setsuna'. ...Lera and I got to know each other when I was just 'pretending' to be Setsuna. And she knew me as Eas. And she didn't know they were both me..."

"...But also we..."

She bites her lip. "Ah, we um..."

"...I didn't actually... Ah, we got 'together' before I actually... stopped... being Eas."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Setsuna hid her identity when she was fighting them..? That's strange for Mikoto to think of; her identity was revealed to the magical world at large a year ago, thanks to SEARRS, and it wasn't like she was particularly protective of it even before then. But then again, she knows plenty of girls who ''do'' hide their identity, on both sides of the aisle, so Mikoto might be the outlier here.

"So you liked the you from Tokyo better," Mikoto summarises the way the other girl chose Setsuna over Eas, and perhaps it's no wonder ''she'd'' put it like that. "But..."

Mikoto folds her arms, brow creasing in thought. "How'd Setsuna get sweet with Lera while you were fighting..? Eri said girls don't like being, umm, intimidated. But," her head cocks to the side, expression baffled, "Lera liked Setsuna anyway?"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna was accustomed to hiding a lot of things. She still does, actually, though she wouldn't think of it as 'hiding' so much these days, really. It's just... different.

"Kind of," Setsuna says, "But it's more... 'Eas' was a title Mobius-sama gave me while I was working for him on Earth. Before that I didn't have a name. And Mobius-sama sent Northa to tell me he didn't want me around anymore, so.." She shivers a little, not because of the cold, at that memory. "But Lera liked Setsuna. ...My friends liked Setsuna. So... I let myself be 'Setsuna.'"

She then pauses, and says, "...Um, it was kind of..." She considers. "Some of it is that we had nicer interactions as Lera and Setsuna, instead of Lera and Eas. Some of it's that we talked about things even as Lera and Eas sometimes... I always tried to push her away, but she never got it, I guess. She just kept wanting to talk to me. So she knew me a little more even then..."

Pause. Then she flushes red. "And she was--I mean--Lera was always... really pretty..." Pause. "A-and when I learned about romance, I started... noticing more."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Setsuna is Setsuna!" Mikoto reaches out to pat Setsuna's shoulder, when she talks about how Mobius-sama rejected her; no matter what it's like working under him, she can imagine it's still very complicated. ... and Northa is scary. She tried not to talk to her too much at their meetings, as a rule. (It wasn't hard. Not many people talked to a girl not grown in the first place, in Dark Fall, regardless of who she spoke for.)

Her hand drops to her lap, as she nods, considering what Setsuna has to say about what is no doubt her favourite topic. (Isn't that how it works for everyone?) They talked together as enemies, and when Lera didn't realise they were enemies, too...

Mikoto grunts, curling a hand to her chin, as she wonders whether it was so different after all. She didn't know, either, but that's why it worked so well. Too well, perhaps, from their perspective. After all, her friends saved her.

"Yeah," Mikoto agrees, at length. "It took me a while after I figured out how it worked, but..." She perks up, smiling to Setsuna, as she realises the credit she can give. "Seeing you both helped, too! I look up to people like you and Lera, and Eri and Kyouko, and Haruka and Michiru, and Garnet." That last one makes sense in context. "Ohtori don't say so, but girls can have girlfriends, too! It was a big surprise!"

She scratches at her cheek -- itself a gesture she's borrowed from her roommate -- glancing away, a shade embarrassed. "The, the girl I like's real pretty, too. Chased me down when I was mean... but I wasn't very nice to, her." All those little hitches tell a story of how strange it is for Mikoto to try and talk ''around'' who she's talking about, when she's normally so direct. "I hurt her lots... I almost hurt her little brother, too. I think Eri saved him... I don't remember too good." Mikoto frowns, as her mind glances off of things which went by too quickly for her to grasp. "We're friends again, but I don't really know what to do. I want her to look at me, all the time..."

It must run in the family, but Mikoto doesn't quite notice the similarities, from where she's sitting.

Mikoto sighs, looking over to Setsuna, a shade plaintive. "How'd Setsuna say it without making Lera run away?" She asks, as if that's how it always works.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna nods at Mikoto. "...Yes. I'm Setsuna." It was, and is, very complicated. It's easy not to talk to Northa though... unless Northa wants to talk to ''you''. Then it's not very easy at all.

Lera ''does'' happen to be a favorite topic of Setsuna's, that's true. And then there is... that.

"Mm! I didn't understand why I felt like I did until after Kozue explained it to me," she admits. Well, 'explained'. "And even then I thought... I don't have time for this kind of thing. But whether I had time or not I felt like that..."

She smiles. "...Ohtori..." She pauses. "Ohtori confuses me," she admits. "I learned that you can like boys, too, but some people are together who don't even seem to like each other very much..."

But Mikoto looks embarrassed. That's okay. Setsuna smiles wider when she says the girl she likes is pretty. "It's hard for you to remember," she acknowledges, nodding along. "...Hm... I..."

How to make her look at her all the time...?

"I... didn't," she admits. "...Lera's the one who said it first. But she was always teaching me about human things."

"...The first time she told me she felt like that I cried," Setsuna admits, though it's a fond memory even if difficult. "Because... I knew I couldn't 'have' something like that..."

"But I'm Lera's girlfriend, now. I'm... allowed to be."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Kozue told me, too!" Mikoto chimes in, only for her crest to fall a moment later. "But, I can't ask her stuff right now..." As far as Mikoto is concerned, she had better leave that particular beehive unkicked for a while. She seemed rather cross.

She nods, with a firm affirmative grunt, when Setsuna speaks on Ohtori. Ohtori ''is'' confusing, and some of the people there ''don't'' like each other very much. "Ohtori says I better get a boyfriend, since I'm not looking for my Lord Brother no more," Mikoto grumbles, "but I don't wanna. Ohtori boys make me feel weird." That sort of presumptuousness is uncomfortable to see, from another angle.

Instead of boys, she's preoccupied with girls. Or, well: ''one'' girl. She listens, looking ''entirely'' bamboozled, when Setsuna says that ''Lera'' was the one who said it. Even though she's a fire girl who was doing the right thing..?!

"Sure is different..."

She bobs her head, cheer returning with a bright grin. "But, Setsuna's allowed!" She agrees, brightly. "It's nice!"

Mikoto sighs, again, looking into the crisp sea breeze; it's not cold enough to ''snow'' tonight, at least, but it's still terribly nippy at night. "I always say I love Mai, but..." Here she claps her hands over her mouth, and her exclamation -- "Ah!" -- paints a picture of how bad she is at keeping who she cares about under wraps. Well, of course. She sings her praises day and night! It just so happens that with this context...

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"She's very helpful, isn't she?" Setsuna asks of Kozue. Brightly. "...Hmm. I see. Well, I'll try to help!" She uses extra words to show that she means it! But the matter of Ohtori, well...

"A lot of Ohtori boys have said I should go date them instead, but I love Lera." She is accustomped to dealing with it a little. "I think you should only get one if you want to. I think boys are okay... but I already have Lera, so..."

It's very different. But Setsuna--yes! "Yes. I'm allowed," she says. "And so are you!"

Pause. "...Not to be Lera's," she clarifies, just in case. "But it sounds like you like--"

Pause. She tilts her head sloooowly to the side. "...Was it a secret...?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto doesn't blush often, but it turns out it is, in fact, technically possible, because she's as red as the lights. She lowers the hands she's hiding behind, all curled together at her chin. "It's not," she says, awkwardness lending a gruff overtone to her voice, "but it is, too."

One of those hands curls over her chin, the other grasping at her wrist. "I love Mai," she says, again. "It's not a secret. But Mai don't think it means that... when I try to make her understand, she gets really nervous. She hurt herself in the kitchen last time..." Mikoto sounds a shade guilty about that, still. She shakes her head, and goes on: "I love lots of people. I love Setsuna, and Lera, too! But I love Mai ''different.'' She's the most important girl in the world... to me." There's an important classification in that statement, but Mikoto doesn't stop to explain the difference in men and girls, right now.

"But, Mai would run away if she knew. She's devoted to, something, too... not like us, it's normal, but... I don't think she thinks she can 'have' love like that, neither. I can't get in the way of what she's gotta do," Mikoto insists, shaking her head again. "So I want to let Mai be Mai, too... not just who Mai's gotta be. 'Cause, that's what Mai does, for me." Did she realise what she was doing, when she gave her such delicious ramen..? Regardless of intent, it was a haven.

Her hand lowers, to clutch by her heart. "But sometimes my chest hurts," she says, "'cause even when I say it, I can't say it. But tomorrow's a special day... so, I thought..."

Mikoto sighs, again, entirely forlorn, looking out across the bay. "... I don't know. Maybe it's too soon... maybe I'm still too twisted up."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

It is!!! It's super possible! Setsuna doesn't even really notice the awkwardness; she smiles a little. "I understand," she says, because it is secret and not secret. It makes sense.

Even before the explanation.

"Mmm... I was like that," Setsuna says. "Getting nervous, avoiding talking about it." She finds that perhaps she is more like Mai than Mikoto in this respect. But... aw. "Yes," she says. "I understand."

Mai would run away... "Yes," Setsuna answers, and brings up her hand in thought, resting her cheek on it for a moment as she thinks. "...I think..."

"I think that even if she might run away, it's better to be honest about your feelings, Mikoto. If you can manage it--then what's important is that you can say how you feel. Then... no matter what happens, you'll have been..."

She bites her lip, thinking of the phrase. "True to your... 'self.' I don't think you're too twisted at all."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Setsuna was like that, too..? Mikoto files this away in her head, without jumping to the obvious conclusion.

But she tells Mikoto to be honest with her feelings, and now it's ''Mikoto's'' turn to be nervous, a hand coming over to grasp her opposite arm, beneath that thick winter coat. (Cats grow a thicker layer of fur, but Mikoto can't do that, so she has to improvise with fashion.)

"But," she protests, voice smaller, "I don't know who my 'self' is. I thought I knew... but I'm different, now. What if Mai doesn't like it..? Mai doesn't like fighting, but that's what I'm best at. If I'm still someone who fights... is that really okay..?"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna thinks maybe Lera could help Mikoto more here... But she's going to do her best anyway! Because Mikoto is her friend.

Mikoto is nervous, and Setsuna nods. "That's okay," Setsuna says. "You learn who your 'self' is when you try to do things, I think. When you try to find it, you learn over time. I don't think most people really 'know' without doing that... Even normal people."

She pauses, and reaches out to offer a hand to Mikoto. "What Mai likes, and doesn't like... is up to Mai. All you can do is share your feelings. What she does with her feelings... is up to her."

"...But I think if she didn't like people who were good at fighting, then you wouldn't get along so well with her already."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

In Mikoto's mind, Setsuna was the aggressor and Lera was dealing with it, so the person equivalent to ''her'' situation was obvious. Shockingly, not everyone on the planet is just like Mikoto. There are lots of big surprises out here!

"When I try things..?" She echoes, uncertainly. Mikoto reaches out and takes Setsuna's hand, of course, which happens to open up her body language -- and all at once it's as if a weight is lifted. The power of friendship, perhaps.

"Back then, Mai supported me," Mikoto cedes, thinking back to the time her powers were sapped by the Book of Darkness. "But I know we think different about it... Mai's really strong, and I love seeing her fight, but Mai'd rather cook ramen. I love Mai's ramen, too," Mikoto is sure to add, squeezing Setsuna's hand as if to transmit just how ''much,'' "so I'm still happy!"

She draws her lower lip in between her teeth, worrying at it for a moment. "But I don't know how to say it right. Even when I say I love Mai, Mai doesn't hear it that way, I don't think. I'm not hiding anything..." Mikoto's voice lowers to a grumble, as she glances away, saying one thing with her voice and another entirely with the rest of her.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Lots of them!!! Setsuna... was the aggressor, but Lera was the aggressor in some ways, too--aggressing against her preconceptions, maybe.

"Yes. As you try to find your 'self', you learn more about who you are. That's what I think." She nods, and when Mikoto squeezes her hand, she smiles. "Yes. She's strong, but it's not what she wants to do. That's okay."

But there... Hm. "...Maybe..."

Setsuna thinks hard about this one, but she can't be sure. "...Sometimes," she says instead, "When I heard people talk... I just didn't listen. They were honest with me, but I didn't want to hear them."

"...I think if you're honest, that's good. But if she doesn't understand... maybe there's something she has to figure out, too."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto hums, canting her head to the side. "Yeah... me, too." A beat passes. Another. Mikoto straightens up, eyes widening, as she looks back to Setsuna: "Wait, Mai, too?!"

Somehow, Mikoto being like Mai always comes as a revelation, no matter how many times it happens.

"Mai's gotta figure it out..." It's entirely congruent with what ''Mikoto'' told her, about how she couldn't interfere in whatever Mai's great quest is, but it hits differently to hear someone else spell it out. (This may not be the first time someone has, but it always has a sense of revelation about it.)

"So... if I ask Mai if she wants to hang out tomorrow, it'll be okay! 'Cause even if Mai don't hear it right, I said it!" Mikoto pauses, here, and scratches at the back of her head with her free hand. "But, Mai might be too busy, 'cause she's trying to get into university... but," she decides, in the next breath, "it'll still be okay!"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Mm!" Setsuna agrees. Mai, too. Setsuna doesn't know Mai very well, of course, but she's seen that people can be like that, not just her. She's learned a lot...

It is different when someone else says it, though. "Yes. Whatever Mai feels... she has to figure that out, too. A lot of girls aren't sure... Don't know it, yet. Boys too." It takes her time to speak, and to say this, but she does eventually. And then...

"Yes," Setsuna says. "I think so. You can only... speak for yourself. Not for anybody else's feelings." A pause. She miht be... "Well," she says, "Christmas is special, but any day can be special to you. If you can't do it tomorrow, then the day you do it will be special because you did, instead."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Yup!" Mikoto agrees, when Setsuna says she can only speak to her own feelings, and doesn't quite remember all the circumstances of where she learned that maxim.

But, Mai needs to figure out how she feels, and Christmas isn't necessarily the only day for feelings...

"... I like it better when Mai's smiling," Mikoto says, after a pause, "so as long as Mai feels good, I'll be happy, too. Maybe another day would be less scary..." Frankly, another day would be less ''overtly romantic,'' because Mikoto's already said what ''she's'' scared of, but it can be less scary for Mai, too. "I just wanna spend time with Mai, all the time!"

Mikoto blinks, head tilting up, as she wonders: "But, I guess I can already do that, 'cause we're roommates..." ... is that really the same?

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna couldn't say exactly where she picked it up, either. But she has, over time. She still doesn't understand people all the time, but...

"That's good," Setsuna says. Less scary... Could Mai be scared? It's possible. Setsuna was scared, when it was her. "...Yes, but..."

Is it really the same?

"It's not quite the same," she says. "Good luck, Mikoto."

She smiles at her again, and thinks, "...I hope that she understands you."

2021-11-27 - Bauble Belles

2021-11-29T05:47:11Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: how did my personal log formatting get in here??? you didn't see that

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Bauble Belles'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The Sisters Schools' Cooking, Gardening, and Art Clubs -- plus friends -- get together to make ornaments for their tree, and then some.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Yumi Ohzora]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Eri Shimanouchi]], [[Steven Universe]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Infinity Institute - Art Room
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-11-27 - 2015-12-22
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Toby Fox - Snowdin Town https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYyLL9QstbI

It's nearing Christmas! In Japan, holidays don't start until ''after'' Santa's special day -- but with final exams finally done (probably, they're probably all done), the last few days before Christmas are an astounding way for the youth to celebrate their newfound freedom... or escape feelings of impending doom as they await their dreaded TEST SCORES. (They'll be posted on the bulletin board as soon as they're available. Please wait warmly!)

Because classes are still going, ''club activities'' are, too -- and a great many of them have taken on a festive bent, this time of year. There are plenty of ''cross-''club activities to choose from, this time of year; the various Archery clubs, for instance, are holding a super-long-range targeting exercise 'to protect Santa's sled', and the dancing clubs are currently combining their power to figure out the ''most'' bombastic performance they can give. And as for activities ''between'' clubs...

Well, Ohtori's Gardening Club, Infinity's Art Club, and Juuban's Cooking Club have settled on a rather simple approach to the season.

Make a tree, and make it pretty.

Ohtori has grown a national icon -- the Japanese black pine tree, ''kuromatsu'' -- carefully groomed and cut to perfectly ''resemble'' the triangular icons imported from the West. (This pruning is entirely fitting to the black pine, as it is, after all, one of the classical bonsai trees.) This tree is NOT HERE, YET... primarily because the clubs have collected in Infinity's art room, and there simply isn't enough room for a majestic Christmas tree in here with everything ''else'' as spread out as it is.

There are blankets spread out over the floor, with an entire ''smorgasboard'' of art supplies therein. Unpainted baubles sitting invitingly next to glitter; bare tinsel by glue; little unpainted elves; fuzzy balls of fluff which may one day become snowmen. Infinity Art Club's very own Takahiro Yamashita helped to set everything out, with thoughtfully-written cards explaining how to use various paints for people who aren't part of the club themselves. (He's much quieter when speaking, but the cards say more than enough.) He's stepped out to get some more acrylics, but really, it's not hard to see why he's so popular.

There is, of course, still a ''table'' or two on the side -- and here's where the Cooking Club comes in. Not only have they made SNACKS for this affair (and have been keeping the club conflux well-fed in all meetings up 'til now), the Cooking Club has baked up some much ''sturdier'' cookies, suitable to be decorated and hung on a tree for yuletide snacking purposes. There are also little marble-bags, just waiting to be filled with various less-hangable snacks that the Cooking Club prepared, like roasted chestnuts (they eat them in winter overseas, not autumn!) and a variety of candies, carefully dolloped out.

The decoration cookies have been thoughtfully separated from the snacking cookies. For... reasons.

Reasons like Mikoto Minagi, who is NOT part of any of the clubs getting together today, but who knows enough people who ''are'' to have been recruited for the monumental task of making enough decorations for a ''whole tree.'' (She is not alone in this recruitment; the more the merrier is the ''official'' tagline for this endeavour.) Still in her Ohtori uniform -- which isn't uncommon, given everyone came here after school -- she arrives a little late, and promptly bounds over to hold up one of those bare bulbs, a Christmas bauble currently lacking any bel to speak of.

"So," she asides, to Yumi, resident Art Club member and therefore ''clear'' expert, "we paint these, right..?"

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

It's nice that the Cooking Club is collaborating with them, but probably for the best that it's Juuban's rather than one of Infinity's for one Yumi Ohzora, still a terrible cook despite her efforts. She also helped with setup, and is indeed on hand partly to assist people in actually carrying out the instructions Takahiro left. For instance... a Mikoto!!

"Yep," Yumi confirms for Mikoto. "Painting! And we've got a lot of paints for it, too. It's OK if someone isn't very good at it," she says for the benefit of others who might be feeling less confident. "If we work together, we'll end up with something great!"

She is by the snacking cookies, for some reason. Mysteriously.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori Ankou is here, not so much for *herself* as because she was invited by someone from the Gardening Club who had seen one of the painted-shell ornaments from the festival that were connected to that Jamaican restaurant that Nori really liked and etc. etc. it's a friend of a friend thing.

Nori doesn't think too much of this kind of thing. But two years ago, it would have been nearly unthinkable...

Somewhere, a long, portly fur-tube weeps silently in joy, and perhaps in the early stages of feeling like a real success. HOW LITTLE HE SUSPECTS!

Anyway:

Nori Ankou's arrival came with a small box of scallop shells, cleaned and with holes drilled through the foot to make them suitable ornaments. The shells are in all sizes - the strings must be provided out of one's own resources - but that was what the girl in the Gardening Club had hoped for, and it wasn't like it was a hard dream to fulfill, right?

(Now you know why Batiste is portly.)

As she comes in, wearing a wine-red sweater and a long woolen skirt (dark grey, decorated with thin wedges of cool orange material that suggests a winter sunset), Nori Ankou says, "Good afternoon~" to Mikoto and Yumi on her way to place the box down.

And when she has come back to talk to Yumi and Mikoto, she has a cookie too!

But she didn't get it off the snacking table.

"This is very festive. And it's nice and cozy up here, isn't it, despite the height? I always expect it to be chilly when you're up high," Nori says, as she raises the Christmas Tree *THAT IS NOT MADE FROM THE EDIBLE COOKIE DOUGH* towards her mouth...

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Eri's here as a representative of the Gardening Club. After all the love - and possibly the addendum of a small amount of magic - that went into the tree they lovingly took care of for the occasion, she's invested.

Right now she's wearing a loose fitting, old T-shirt with the telltale stains that it's been used for work, over it a pair of denim overalls that was used for jobs that relied on getting more than one's hands dirty.

She'd shed her coat at the door and her uniform was folded up in her gym bag she'd brought for the occasion.

The only thing she's taken from the snack table is a mug of cocoa. "It's been a while since I've done anything like this." Before calling out to Mikoto, "It's best to get started with a project that catches your eye I think."

Taking her space, she sets out something from her bag, two different shapes that look like ornaments and sets them carefully off to the side.

She then picks up a small felt ornament in the shape of a sun with a face, with a particularly cute face stitched on, "Hmm." Holding it up to the light, she turns it around, and smiles nostalgically. "It's missing... a little..."

Looking at the assorted supplies, she grabs two circular pink felt patches, and lays them across their cheeks - to add a blush to its smile. Picking them back up again, she pokes holes into them to add dimples, or freckles perhaps.

"There. And yes I think you're right Ankou-chan..."

Eri notably does not stop Nori from putting a non edible tree in her mouth. Instead she just watches, while taking a long sip from her cocoa.

"... this place is quite cozy." Eri says quite agreeably, as she sets the cocoa back down.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Oh thank goodness... somewhere inside!

THe winds during winter sure do make Tokyo Bay feel colder than expected! Perhaps keeping a hold of all those ridiculously sized coats was a good idea. Even if a certain someone insisted he wore two all the time.

The best way to describe how Steven Universe enters the art study is 'waddling' for lack of a better term. It takes a good deal of strain and effort to pry himself out of the first layer of jacketry. "Augh, hot...!" Some stumbling is involved, but no crashes. Once the first jacket is off, the second comes off with a flick of a zipper.

The boy's main attire consists of a blue sweater with yellow starts around the midsection, and a dark tan scarf, snugly tucked around his neck. Even still, the boy is sweating from the vertiable burrito a certai nresponsible guardian packed him in. "Okay! Now that ''that'' ordeal is over... Hi guys!"

He had heard there was a decorating event of sorts (and the lad stamps his name on every event he can see that eh qualifies for.) "So! What's shakin'? Hi Mikoto!" he calls out first of course, being the last person he recently saw.

The crafting supply spread is impressive; the Schools go all out where the ycan to put their best foot forward! Some of these types of finishes and ribbons Steven hasn't seen before! Like some sort of super rare hobby store loot!

"Oh! Are we going for some kind of special pattern or anything? Like a theme? Back in Beach City a lot of people had Christmas trees with themes! They were all great; except the Fish Stew Pizza one was all about... uh, pizza. That one was kinda strange."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto nods, cheerfully, to Yumi, and looks back down to the pile of baubles. "Instructions..." Is her comment, on Takahiro's notes. She tilts her head to Eri, and bobs her head, again. "'Kay!"

And so, she proceeds to grab a few ''more'' baubles...

"Nori! It's not windy here!" She comments, cheerfully, on the height of the tower. "But, the windows don't open easy, so maybe it is..." Mikoto just can't figure out the trick for how to make those windows let her out, which is probably for the best, because Mikoto's attempts to parkour up Infinity Tower has thus far been... lacking.

Mikoto doesn't know enough about the distinctions between cookies to warn Nori that she is about to bite into something VERY HARD. It's still ''technically'' edible, but it's been baked in a specific manner to keep it looking good until Christmas, which makes it... not... the best ''snack.''

Her head cants to the side when Steven waddles in, all crinkly and warm. "Maybe it is," she repeats, obliquely, and doesn't remember to specify that she's talking about the ''wind'' out there. She smiles, again, once Steven frees himself, lifting a hand to wave broadly. "Steven! Steven!" She chirps, energetic, only to blink at him, puzzled again. "Pizza theme...? Yumi," Mikoto looks to the resident Christmas Expert (in her personal experience), "is Christmas for pizza?"

Has Mikoto NOT NOTICED the popularity of KFC around this holiday..?! Did she just presume that they were all getting fried chicken because fried chicken was tasty?!

Having gathered a section of six baubles, Mikoto proceeds to start working on hooking them ''together,'' to create a bauble ''chain.'' She looks over to Eri's own smiling sun, and beams, just as sunnily. "It's good!" She encourages her, as she picks up some paints to start colouring the baubles. It seems like each one is getting its own colour..?

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Hi, Steven," Yumi greets, waving his way as she talks to the others. Instructions! And Eri! And Nori! Yumi for her part is still in uniform, green non-regulation tights and all, with her jacket because even if it's not ''that'' cold it's chilly for her. "It is!" Yumi agrees. "I like how cozy Infinity gets, especially in the right places." A beat, "Oh, thos shells are really nice..."

Then. Erk. Yumi does not focus on the fried chicken, or on the baubles. Yumi focuses on--

"Erk," she says to Nori, "Wait! That's not an eating-cookie!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Oh, Steven, hello," Nori says to the shorter boy, smiling at him and not yet eating the death cookie.

"That's true... but the building's so close to the sea, isn't it? I mean, I don't mind in a general sense.... it would be romantic, in a way, to live in a tower by the sea. Perhaps a lighthouse, or just a house... the house I grew up in was a little like that, we were facing onto the sea of Japan! But there was a hedge and everything, and you had to go down these steps to get to the, beach," Nori continues, "and it really wasn't much of a beach. Just rocks. But we had a little dock with the people down the way..."

It may occur to Eri in particular that this is perhaps the most words Nori has said about her childhood home *including when they literally went to her hometown*.

Nori then puts the cookie in her mouth and a moment Yumi speaks!

Nori has the cookie in her mouth but has not yet bitten down. Anxiety blooms in her eyes, several interlacing facts colliding.

She can't just PULL FOOD OUT OF HER MOUTH!

But... Why is it not an eating cookie?!?

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"I'm glad you like it." She says to Mikoto.

There are many things Eri might say about Nori's childhood home if they were in private. Like for example, asking her whether she still considered it home. Whether a romantic setting like that was worth the negatives of family.

Instead there's a small smile, "Hokkaido really must be like living in another world - even in Sapporo. Some days I wish I'd grown up someplace a little more inaka myself."

Perhaps the positives of living in the countryside would outweigh the negatives. It's a very grass is greener mindset, but still... it's nice to think about.

Yumi warns Nori. Eri says nothing. As Nori sticks the cookie in... her mouth. And it's there for many long moments.

An awkward amount of time honestly! Eventually though, Eri stands up, a hand in her purse as she extracts a tissue paper. Walking over to Nori... she bends down... leans in, and grips the opposite edge of it with her teeth. And simply extracts it, by drawing her head back.

The transfer has her getting close. ''Very'' close. And yet she does it, pulling it out of the model's mouth. Then facing only her, there's a wink of a single eye, as she stands up, and turns around, dropping it in her tissue, wipe wipe wipe.

"She knew that of course, Yumi-chan. Ankou-chan was just demonstrating a festive party game." She says without missing a beat, perhaps covering for her!? "It is the season for such things."

Sitting back down, Eri picks up a reindeer ornament, and paints its nose red as if it were no big thing what she just did.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Oh no. "N-No wait! I didn't mwan--!" he says quickly, hoping this doesn't lead to a giant pizza themed black pine come Christmas. "I-It was something a family did back where I came from! I dunno if putting pizza on a tree is a tradition or not..."

"Hey Yumi!" Steven returns kindly. "How have you been? Been a while since we did anything together!" Or at least it has felt like forever, rather. Life flies by fast! "Same to you, Nori!" Eyes dart around for otter friend, if they are nearby.

For the moment, the boy eyes the types of ornaments on display for preparation. Decorating cookies look neat (Though may also go missing if he tries to do so. He ponders if they are actually even edible, even as Nori removes one from her own mouth. Hesitation sets in at seeing that; the could be made of clay or something.

"Oh, wonder if they have anyone making snowflakes! Like how you take paper, cut it in certain ways, and it looks like a snowflake whe nyou unfurl it! ...Well, they might turn to mush in the snow, actually if paper is used... Huh."

Perhaps just sticking to the provided ornaments to be painted is best.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Pizza tree..." Mikoto marvels, considering the possibilities. "Christmas trees are pointy... pizza slice's pointy, too... Steven!" She puts the pieces together, entirely delighted. "Let's make Christmas tree pizza!"

Mikoto has shared brief glimpses of her home and its traditions to Nori, and so she listens with interest as Nori talks about ''her'' home, too. "Lighthouse!" She exclaims, happily, because Mikoto learned what metaphors are and now she's having a hell of a time. "Nori grew up like Steven," she reflects, a moment later. Mikoto, of course, is terribly ''inaka'' herself, but she comes from the countryside of the ''mountains'' rather than the sea. Is that why the ocean keeps fighting her..?

While she's talking, Mikoto has begun painting each bauble a different colour, and perhaps, when Nori is less distracted, she may notice something VAGUELY FAMILIAR about it...

Because this string of baubles Mikoto is painting...

Is getting painted in precisely the same manner as those braid-beads she got her, a while back.

One would be forgiven if that gets forgotten for a moment, though, because a) Mikoto pauses her painting, pursuant to b) Yumi announcing that the cookie ''isn't for eating.'' "Food that's not food?" Mikoto asks, looking dismayed. "But--!!"

Luckily, Eri comes to a daring rescue, and Mikoto -- well, first Mikoto has to parse out her immediate thought that stealing food out of someone's mouth is ''incredibly'' food-anxious behaviour only seen from the cats who have had the ''hardest'' lives, but once that's through her mind she has the sense to realise that it's a touch scandalous when done by girls. She cants to the side, tone growing sceptical. "Christmas games are like that..?"

Here, she straightens up, and wonders for a moment what Haruka and Michiru, emblematic of couples in her mind, are doing for Christmas. If they did something like that... a lot of people would be very distracted, Mikoto thinks.

She looks over to Steven, and brightens up again, reaching over to hand him... some undecorated plastic snowflakes! "Like this?" She asks, wide-eyed.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"I've been good!" Yumi answers Steven with a smile. "How about you?"

And then she looks at Nori, who--has. The cookie. "...See, those are for decorating, and aren't... very..."

She would talk about lighthouses. Lighthouses are nice. But instead Eri goes for the cookie handoff and Yumi quietly erupts into steam.

"Ah. Um. Well."

"Y-yes that's--ahahahahah, yeah, what a... a game..."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori would answer Eri but she doesn't have the chance, not right now. Her mouth is full. It means that in this moment she is vulnerable in a strange way; she cannot speak for herself. And then she can't get away.

Nori is beginning to suspect why this is perilous. She can taste salt on her tongue. She stares ahead as the green-haired girl steps nearer and leans in to grasp the other side of the snowman-shape - for that is what it was, albeit one that was a little longer and thinner than is typical - and stay there for a moment, looking at her with an intense closeness.

Nori's face burns red against her will. A red future dawning there. But then she gets the idea - a moment later - and her jaw relaxes. There is a shifting of tension in the bread-good made into a decoration; the subtle pressure as Nori's jaw stops pressing down, and another shift further as her teeth dis-engage with the biscuit of decoration.

And after that...

"PFwah!" Nori says, raising a hand to cough into it several times, turning away. "Fooh - I think that I did make a mistake there - I had just thought the shapes were so similar, it wouldn't have as much sugar, and I suppose, that was true, but..."

A pause then as she looks at Eri, sidewise, one hand coming up to veil her mouth. It is not possible to see if she's smiling, frowning, gasping or some nuance between them with her lips. Just her eyes, which can be enigmatic.

And then Nori says...

"Leather,"

to Steven, finishing the thought or rather starting it properly. "You should make them from leather or oilcloth or something. There is no way they'd disintegrate in the snow then. I suppose if you lost one it'd get rotten by the spring, but it would not just fall apart."

"Oh, plastic is good too," says Nori, innocent of the perils of plastic in an ocean.

"Phew! I think my head is light... I should eat something that *isn't* a decoration. Mikoto, Yumi, what would you recommend...?"

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Christmas games from France are like that." Eri confirms to Mikoto and Yumi, "Or... so I've heard." Wait, so it wasn't confirmation?!?

Nori however indicates that she merely made a mistake, and Eri's eyes blink behind her spectacles owlishly. "I see. So it was like that?" The girl looks back over to Yumi and Mikoto apologetically and offers so casually, "My mistake."

Isn't she embarrassed at all? Well no, it was Nori's mistake first.

"I recommend a drink... if you're feeling light headed."

Either way, Eri seems to move back to the task at hand, and while everyone works, she introduces the two ornaments she brought with her in front of her for one last inspection.

One appears quite seasonal. It's a small open box of matches, with some glue in it so that it's permanently slid open. No matchsticks can be retrieved due to that paste inside the box. Evocative of the tale of the Little Match Girl, albeit with modernized matches.

The other strangely not. It is an origami moth, wings painted in browns and reds and oranges, one circular eye on each wing. How could that relate to the season?

Even more strangely, the two ornaments are hooked together so that one cannot be hung without the other.

Either way, she adds it to her pile of finished ornaments as if she were working on it while everyone else was talking, so discretely that it's probable that noone will notice.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Steven really wants to swarve Mikoto away from this possibility, but gets a better idea. "I meeeaaaannnn we COULD make pizza shaped like Christmas trees as snacks..." Visions enter his head of making pizzas with friends, using large cookie cutters to make some sort of hodge-podge bagel bites. The idea is sound!

"...Okay I have no rebuttal, Mikoto. Let's do it sometime!"

"Been okay! Steven replies toward Yumi. "Been out of town for a little bit for the holidays! But got to get back recently. Travel is relatively fast with a cat thatt can do cool stuff!" Steven takes a stance as if surfing on the ground.

"Oh, true!" he replies to Nori with. "Shucks, wonder if there is any around here! Could paint them white if the leather or stuff isn't white already! GOod thinking - how'd you come up with that so fast?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Tree pizza! Tree pizza!" Mikoto chimes, to Steven, having picked perhaps the least appetising way to reduce that idea down. ''She'' seems excited, at least.

And so, Mikoto and Yumi are both entirely distractable by outrageous Christmas games, for some mysterious reason. For her part, Mikoto cants the ''other'' way, as Eri claims they're games from abroad. "France? Like Linden Baum..?" Linden Baum, of course, is a ''German'' bakehouse, so that's not entirely correct.

(Mikoto has no clue how broad a place Europe really is.)

Either way, it seems like it's ''not'' a game, insomuch as a disasterous mistake of food. "Food... decorations..." Mikoto muses, looking utterly betrayed as she tries to puzzle it out. Her eyes fall on the Rudolph ornament Eri just decorated, and she realises: "... oh! Are they for reindeer?" She's noticing Eri's ornaments, but she doesn't call out the moths, either. It's not like this is the ''first'' time Mikoto's experienced Christmas, but the first year she abandoned everyone to search for her Lord Brother, and the second year... well, let's just say she was distracted back then, too. Which is to say: maybe moth decorations are normal, and she just didn't notice.

Who could have imagined that the Christmas ''after'' all that bloodshed, Mikoto would be jumping up and going to the snacks table to search out snacks which wouldn't chip Nori's teeth? She hooks her baubles to her coat pocket, while she's investigating. Sniff sniff, sniff sniff, her nose leads her to the area with the ''edible'' snacks; it's easy, because while the reindeer cookies have a sharp doughy smell, these ones smell much, much more sugary. "Here!" She declares, grabbing one of those cookies, and handing it over to Nori -- with her hands, mind you, Mikoto is not French. She takes one herself, too, and bites into it, chomp-chomp-swallow, entirely pleased with herself. "This one's good!"

And once Mikoto has demolished a cooki-- oh-- ''two'' cookies, she just turned back and grabbed another one, it's a good thing the Cooking Club cooked enough for a group-- she unhooks her painted baubles, which leaves a smudge of paint on her autumnal blazer, but that's okay. "Look!" Mikoto shows off her work, with pride. She explains, brightly: "It's beads, for a tree!"

Her first thought for decorations was the same decoration she likes wearing...

... and between them all, snowflakes and moths and shells and baubles, they end up with something great. Together, this meeting of the minds makes ''so many'' decorations, they might even need to give some of them to other displays...

... but one thing's for sure: their kuromatsu is going to absolutely magical, thanks to a little gardening magic, and a lot of artistic magic.

2021-11-27 - Bauble Belles

2021-11-29T05:46:41Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: did you know it's christmas????

| Sat | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon | Tue |
| Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
|Today is Dec 22, 2015, Part 4.
||http:''''battlefantasia.pinksugarheartattack.net''Holidays_and_Events

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Bauble Belles'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The Sisters Schools' Cooking, Gardening, and Art Clubs -- plus friends -- get together to make ornaments for their tree, and then some.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Yumi Ohzora]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Eri Shimanouchi]], [[Steven Universe]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Infinity Institute - Art Room
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-11-27 - 2015-12-22
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Toby Fox - Snowdin Town https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYyLL9QstbI

It's nearing Christmas! In Japan, holidays don't start until ''after'' Santa's special day -- but with final exams finally done (probably, they're probably all done), the last few days before Christmas are an astounding way for the youth to celebrate their newfound freedom... or escape feelings of impending doom as they await their dreaded TEST SCORES. (They'll be posted on the bulletin board as soon as they're available. Please wait warmly!)

Because classes are still going, ''club activities'' are, too -- and a great many of them have taken on a festive bent, this time of year. There are plenty of ''cross-''club activities to choose from, this time of year; the various Archery clubs, for instance, are holding a super-long-range targeting exercise 'to protect Santa's sled', and the dancing clubs are currently combining their power to figure out the ''most'' bombastic performance they can give. And as for activities ''between'' clubs...

Well, Ohtori's Gardening Club, Infinity's Art Club, and Juuban's Cooking Club have settled on a rather simple approach to the season.

Make a tree, and make it pretty.

Ohtori has grown a national icon -- the Japanese black pine tree, ''kuromatsu'' -- carefully groomed and cut to perfectly ''resemble'' the triangular icons imported from the West. (This pruning is entirely fitting to the black pine, as it is, after all, one of the classical bonsai trees.) This tree is NOT HERE, YET... primarily because the clubs have collected in Infinity's art room, and there simply isn't enough room for a majestic Christmas tree in here with everything ''else'' as spread out as it is.

There are blankets spread out over the floor, with an entire ''smorgasboard'' of art supplies therein. Unpainted baubles sitting invitingly next to glitter; bare tinsel by glue; little unpainted elves; fuzzy balls of fluff which may one day become snowmen. Infinity Art Club's very own Takahiro Yamashita helped to set everything out, with thoughtfully-written cards explaining how to use various paints for people who aren't part of the club themselves. (He's much quieter when speaking, but the cards say more than enough.) He's stepped out to get some more acrylics, but really, it's not hard to see why he's so popular.

There is, of course, still a ''table'' or two on the side -- and here's where the Cooking Club comes in. Not only have they made SNACKS for this affair (and have been keeping the club conflux well-fed in all meetings up 'til now), the Cooking Club has baked up some much ''sturdier'' cookies, suitable to be decorated and hung on a tree for yuletide snacking purposes. There are also little marble-bags, just waiting to be filled with various less-hangable snacks that the Cooking Club prepared, like roasted chestnuts (they eat them in winter overseas, not autumn!) and a variety of candies, carefully dolloped out.

The decoration cookies have been thoughtfully separated from the snacking cookies. For... reasons.

Reasons like Mikoto Minagi, who is NOT part of any of the clubs getting together today, but who knows enough people who ''are'' to have been recruited for the monumental task of making enough decorations for a ''whole tree.'' (She is not alone in this recruitment; the more the merrier is the ''official'' tagline for this endeavour.) Still in her Ohtori uniform -- which isn't uncommon, given everyone came here after school -- she arrives a little late, and promptly bounds over to hold up one of those bare bulbs, a Christmas bauble currently lacking any bel to speak of.

"So," she asides, to Yumi, resident Art Club member and therefore ''clear'' expert, "we paint these, right..?"

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

It's nice that the Cooking Club is collaborating with them, but probably for the best that it's Juuban's rather than one of Infinity's for one Yumi Ohzora, still a terrible cook despite her efforts. She also helped with setup, and is indeed on hand partly to assist people in actually carrying out the instructions Takahiro left. For instance... a Mikoto!!

"Yep," Yumi confirms for Mikoto. "Painting! And we've got a lot of paints for it, too. It's OK if someone isn't very good at it," she says for the benefit of others who might be feeling less confident. "If we work together, we'll end up with something great!"

She is by the snacking cookies, for some reason. Mysteriously.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori Ankou is here, not so much for *herself* as because she was invited by someone from the Gardening Club who had seen one of the painted-shell ornaments from the festival that were connected to that Jamaican restaurant that Nori really liked and etc. etc. it's a friend of a friend thing.

Nori doesn't think too much of this kind of thing. But two years ago, it would have been nearly unthinkable...

Somewhere, a long, portly fur-tube weeps silently in joy, and perhaps in the early stages of feeling like a real success. HOW LITTLE HE SUSPECTS!

Anyway:

Nori Ankou's arrival came with a small box of scallop shells, cleaned and with holes drilled through the foot to make them suitable ornaments. The shells are in all sizes - the strings must be provided out of one's own resources - but that was what the girl in the Gardening Club had hoped for, and it wasn't like it was a hard dream to fulfill, right?

(Now you know why Batiste is portly.)

As she comes in, wearing a wine-red sweater and a long woolen skirt (dark grey, decorated with thin wedges of cool orange material that suggests a winter sunset), Nori Ankou says, "Good afternoon~" to Mikoto and Yumi on her way to place the box down.

And when she has come back to talk to Yumi and Mikoto, she has a cookie too!

But she didn't get it off the snacking table.

"This is very festive. And it's nice and cozy up here, isn't it, despite the height? I always expect it to be chilly when you're up high," Nori says, as she raises the Christmas Tree *THAT IS NOT MADE FROM THE EDIBLE COOKIE DOUGH* towards her mouth...

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Eri's here as a representative of the Gardening Club. After all the love - and possibly the addendum of a small amount of magic - that went into the tree they lovingly took care of for the occasion, she's invested.

Right now she's wearing a loose fitting, old T-shirt with the telltale stains that it's been used for work, over it a pair of denim overalls that was used for jobs that relied on getting more than one's hands dirty.

She'd shed her coat at the door and her uniform was folded up in her gym bag she'd brought for the occasion.

The only thing she's taken from the snack table is a mug of cocoa. "It's been a while since I've done anything like this." Before calling out to Mikoto, "It's best to get started with a project that catches your eye I think."

Taking her space, she sets out something from her bag, two different shapes that look like ornaments and sets them carefully off to the side.

She then picks up a small felt ornament in the shape of a sun with a face, with a particularly cute face stitched on, "Hmm." Holding it up to the light, she turns it around, and smiles nostalgically. "It's missing... a little..."

Looking at the assorted supplies, she grabs two circular pink felt patches, and lays them across their cheeks - to add a blush to its smile. Picking them back up again, she pokes holes into them to add dimples, or freckles perhaps.

"There. And yes I think you're right Ankou-chan..."

Eri notably does not stop Nori from putting a non edible tree in her mouth. Instead she just watches, while taking a long sip from her cocoa.

"... this place is quite cozy." Eri says quite agreeably, as she sets the cocoa back down.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Oh thank goodness... somewhere inside!

THe winds during winter sure do make Tokyo Bay feel colder than expected! Perhaps keeping a hold of all those ridiculously sized coats was a good idea. Even if a certain someone insisted he wore two all the time.

The best way to describe how Steven Universe enters the art study is 'waddling' for lack of a better term. It takes a good deal of strain and effort to pry himself out of the first layer of jacketry. "Augh, hot...!" Some stumbling is involved, but no crashes. Once the first jacket is off, the second comes off with a flick of a zipper.

The boy's main attire consists of a blue sweater with yellow starts around the midsection, and a dark tan scarf, snugly tucked around his neck. Even still, the boy is sweating from the vertiable burrito a certai nresponsible guardian packed him in. "Okay! Now that ''that'' ordeal is over... Hi guys!"

He had heard there was a decorating event of sorts (and the lad stamps his name on every event he can see that eh qualifies for.) "So! What's shakin'? Hi Mikoto!" he calls out first of course, being the last person he recently saw.

The crafting supply spread is impressive; the Schools go all out where the ycan to put their best foot forward! Some of these types of finishes and ribbons Steven hasn't seen before! Like some sort of super rare hobby store loot!

"Oh! Are we going for some kind of special pattern or anything? Like a theme? Back in Beach City a lot of people had Christmas trees with themes! They were all great; except the Fish Stew Pizza one was all about... uh, pizza. That one was kinda strange."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto nods, cheerfully, to Yumi, and looks back down to the pile of baubles. "Instructions..." Is her comment, on Takahiro's notes. She tilts her head to Eri, and bobs her head, again. "'Kay!"

And so, she proceeds to grab a few ''more'' baubles...

"Nori! It's not windy here!" She comments, cheerfully, on the height of the tower. "But, the windows don't open easy, so maybe it is..." Mikoto just can't figure out the trick for how to make those windows let her out, which is probably for the best, because Mikoto's attempts to parkour up Infinity Tower has thus far been... lacking.

Mikoto doesn't know enough about the distinctions between cookies to warn Nori that she is about to bite into something VERY HARD. It's still ''technically'' edible, but it's been baked in a specific manner to keep it looking good until Christmas, which makes it... not... the best ''snack.''

Her head cants to the side when Steven waddles in, all crinkly and warm. "Maybe it is," she repeats, obliquely, and doesn't remember to specify that she's talking about the ''wind'' out there. She smiles, again, once Steven frees himself, lifting a hand to wave broadly. "Steven! Steven!" She chirps, energetic, only to blink at him, puzzled again. "Pizza theme...? Yumi," Mikoto looks to the resident Christmas Expert (in her personal experience), "is Christmas for pizza?"

Has Mikoto NOT NOTICED the popularity of KFC around this holiday..?! Did she just presume that they were all getting fried chicken because fried chicken was tasty?!

Having gathered a section of six baubles, Mikoto proceeds to start working on hooking them ''together,'' to create a bauble ''chain.'' She looks over to Eri's own smiling sun, and beams, just as sunnily. "It's good!" She encourages her, as she picks up some paints to start colouring the baubles. It seems like each one is getting its own colour..?

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Hi, Steven," Yumi greets, waving his way as she talks to the others. Instructions! And Eri! And Nori! Yumi for her part is still in uniform, green non-regulation tights and all, with her jacket because even if it's not ''that'' cold it's chilly for her. "It is!" Yumi agrees. "I like how cozy Infinity gets, especially in the right places." A beat, "Oh, thos shells are really nice..."

Then. Erk. Yumi does not focus on the fried chicken, or on the baubles. Yumi focuses on--

"Erk," she says to Nori, "Wait! That's not an eating-cookie!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Oh, Steven, hello," Nori says to the shorter boy, smiling at him and not yet eating the death cookie.

"That's true... but the building's so close to the sea, isn't it? I mean, I don't mind in a general sense.... it would be romantic, in a way, to live in a tower by the sea. Perhaps a lighthouse, or just a house... the house I grew up in was a little like that, we were facing onto the sea of Japan! But there was a hedge and everything, and you had to go down these steps to get to the, beach," Nori continues, "and it really wasn't much of a beach. Just rocks. But we had a little dock with the people down the way..."

It may occur to Eri in particular that this is perhaps the most words Nori has said about her childhood home *including when they literally went to her hometown*.

Nori then puts the cookie in her mouth and a moment Yumi speaks!

Nori has the cookie in her mouth but has not yet bitten down. Anxiety blooms in her eyes, several interlacing facts colliding.

She can't just PULL FOOD OUT OF HER MOUTH!

But... Why is it not an eating cookie?!?

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"I'm glad you like it." She says to Mikoto.

There are many things Eri might say about Nori's childhood home if they were in private. Like for example, asking her whether she still considered it home. Whether a romantic setting like that was worth the negatives of family.

Instead there's a small smile, "Hokkaido really must be like living in another world - even in Sapporo. Some days I wish I'd grown up someplace a little more inaka myself."

Perhaps the positives of living in the countryside would outweigh the negatives. It's a very grass is greener mindset, but still... it's nice to think about.

Yumi warns Nori. Eri says nothing. As Nori sticks the cookie in... her mouth. And it's there for many long moments.

An awkward amount of time honestly! Eventually though, Eri stands up, a hand in her purse as she extracts a tissue paper. Walking over to Nori... she bends down... leans in, and grips the opposite edge of it with her teeth. And simply extracts it, by drawing her head back.

The transfer has her getting close. ''Very'' close. And yet she does it, pulling it out of the model's mouth. Then facing only her, there's a wink of a single eye, as she stands up, and turns around, dropping it in her tissue, wipe wipe wipe.

"She knew that of course, Yumi-chan. Ankou-chan was just demonstrating a festive party game." She says without missing a beat, perhaps covering for her!? "It is the season for such things."

Sitting back down, Eri picks up a reindeer ornament, and paints its nose red as if it were no big thing what she just did.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Oh no. "N-No wait! I didn't mwan--!" he says quickly, hoping this doesn't lead to a giant pizza themed black pine come Christmas. "I-It was something a family did back where I came from! I dunno if putting pizza on a tree is a tradition or not..."

"Hey Yumi!" Steven returns kindly. "How have you been? Been a while since we did anything together!" Or at least it has felt like forever, rather. Life flies by fast! "Same to you, Nori!" Eyes dart around for otter friend, if they are nearby.

For the moment, the boy eyes the types of ornaments on display for preparation. Decorating cookies look neat (Though may also go missing if he tries to do so. He ponders if they are actually even edible, even as Nori removes one from her own mouth. Hesitation sets in at seeing that; the could be made of clay or something.

"Oh, wonder if they have anyone making snowflakes! Like how you take paper, cut it in certain ways, and it looks like a snowflake whe nyou unfurl it! ...Well, they might turn to mush in the snow, actually if paper is used... Huh."

Perhaps just sticking to the provided ornaments to be painted is best.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Pizza tree..." Mikoto marvels, considering the possibilities. "Christmas trees are pointy... pizza slice's pointy, too... Steven!" She puts the pieces together, entirely delighted. "Let's make Christmas tree pizza!"

Mikoto has shared brief glimpses of her home and its traditions to Nori, and so she listens with interest as Nori talks about ''her'' home, too. "Lighthouse!" She exclaims, happily, because Mikoto learned what metaphors are and now she's having a hell of a time. "Nori grew up like Steven," she reflects, a moment later. Mikoto, of course, is terribly ''inaka'' herself, but she comes from the countryside of the ''mountains'' rather than the sea. Is that why the ocean keeps fighting her..?

While she's talking, Mikoto has begun painting each bauble a different colour, and perhaps, when Nori is less distracted, she may notice something VAGUELY FAMILIAR about it...

Because this string of baubles Mikoto is painting...

Is getting painted in precisely the same manner as those braid-beads she got her, a while back.

One would be forgiven if that gets forgotten for a moment, though, because a) Mikoto pauses her painting, pursuant to b) Yumi announcing that the cookie ''isn't for eating.'' "Food that's not food?" Mikoto asks, looking dismayed. "But--!!"

Luckily, Eri comes to a daring rescue, and Mikoto -- well, first Mikoto has to parse out her immediate thought that stealing food out of someone's mouth is ''incredibly'' food-anxious behaviour only seen from the cats who have had the ''hardest'' lives, but once that's through her mind she has the sense to realise that it's a touch scandalous when done by girls. She cants to the side, tone growing sceptical. "Christmas games are like that..?"

Here, she straightens up, and wonders for a moment what Haruka and Michiru, emblematic of couples in her mind, are doing for Christmas. If they did something like that... a lot of people would be very distracted, Mikoto thinks.

She looks over to Steven, and brightens up again, reaching over to hand him... some undecorated plastic snowflakes! "Like this?" She asks, wide-eyed.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"I've been good!" Yumi answers Steven with a smile. "How about you?"

And then she looks at Nori, who--has. The cookie. "...See, those are for decorating, and aren't... very..."

She would talk about lighthouses. Lighthouses are nice. But instead Eri goes for the cookie handoff and Yumi quietly erupts into steam.

"Ah. Um. Well."

"Y-yes that's--ahahahahah, yeah, what a... a game..."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori would answer Eri but she doesn't have the chance, not right now. Her mouth is full. It means that in this moment she is vulnerable in a strange way; she cannot speak for herself. And then she can't get away.

Nori is beginning to suspect why this is perilous. She can taste salt on her tongue. She stares ahead as the green-haired girl steps nearer and leans in to grasp the other side of the snowman-shape - for that is what it was, albeit one that was a little longer and thinner than is typical - and stay there for a moment, looking at her with an intense closeness.

Nori's face burns red against her will. A red future dawning there. But then she gets the idea - a moment later - and her jaw relaxes. There is a shifting of tension in the bread-good made into a decoration; the subtle pressure as Nori's jaw stops pressing down, and another shift further as her teeth dis-engage with the biscuit of decoration.

And after that...

"PFwah!" Nori says, raising a hand to cough into it several times, turning away. "Fooh - I think that I did make a mistake there - I had just thought the shapes were so similar, it wouldn't have as much sugar, and I suppose, that was true, but..."

A pause then as she looks at Eri, sidewise, one hand coming up to veil her mouth. It is not possible to see if she's smiling, frowning, gasping or some nuance between them with her lips. Just her eyes, which can be enigmatic.

And then Nori says...

"Leather,"

to Steven, finishing the thought or rather starting it properly. "You should make them from leather or oilcloth or something. There is no way they'd disintegrate in the snow then. I suppose if you lost one it'd get rotten by the spring, but it would not just fall apart."

"Oh, plastic is good too," says Nori, innocent of the perils of plastic in an ocean.

"Phew! I think my head is light... I should eat something that *isn't* a decoration. Mikoto, Yumi, what would you recommend...?"

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Christmas games from France are like that." Eri confirms to Mikoto and Yumi, "Or... so I've heard." Wait, so it wasn't confirmation?!?

Nori however indicates that she merely made a mistake, and Eri's eyes blink behind her spectacles owlishly. "I see. So it was like that?" The girl looks back over to Yumi and Mikoto apologetically and offers so casually, "My mistake."

Isn't she embarrassed at all? Well no, it was Nori's mistake first.

"I recommend a drink... if you're feeling light headed."

Either way, Eri seems to move back to the task at hand, and while everyone works, she introduces the two ornaments she brought with her in front of her for one last inspection.

One appears quite seasonal. It's a small open box of matches, with some glue in it so that it's permanently slid open. No matchsticks can be retrieved due to that paste inside the box. Evocative of the tale of the Little Match Girl, albeit with modernized matches.

The other strangely not. It is an origami moth, wings painted in browns and reds and oranges, one circular eye on each wing. How could that relate to the season?

Even more strangely, the two ornaments are hooked together so that one cannot be hung without the other.

Either way, she adds it to her pile of finished ornaments as if she were working on it while everyone else was talking, so discretely that it's probable that noone will notice.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Steven really wants to swarve Mikoto away from this possibility, but gets a better idea. "I meeeaaaannnn we COULD make pizza shaped like Christmas trees as snacks..." Visions enter his head of making pizzas with friends, using large cookie cutters to make some sort of hodge-podge bagel bites. The idea is sound!

"...Okay I have no rebuttal, Mikoto. Let's do it sometime!"

"Been okay! Steven replies toward Yumi. "Been out of town for a little bit for the holidays! But got to get back recently. Travel is relatively fast with a cat thatt can do cool stuff!" Steven takes a stance as if surfing on the ground.

"Oh, true!" he replies to Nori with. "Shucks, wonder if there is any around here! Could paint them white if the leather or stuff isn't white already! GOod thinking - how'd you come up with that so fast?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Tree pizza! Tree pizza!" Mikoto chimes, to Steven, having picked perhaps the least appetising way to reduce that idea down. ''She'' seems excited, at least.

And so, Mikoto and Yumi are both entirely distractable by outrageous Christmas games, for some mysterious reason. For her part, Mikoto cants the ''other'' way, as Eri claims they're games from abroad. "France? Like Linden Baum..?" Linden Baum, of course, is a ''German'' bakehouse, so that's not entirely correct.

(Mikoto has no clue how broad a place Europe really is.)

Either way, it seems like it's ''not'' a game, insomuch as a disasterous mistake of food. "Food... decorations..." Mikoto muses, looking utterly betrayed as she tries to puzzle it out. Her eyes fall on the Rudolph ornament Eri just decorated, and she realises: "... oh! Are they for reindeer?" She's noticing Eri's ornaments, but she doesn't call out the moths, either. It's not like this is the ''first'' time Mikoto's experienced Christmas, but the first year she abandoned everyone to search for her Lord Brother, and the second year... well, let's just say she was distracted back then, too. Which is to say: maybe moth decorations are normal, and she just didn't notice.

Who could have imagined that the Christmas ''after'' all that bloodshed, Mikoto would be jumping up and going to the snacks table to search out snacks which wouldn't chip Nori's teeth? She hooks her baubles to her coat pocket, while she's investigating. Sniff sniff, sniff sniff, her nose leads her to the area with the ''edible'' snacks; it's easy, because while the reindeer cookies have a sharp doughy smell, these ones smell much, much more sugary. "Here!" She declares, grabbing one of those cookies, and handing it over to Nori -- with her hands, mind you, Mikoto is not French. She takes one herself, too, and bites into it, chomp-chomp-swallow, entirely pleased with herself. "This one's good!"

And once Mikoto has demolished a cooki-- oh-- ''two'' cookies, she just turned back and grabbed another one, it's a good thing the Cooking Club cooked enough for a group-- she unhooks her painted baubles, which leaves a smudge of paint on her autumnal blazer, but that's okay. "Look!" Mikoto shows off her work, with pride. She explains, brightly: "It's beads, for a tree!"

Her first thought for decorations was the same decoration she likes wearing...

... and between them all, snowflakes and moths and shells and baubles, they end up with something great. Together, this meeting of the minds makes ''so many'' decorations, they might even need to give some of them to other displays...

... but one thing's for sure: their kuromatsu is going to absolutely magical, thanks to a little gardening magic, and a lot of artistic magic.

2021-11-23 - Chicken, Cats, and Baby Darth Vader?! We're Seeking The Meaning Of Christmas!

2021-11-24T09:25:32Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: mikoto, some things are beyond even santa's power

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Chicken, Cats, and Baby Darth Vader?! We're Seeking The Meaning Of Christmas!'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''So a data fairy, a space alien, and a country girl walk into big city theme park... between them, can Setsuna, Lera, and Mikoto figure out what Christmas is all about?! Obviously yes.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Lera Camry]], [[Setsuna Higashi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Tomoeda Theme Park
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-11-23 - 2015-12-21
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Aoi-chan, we have ''got'' to see the Tomoeda parades," Chie insists, over lunch.

"Ahh... but this year, I have a date!" Aoi insists, raising her hands in placation. "A date!"

"Dates are for restaurants," Chie accuses, playfully, gesturing with a chopstick. This isn't quite correct, of course, but that's all part of the banter.

Mikoto, watching this entire exchange like a crowd following a tennis ball back and forth over a net, cants her head to the side. "Parade...?" She interjects, confused.

"Eeh?" Aoi interrupts herself, looking over to her junior. "Mikoto-chan, you don't know about the Christmas parades...?"

"... never had time before," Mikoto shrugs a shoulder, and it's not really a lie, aside from how it ignores ''what'' preoccupied her for those first years in Tokyo.

-=-=-

To: Lera and sky and ground and Fast Setsuna 
> Theres parades at theme park!!!! 
> Its for Christmas!!!!!@ 
> Christmas park!!!!!!!! 
> Every ueat!!!! 
> Year 
> Let's go right now!!!!!!!!!

-=-=-

Anyway, that's how Mikoto ends up at the mouth of Tomoeda Theme Park, waiting for two of the other people who might appreciate just what a revelation a normal Tokyo tradition can be. There are clouds drifting over the sun, but down to Earth, there's not much wind to speak of. It's a mild afternoon, as far as December goes, so she's in a wooly jumper -- with, of course -- the most garish rendition of a Christmas tree known to man. The tinsel is metallic shiny; there's glitter pasted on the stitching of baubles and stars. The presents at the bottom are garish red and obnoxiously green. It is a travesty which completely drowns out the fact that her long brown skirt is ''almost fashionable.'' Also fashionable are the rainbow beads, clipped to the braids framing her face, but then -- they ''were'' a gift from an ''actual model.'' Then there's that black case over her shoulder, of course, but it is so familiar to her silhouette it scarcely needs focus.

Mikoto, it must be noted, is hardly the only person here in an Ugly Christmas Sweater. There are even mascot-themed ones being sold at the gift shop. Some are tasteful! Some are ''fun.''

Mikoto bounces on the balls of her feet, arms swinging freely about her in wide arc. Her constant motion, conveniently, parts the Christmas crowds around her -- makes her easier to spot, even given her diminutive height. (Of course, Lera and Setsuna have experience spotting even shorter people than her, so Mikoto isn't worried.) She likes the theme park! Well, she likes it much better, now she isn't getting kicked into the Ferris wheel -- but in Passion's defence, Mikoto ''did'' start it. Now they can go to Tomoeda together without fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Lera has no questions. She wants to see a Christmas parade at a Christmas theme park. A Christmas-themed theme park, today!

She is wearing a green coat, a scarf, and white pants. This isn't a specifically Christmas-y outfit, but the red-and-white Santa hat on her head is very much in the holiday spirit. She walks along, and her height gives her an advantage: she can scan, easily, for Mikoto. She spots her, and she waves her hand eagerly in the air.

"Mikoto!" she calls out. She looks sideways at Setsuna, then, and flashes her a grin. "There she is! Aah, I hope we're not late, y'know? I can't wait to see the parade!"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna Higashi was not aware that Christmas had parades. She is not that familiar with parades in the first place, though she absolutely attacked one with a Nakewameke at least once. Obviously, that didn't allow her to really enjoy the parade. but ehre, and now...

She is also not in a particularly Christmas-themed outfit, but her favored color suits the hliday well enough. It is red. She likes Lrea's hat.

Bounce bounce. Setsuna walks along with Lera, holding her other hand for the moment, and waves too at Mikoto!

No Ferris wheel kicks this time, probably!

"Hello!"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto at least never attacked a ''parade.'' ... she attacked a fireworks festival instead. Don't worry, Fate and Vita registered their complaints in the normal fashion and saved the festivities.

Today -- it's a few days from Christmas, so EVERY day is a little like a festival, particularly amongst the young. Lera blends right in with her Santa's hat (and as we all know, Santa can ABSOLUTELY be a girl), and when Mikoto spies that hand waving up, she waves both of ''hers'' in the air, too. "Lera, Lera! Setsuna! Setsuna!" She calls, as she bounds up to them, with that same bouncy energy of the girl in red.

"It's like festival!" Mikoto truncates a little as she ''voices'' her thoughts, pointing to the people flooding into the park. "Come on, come on! There's snacks!"

SMASH CUT: SNACK CART

BECAUSE THERE IS NO UNIVERSE IN WHICH THIS TRIO DON'T IMMEDIATELY STAMPEDE TO TREATS

And Mikoto sets off walking as soon as she's gotten a frankly absurd swirl of fairy floss, which is ''all'' sugar, there is nothing but energy in that fluffy candy. Walking... in the direction of the parade, probably! Hopefully. "Everyone's having a good time," she says, with that same excitement, looking out at the various Ugly Christmas Sweaters and the people attached to them. "It's good! I like having fun here better than making problems," she adds, looking over to Setsuna, who saw her cause problems in the theme park ''more than once.''

"Christmas is nicer now I'm paying attention..!!"

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Lera is hand-in-hand with Setsuna as Mikoto comes up. She is used to the energy at this point; she can't quite match it, but she comes close. She grins down at her, as she takes in the sweater. It merits her approval. And then her eyes light up. "Snacks?"

There is a glance at Setsuna, but... she knows where they are going.

She has a large caramel apple, with a hefty bite out of it. Caramel, chocolate sauce, and some sugar-encrusted nuts are coating it. A little is dripping off onto her hand, as she walks. following happily after Mikoto. "Christmas is great, y'know? I only sort of get what it's about," she says. "The Earth people said, um..."

Her nose wrinkles. "...there was a baby? Who didn't have a mom? And he grew up to become Darth Vader, except--y'know--not evil, because Santa Claus came?"

A mother leans down and whispers a correction to her child. Lera merrily walks past.

"It's pretty great!"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna has a quiet kind of energy that can sneak up on people. Not usually on Lera, though she has snuck up on Lera before. But it's far away from doing any attacking, and Mikoto calls out to bounce their way and--

"Snacks!" Setsuna agrees cheerfully, looking at Lera with hope in her eyes.

Setsuna has a christmas crepe in nice holiday paper. It is absolutely what is happening here. And indeed, "I think so too," Setsuna agrees with Mikoto about having fun rather than making problems. She has been quiet so far, but she is often quiet. Until...

"Oh..."

"I guess it's important for a baby not to be evil," Setsuna puzzles out. "I don't know. I know that it involves chicken!"

"And lights!"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto, who is, let us remind the class, EXTREMELY CREDULOUS, listens with rapt attention to Lera's explanation of Christmas. Someone who grew up to be evil, but... not evil..?

Mikoto's mind immediately goes to someone ''else'' she knew who grew up evil who she ''really wants'' to realise non-evil methods of existence.

"I gotta find Santa Claus," Mikoto decides, entirely serious. She pauses. She thinks, a finger to her lip. "But... but wait, ''I'' never met Santa! So how come I'm okay?" She scrunches up her face, and thinks ''very hard...''

And then a lightbulb flashes over her head. (Wait, no, that's just a passing parkgoer's Rudolph nose, complete with LEDs.) "Oh!" Mikoto says, as if she suddenly understands everything. "'Cause it involves chicken... Mai always makes chicken ramen! So that's why!"

She HOMPHS a mouthful of fairy floss, to fuel her very serious considerations. "So," Mikoto says, once her mouth isn't quite so full, "chicken has Santa energy..."

It seems ''no one'' passing by is willing to address the sheer amount of correctness being bandied around here.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Chickens and lights are important, too," Lera answers Setsuna, with a smile and a nod of her head. "Chicken is really tasty, y'know? Especially the chicken around the holidays..."

She looks down at Mikoto, and scratches at her cheek considering, before she looks up. "That makes sense, y'know? If Mai made a lot of chicken. But--it's a Christmas parade, right? So Santa has to be around here ''somewhere''!" she declares, energetically. She keeps walking along.

She glances about. "We should probably a find place to watch it, right? I don't think it's started proper like, yet..."

She can tell. She stands almost a head higher than a lot of the people here.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna knows full well that sometimes, just sometimes--Lera's information isn't accurate. On occasion. But there's no reason for her to doubt this important talk of holidays!

"Yes!" Setsuna agrees about the chicken's tastiness. "That must be why," she agrees with Mikoto too, and considers. Santa Claus... "We could go looking for him," Setsuna suggests. "Though he must be here at the parade..." That's true. Setsuna decides against teleporting away to the North Pole. That may not be a good way to find Santa.

"The lights are very important," she says. "I like seeing all the lights..." Sometimes it reminds her of the blinking LEDs in parts of Labyrinth, but nicer. "Do we want to just find a roof?" she wonders.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Is it different in holidays?" Mikoto wonders, on the topic of chicken. "Different chickens... there's ones that's all feathers, even their feet! But they were for petting, so I didn't figure out how they tasted." The rules of the petting zoo are quite clear: no eating the animals. Besides, Mai put a moratorium on Mikoto bringing home non-fish animals to eat years ago, so she wouldn't have been able to figure it out anyway.

(Mikoto treats animal non-aggression treaties more seriously these days. It might have something to do with another of Setsuna's friends, who's been quite clear that prey animals are also friends. Is this what you call a hunter's code of honour..?!)

She looks back and forth, alert and engaged, as she echoes: "Santa's here..." There are a lot of people in Santa ''hats,'' but it must be like Lera, right? They're not ''really'' Santa. Thus is a portly fellow saved from being jumped on, just because he's wearing a festive hat. She does give him a hell of a look ''before'' she realises he's not the real deal, though.

"Lights are good!" Mikoto agrees, cheerfully. "I like the one's that's lots of colours!" She points to the newly-festive entrance to the Ferris Wheel, as they pass. It's all decked out in fairy lights!

And then, of course, Setsuna says The Magic Word, and activates Mikoto. "Yup!" She agrees, with vivacity, handing off her fairy floss to Setsuna (who will surely keep it safe and not eat it, right???) before she bounds off to try and parkour her way up onto the tasty, tasty roof of the Candy House.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Lera is aware that Setsuna ''could'' just teleport to the North Pole or, practically, anywhere. It is one of her abilities as a Pretty Cure; it is also something that she may, occasionally, want to use to her advantage for nefarious&ast; schemes&ast;&ast;.

"The lights are so pretty, y'know?" Lera says, with a thoughtful blink. She looks up. "I think a roof's a good idea. We'd be up high, so we could see everything!"

She looks at Mikoto and tilts her head. "I'm not sure if the chicken is... it might just taste that way because it's holiday chicken?" Lera says, and she doesn't quite explain how that makes sense. Then, she watches Mikoto bound off -- her candy passed to Setsuna -- and she looks at Setsuna. "Uh... should we teleport or you want me to fly us up there?"

&ast; They aren't all that nefarious.
&ast;&ast; They are definitely schemes.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

They're fun schemes!

"I think it's different recipes rather than different chickens," Setsuna opines on the matter of holiday chicken. "It's made differently, so it tastes different." Pause. "It's good that you didn't eat the petting chickens. That would be bad."

But the lights... "I like the lights a lot."

Santa is here. That is the theory. "I also like the ones that are lots of colors," she agrees very simply, and looks up and around to the others.

She only eats a ''little'' of the fairy floss. Only a little.

"...You can fly us," she says, with no ulterior motive of being carried by her girlfriend for a bit or anything.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto was never the schemer of the family, but she's great at ''enabling'' schemes, for some reason. It's fine! It's probably fine.

"Holiday chicken... oh!" Setsuna's explanation seems to click, in Mikoto's mind, and she bobs her head, brightly. "Different recipes, okay. Don't worry! The petting animals are safe with me!" Are they REALLY safe around a girl who learned so much from her cat friends...?

Probably. It's probably fine!

It takes Mikoto a ''little'' longer to scramble onto the roof, because she has to keep an eye on the crowds and make her leap when no one's looking ''right'' at her. Once she has an angle of approach, though, she's remarkably deft at wriggling up there. "Hup..!"

She settles in by a waffle cone spire, looking out at the park. "Santa, Santa... there!!" Mikoto points, at a parade, beginning through the grand old street. "Look, the parade! Santa's there, right??"

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Y-Yeah, we better not do that," Lera says, with a little bit of a sheepish grin. When Setsuna requests that Lera fly her up there, she gives her a brief look -- but it's bemused, and she doesn't complain. She picks her up -- princess carry, of course -- easily, and hefts her up. And then, she lifts up into the air. A child gasps -- but by the time anyone else looks...

...well, their parabolic arc through the air has taken them up and to the roof of the candy house. She lands -- and gently Setsuna down, with a little grin, and waves her hand at Mikoto. She walks over, and then peers down. Sure enough, the parade is winding up.

"Aaah, yeah!" she says. "He should be in a sled! I think? Pulled by... deer?"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna... well. She does schemes. Sometimes they are very simple shemes. It's fine. The petting animals are safe, though, and that's what's important. ...Probably...

She smiles at Lera, and goes on up and ahead with her, setting down on the roof and returning Mikoto's candy, minus one bite of fairy floss, because that's just the tax of giving Setsuna the candy. She beams at her, and doesn't even seem to notice the person who saw them....

"Oh!! Yes," she says. "Deer. I'm very clear on that one, one of them has a bioluminescent nose."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's very important to get your girlfriend to fly you places. Mikoto nods, very seriously, to Setsuna, when she accepts her fairy floss back, minus the climbing tax. (This, she accepts as a natural part of life.)

"Deer..?" Mikoto wonders, shading her eyes as she looks out upon the parade. There are: elves! They're very green! And they're dancing! There are also ''snowmen,'' who are remarkably more mobile than the ones in the storefronts. She does not, immediately, see a sled.

"Can deer really pull sleds?" Mikoto wonders, nose all scrunching up in thought. "Deer don't like people too much... unless they're city deer!" The deer who venture closer to Tokyo ''are'' remarkably acclimatised to humans. "But city deer don't got bioru... biolumey... biologyscent noses," she insists. "They got normal sniffing noses."

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"The bioluminescent nose is weird, y'know? Earth doesn't do that very often," Lera says. She looks down over the parade, and she nods at the question of deer.

"Sure, why not? Deer are basically tall, skinny horses with head branches, y'know?" she says, as if this is the most natural thing in the world. Then, she peers down -- wonders what a city deer is -- and breaks into a grin.

"Whoa, those elves are great!" she says. "They're dancing really well! And they've got super pointy ears, too, y'know? And there's a house on their float!"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Deer! And elves! Setsuna looks over the elves, and the snowmen, and no sleds. "That's true..." Earth does not do that very often. "Except for animals at the very lowest parts of the ocean!" But a city deer, hm? Tall, skinny... Well. It works for Setsuna. She is not that knowledgeable about wild animals, having seen more cats and dogs at the local vet that her friend is. "Normal sniffing noses... Yes."

"I also like the elf dancing..." She bites her lip.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Deep fish?" Mikoto wonders, blinking, to Setsuna. "I can't swim that far down... it's hard to fight fish when they can breathe better! Gotta fish near the surface." Or else you end up blacking out and ending up in a med bay somewhere. Okay, sure, that time she was fishing for HiME, but it's the SAME PRINCIPLE.

Mikoto blinks, wide-eyed, at Lera. "Tall horses..?" She wonders, and checks this against her knowledge of deers (pretty good) and her knowledge of horses (not so much). Horses: stompy, too big to eat, people use them. Deer: stompy, too big to eat, apparently people ''also'' use them. "Right!" Mikoto decides, cheerfully, that Lera is absolutely correct on this and all other topics.

"Dancing..?" Mikoto wonders, looking down at the parade. Her head cants, to the side. "Girls should enjoy dancing... that's what I heard." She can't remember quite ''where'' she heard it, but this, too, is probably fine.

Probably.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"That sounds scary," Lera admits, when she considers Mikoto's recollection of 'deep fishing.' Her eyes blink a couple of times. Then, she looks at Setsuna, and bobs her head with a thought.

"Dancing is fun, y'know?" she says. "I like doing it. I had lessons, when I was younger, though I'm not... y'know..."

She isn't nearly as good as Love, Buki, and Miki. She scratches at the back of her head.

"Ooh, look, big toy soldiers!" she exclaims, and points.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"I can't either," Setsuna admits. "I like seeing the fish up closer to the surface, though. So many living things just... floating around..." It's very different from how she grew up; even all the cats and pigeons and such in the city are different on that front. "But I don't think I've tried to fight very many fish..."

She looks back to Lera and smiles. "Yes. I'm not very good at it," she admits, "But I like watching my friends..." Like Love, Buki, and Miki.

"...I think... a lot of girls do," she admits. "I think it's nice when Lera dances..."

But then--"Oh!! They're colorful..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Don't worry!" Is Mikoto's cheerful reassurance to Lera, on her fears about fishing, which does nothing to actually inform her ''why'' she shouldn't worry. "I heard there's even more littler fish floating in the ocean," Mikoto informs Setsuna, too, quite proudly. "We can't see them, but the bigger fish eat them! So even when Setsuna can't see living stuff, there's still living stuff!"

Mikoto looks from Lera to Setsuna, back to the dancing elves. "Sometimes when Mai fights, it's like she's dancing," she decides, after a moment, entirely warm. "I love seeing that." Why would she jump to ''that'' conclusion..?

(It's not like it's ''hard'' to get Mikoto to think about Mai.)

She cranes her neck to look, despite the fact that they are ''on a roof'' and have ''the best vantage point,'' to find -- "Moving toys?" Mikoto wonders, entirely delighted. "What're they guarding? Is it presents?!" She scans the float for signs of ''prizes,'' only to find a float decorated like a massive Christmas tree.

"Look, look!" Mikoto points. "It's the tree! The tree! It's got a star on top so cats know how far to climb!" That's...

... actually, is Mikoto even WRONG?

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"That makes sense, y'know? I've only gone fishing a few times..." Lera trails off. She never had the patience for it, but it sounds like Mikoto's preferred style of fishing does not involve a line, a rod, and a lot of waiting. She considers it for a second, and then then she blinks her eyes.

"Mai does kinda fight like she's dancing, y'know? I never really thought about it that way before," she says. She taps a finger against her cheek.

But why did Mikoto bring up Mai...?

She looks sideways at Setsuna -- and she grins, then she winks at her. And maybe if Lera was a little smarter, she would put two and two together. Instead, though, her eyes are back on the toy soldiers. "It might be! They've got a wagon there--whoa, like, really big presents, y'know?"

An oversized toy soldier wagon, with oversized presents. And, indeed, a tree -- a tree with a star. A star that--

Lera blinks. "...r-really? That's what the star is for...?"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Oh! You know, I'd heard that..." But when Mikoto puts it that way it seems much more comforting than talk of microorganisms and plankton and bacteria and the like. "That is nice. I like... living things." It's a little spooky of course; she is accustomed to a much more sterile environment. But contradictions are part of life on Earth. It's not like she's a robot or something!

Westar likes fishing, Setsuna thinks. She does not bring it up. "She does," Setsuna agrees. "It's very pretty." Setsuna gets it. Setsuna is very smart that way. She looks at Lra, smiling--and then notices that wink too.

"Big presents..."

Pause. The star...

"That sounds logical," Setsuna says, tapping her cheek thoughtfully. "How else would cats know where to stop?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto's style of fishing DEFINITELY doesn't involve a line; she always gets tangled up in it! Of course, it doesn't involve Miroku, either -- that would be unsporting for the fish, who are, by and large, not magic. (There was that one time...) (We don't talk about the Orphan fish.) (Please don't reverse the hunter-hunted axis, it's extremely unsettling.)

"I think about it all the time!" Mikoto says, cheerfully, completely missing the wink, and Setsuna Getting It. Instead, when she supposes it's ''pretty,'' Mikoto confirms: "Yup!"

INSIDE MIKOTO'S MIND: The eternal timer labelled 'Bring Up Mai', having been faithfully activated, starts ticking back down towards zero again.

"Mm-hmm!" Mikoto hums eager affirmation, about stars and cats. "Cats like stars! So they get to the star, and they don't need to go nowhere else!" This is Mikoto's wisdom, under the light of a black omen which only she can see. It's looking nice today. "There's gotta be lots more shiny things to knock down before that, though," Mikoto adds, seriously. "That's how they know they beat the tree."

Who knew Christmas trees were so complicated..?

Mikoto straightens up, a hand to Lera's shoulder as she points over her head, all a sudden calling out: "Look! Look! It's deer!" There, finally... is SANTA'S SLED.

"Can he really make it so we don't grow up evil..?!"

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Hm..."

Lera trails off a little. Maybe she starts to wonder now, her eyebrows knitting as she thinks about it. But, there is a bigger question: do cats like stars? Do Christmas trees have stars so cats know to not climb higher? The logic that Mikoto presents seems unimpeachable.

"That's amazing," she whispers, softly. She then brightens -- Mikoto's hand over her shoulder. She follows the line of of her finger to a sled, and then her eyes widen. She grins, and glances sideways at Setsuna. "Look!" she says. "It really is! Aaah, with all the deer, and even more presents! Regular-sized ones!" she says. "It's great, y'know?"

She looks back at Mikoto and beams. "Yeah, I'm sure he can!"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Very pretty!!

Setsuna too listens to Mikoto's wisdom, and nods thoughtfully. "A very important contest..." She looks thoughtful, setting her jaw as she imagines it. The cat must beat the tree, or the cat will never truly be--

"Oh! Santa!"

Setsuna looks brightly, and smiles at Mikoto, leaning over to her friend. "...Yes," she says, looking at the sleigh brightly.

"I think he can."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Cats are very strong," is Mikoto's wisdom. Is that why they give them those trees to destroy..?

INSIDE MIKOTO'S MIND: The just-as-eternal timer labelled 'Bring Up Cats', having been just as faithfully activated, starts ticking back down towards zero, too.

And Lera and Setsuna believe in THE POWER OF SANTA, and Mikoto beams, and declares: "Right!!"

And so... she pulls herself up by that waffle-cone, and dives into the crowd.

There are, of course, crowd cordoning mechanisms to allow the parade to proceed without error... which someone like ''Mikoto'' can circumvent as easily as a claymore through butter. (Note: do not use your ancient evil sword to prepare food; it will be cross with you for the entire week.) A dark little speck hops up behind that sled, sproing, sproing, until she's clambered ''up'' to --

"Santa!" Mikoto declares, cheerfully.

"Er... yes!" Santa, whose red hat can't ''quite'' conceal his astounding afro, declares. "That's me! Ho, ho, ho!"

"Can you really make it so we didn't grow up evil?!" Mikoto asks, entirely insulated from the scene she's making. (The parade is, at least, ''trying'' to go on as if this is a normal part of the show.)

"What sort of question..." Santa stops, and holds up a hand. "No good little girls and boys grow up evil! Ho, ho, ho!"

"Is that how it works?" Mikoto wonders.

"Most people ask me for firetrucks," he replies.

"I don't need one of those," Mikoto answers. "All our fires are on purpose."

"Uh..." He looks terribly nervous, for a moment, before he waves his hands, "keep your faith in your heart, and all your Christmas dreams will come true! Now, come on, you're not really supposed to be up here, you know."

"Oh," Mikoto says, and grins, chipper. "Okay! I'm going now!"

She springs off the sled, scrambling into the crowd, and leads security on a merry chase for the next ten minutes before she finally finds Setsuna and Lera again, reporting that they were ''definitely'' right.

2021-10-30 - A Christmas Caroil (Part 1)

2021-11-07T11:33:54Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: the power of to be continued!! it's mine to command..!!!

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: A Christmas Caroil'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Hinoko Konishi, shining poet, has a problem: her father's house is haunted by vengeful spirits. Yuuichiro Kumada, priest-in-training, is pretty sure he has the exorcism to fix it. But it's the magical girls who discover the truth: a ghost is never just a ghost. It's Caroiler!''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Rei Hino]] (as Yuuichiro Kumada), [[Lera Camry]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Usagi Tsukino]], [[Setsuna Higashi]], [[Haruka Tenoh]], [[Fuu Hououji]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Tama - Nishitama
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-10-30 - 2015-12-16. I'm at the Christmas. I'm at the Halloween. I'm at the combination Christmas-Halloween.
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Sailor Moon S - Mingling With The Rich https://www.youtube.com.watch?v=UOLl5IJIYsc

It's mid-December, and between the rising nerves of final exams, Christmas is coming. Excitement bubbles like a cauldron in one of Infinity's secret classes; particularly for the youth of today, the romance of Christmas Eve is hard to resist. A dozen-dozen rumours fly through the halls of the Sister Schools, many of which to do with who was seen with whom.

But, there's ''one...''

"The Konishi mansion is ''haunted!''" 
"Eeeh? You mean Hiroko-san's family..?" 
"I heard her dad merged a company, and the spirits of the unquiet dead are demanding union benefits!" 
"Tell us you got a new baito without telling us you got a new baito, why don't you."

The details change in the telling, but the core remains the same: Hiroko Konishi's family has been visited by troublesome spirits. Hiroko, a talented poet engaged with Infinity's creative streams, has been quiet about these rumours herself for the past few days, even as they've spread from the Tower to the halls of Juuban and the gardens of Ohtori. But now, she's reached out to the clubs -- she's not a member ''herself,'' you understand, but she collaborates widely for poetry material -- for some supportive ears.

"You see," she says, to each person she gathers, "it is true. A spirit has claimed my father's house."

She brushes her short purple hair back, and looks out, with concerned blue eyes. "It troubles me to ask, but... can you help me..?"

It's a weekday evening, when she calls everyone to meet at the Konishi estate -- she's invited everyone to ''sleep over,'' if they like, which could be quite useful, because it's located past the outer suburbs of Tama. An old, Japanese-style manse on impossible woodland, the iron gates which lead within creaaak...

And there to meet them, of course, is the hotheaded spiritualist of Hikawa Shrine.

The one.

The only.

YUUICHIRO KUMADA, priest-in-training!

At the doorway of the estate, this young man -- more ''scuff'' than fellow, with long and messy brown hair, all dressed in robes -- laughs, a hand to the back of his head. "I heard you were having problems, so I came along to help! Ahh, it will be my first real exorcism, but... don't worry!"

Hiroko looks a ''little'' worried, but regardless, she invites everyone inside. The sitting-room is generously-sized -- there are plenty of seats for everyone, and places to put their bags, if they've brought them. Hiroko clears her throat, as she comes to the point, hands folded together in her lap. "I would not ask someone else to dalliance in our affairs," she always talks like that, the rumour about school is that she's been writing for so long that she's forgotten how to ''speak.'' "Only, my father retreats to his study, and refuses visits from family and coworker. I myself received but a single missive about his plight... ghasts appearing in the night. This is the first time I've been home, since then. I know not how they appear, and neither am I aware of their aims. Regardless..."

Hiroko looks down at her hands, already-pale skin paling further. "I... have little appetite for ghost stories. I shall ask you to search them out in my stead." Despite being a middle-schooler, she already has a vocabulary like that... perhaps it's no wonder Hiroko isn't rumoured to have many close ''friendships.''

Thoughtfully, she's provided an assortment of torches, just in case the lights fail. Yuuichiro takes one, and strides off towards the hall, all with expensive vases on little tables. "All right!" He declares, entirely confident. "Let's do this!"

It's time to HUNT A GHOST.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Lera Camry sort of knows, by now, that spooky happens in October and romance happens in Christmas. So do trees, elves, gifts, and a fat elf who lives in a tree and gives gifts. This is the knowledge of an American.

But hauntings have to be looked into no matter the month.

The orange-haired girl is gathered with the others, with the agreement to help. Her eyes widen a little at the words 'claimed my father's house,' and she nods very seriously. She clutches her flashlight nervously, holding it next to her. Then, she glances sideways at Setsuna Higashi. They're together, of course.

She looks back at Yuuichiro -- and watches him take off so bravely. She swallows, then she says: "Right. Ghosts, y'know? No big deal. Everything will be fine!"

She steps back. Two steps back. Then, two side steps to the left. Which puts Setsuna in front of her.

BEFORE

SETSUNA LERA

AFTER

SETSUNA 
LERA

"L-Let's go! Lead the way, Setsuna!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

NORI ANKOU, member of the Reads Tarot Cards Sometimes Recreationally Club, reaches out to place her cool hands atop of Hiroko's. Gazing into her eyes, she says:

"Yes. At least, I will try."

On some level, she's excited. But then, the several ghosts that she has met have been distinctly of the friendly persuasion. Perhaps tonight, Nori Ankou will learn some caution. Some sense. A certain air of respect... or at least, of maturity.

Nori drove over in her car, which she remains proud of; the small white American-made vehicle has power and independence written all over it, even if its main advantage here is the feeling that she's travelling somewhere in secret, as well as being able to facilitate her friends, comrades and colleagues along the way.

"So," Nori asks, on the expressway: "How did she ask each of you...?"

Is it really OK for her to be driving a car on the freeway like this?

Yes. Because she is... GLAMOROUS.

SOON, AT THE HOUSE

Nori is wearing a somewhat old-style drapey dress, mostly black with the usual akamira embroidered flourishes and some elbow-length gloves. This becomes less chilly with a gauzy shawl (and there was also a coat which she was wearing in the car, which is not appearing in this film).

She has already assented to this mission in her heart. So, to Hiroko, she nods! Once. Then she tests one of the flashlights, wincing as she briefly blinds herself.

"There's an old song in English... 'We'll tell scary ghost stories,'" Nori quotes, completely mangling the actual english, "'and tales of the glories of long ago Christmases'," Nori offers, before continuing, "Kumada-san, have you ever hunted a ghost before?"

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Enjoying ourselves at Konishi-san's home~"

"Ghooosssts..."

Usagi Tsukino shivers, as she considers the dual possibilities, repeating it back and forth. Switching from a gleeful high to a terrified - shivering - clinched fist low as she repeats it.

"Honestly I'm more worried about Yuuichiro-san. Does he even have spiritual powers?" Luna says with an air of feline skepticism.

Usagi comes out of her cycle just to answer Luna. "I mean, he's spending a lot of time around Rei-chan and her Grandpa. I think he'll be alright!"

"Ohhhh? Do you feel qualified to exorcise a ghost just because you hang around with Rei-chan a lot?"

"Absolutely not!" Usagi says immediately, completely ignoring the fact that she's Sailor Moon and probably fights infinite things worse than ghosts.

Luna just stares at her for a good ten seconds as this conversation hasn't gone the way she expected, before coughing into her paw. "... Do you... not see the holes in your logic?"

Usagi owlishly blinks her bright blue eyes in confusion, before staring at Luna. "... Not a one?"

Luna just sighs. "Either way - you should go. It's not impossible that it could be a Daimon or a Droid..."

"Wait... really?" Usagi seems stunned at the idea that it might not just be a ghost.

-=-=-

Usagi is wearing a violet sweatshirt with a small white bunny logo on the left side of it, she had been wearing a pair of cream colored mittens and a matching scarf until she'd entered the house, having left those at the door.

While she's in the midst of leaving those (and her shoes, or at least she starts to, but might stop depending on the etiquette at this particular house) at the door, she turns to the others and offers her own vote of confidence to Lera, Setsuna, and Nori, "Don't worry! He's from the Hikawa Shrine after all-! As the Miko Rei-chan's best friend - I know better than anyone how qualified he is-!"

Usagi does however, take a seat at her invitation, expression pensive, nervously grasping her skirt with her thumbnails as she listens.

"Thank you for the invitati- Ghasts?" She squeaks, as the color drains out of her face. "Aha... ha..."

For the moment, she looks a bit abstracted, not immediately clambering to follow Yuuichirou.

Give her a minute, she'll likely join the marching order near the end. (She may need longer given some of Nori's talk of scary ghost songs.)

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna Higashi is ''not'' a poet, and she knows it. She just has no head for the stuff. But she's very impressed by those who ''can'' do it, it being something of a mystery to her. ...Rumors also tend to be a bit of a mystery to her, frankly, because she doesn't pay very much attention to them as a rule, but this one reached out to ''her'', popular transfer student about Juuban. And Hiroko tells her a spirit has claimed her father's house...

"Oh," Setsuna says, "That's unusual, isn't it?" A pause. "...I'll do my best!"

Here and now... Lera is suddenly behind her as Setsuna takes up her own torch. Yuuichiro takes off, and Setsuna watches him go--and then suddenly notices... the presence of a Lera... behind her.

"...?" she says. "Lera..." Wide, unblinking eyes turn towards her girlfriend. "...Ghosts..."

Her eyes are bright as she says, "I'll protect you, Lera!"

She indeed prepares to ''lead the way''. Though...

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

In the Norimobile, before their arrival:

"Hiroko-san caught me on my way to archery practice," Fuu Hououji replies. Atypically, her clothes for today are lacking in hues of green; rather, she's decked out in a white blouse, a dark red skirt, and a more cheery - even Christmasy - red cardigan. "I'll admit, I'm not sure why she picked me out, unless somebody's going to bring some of those 'evil-destroying arrows' they use at New Year's ceremonies, but ... I couldn't exactly tell her 'no,' could I?"

Her luggage for the night appears entirely devoid of bows or arrows, just a small overnight bag, presumably packed as efficiently as she could manage - something to sleep in, a change of clothes, probably a power bank in case she needed to recharge any electronics which are also tucked into the bag. If someone actually *did* bring exorcism arrows, all the better, but she seems to have judged the odds slim enough not to risk her competition bow on a wild ghost chase. (Plus, as a few people would know, she *does* have another one ...)

She greets Yuuichiro with a smile and a polite bow when she meets him on the way in; she listens attentively in the living room as Hiroko explains the situation more thoroughly. She also takes in who else has come in response to Hiroko's request, as if weighing the odds and trying to figure out who's in the most danger if there turns out to really be something supernatural at large in the mansion.

"I'm curious how you know they were specifically ghasts," Fuu muses as they're picking out flashlights. "Aren't those usually European undead? How would they have come to Japan? And what would they eat in a mansion like this, you'd expect them to gravitate towards an actual graveyard or something ... not that Japanese graveyards have many whole-if-decaying bodies."

She's bold enough, in any case, to stay pretty close to the front of the group - although she'll definitely let Yuuichiro take the lead, professional-to-be-priest-in-training that he is.

<Pose Tracker> Haruka Tenoh [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.
"Hey, hey," Haruka Tenoh reasons with Fuu. "Foreigners are allowed to haunt our mansions, too. If their visa hadn't expired when they died, it's legal for them to have their afterlife here."

Haruka, in a brown leather jacket, deeply unbuttoned blue dress shirt (which somehow implies pecs rather than breasts?), and black jeans, is here in the flesh, taller and blonder than most non-foreigners. Perhaps it relates to her sympathies to their undead.

She regards Setsuna's protection of her girlfriend with approval. "Why don't you say things like that to me, Hououji?" she asks Fuu seriously, in that deep voice of hers.

Haruka is present because she ''has'' considered the idea that this might be a daimon, unlike her fellow blonde senshi. But it's just an idea, so far, and right now she seems as relaxed as could be, with a day bag slung rakishly across one shoulder as she waits with the others. She seems to view the event as a casual outing, though not so casual that she took the Ferrari. She's not about to have to sell a good car because there's a Victorian maiden screaming in the rearview.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

How DID Hiroko come to ask each of them for help?

Well, there was that meet between the swordfighting and fencing clubs... surely a great place to find ghost hunters.

And of course, visiting the archers of Infinity, who would surely be fearless warriors...

And, of course, there was that collision when she visited Juuban...

(Was it a literal collision? She'd never tell.)

Certainly, she went far and wide to ask for help. She has ''connections.'' They're made of money.

"That boy is a priest..?" Hiroko blinks, owlishly, at Usagi. "... I will place my trust in you. Everything... everything will be fine," she nods, to Lera, her hands tightening a little in her lap. She looks ''even more unnerved'' by the idea of what kinds of ghosts might be around, by Fuu's report. Decaying bodies...

"European ghosts, huh? I'm sure they scatter like any other ones." Yuuichiro, at least, has enough bravery to spare for the people in the back. "I feel like we should really give them a break," he reflects, lightly, to Haruka. "If they're dead, they have bigger problems than bureaucracy, right? All that aside... I've never heard of an embassy for foreign ghosts." He pauses, for a moment, as he considers. "Maybe that's an advanced lesson..."

Continuing on, he waves his flashlight -- it's a flashlight! Don't mind the translation! -- as he smiles to Nori. "Ahh, I've never done it for real before," he admits, a little sheepishly. "Rei-san thought I wasn't ready," here we elide the flashback to THAT shouting match, "but... how can I prove myself if I don't take a chance? I don't mind if I get hurt, so long as I can make a difference." He grins, to Setsuna, giving her a CERTIFIED SCRUFFY THUMBS-UP. "You make it sound so easy!" He says, thinking of her declaration of protection. "I'd better not slack off!"

He looks up at the opulent portraits on the wall, and remarks: "But, you know... it's funny I'd come to a place like this..." Yuuichiro shrugs, and laughs it off. "Hey, it's pretty funny we're all here, right? I never thought I'd see you ghost hunting without Rei-san, Usagi-san!"

The tax of wealth, of course, is in having a LONG and WIDE estate; some of the rooms off the hall have open doors, showcasing the rich furniture and fine wall-hangings on the other side, but it seems like there's always ''more hallway'' to venture through. This is its own sort of liminal space, the crossroads between living-spaces, a question of how MANY studies one house needs. Of course it would be here that the lights flicker, all a sudden -- here, they die. The offer of flashlights, it seems, was downright prescient. It becomes even more important a moment later...

... with a scream, from whence they came.

"That was Hiroko-san!" Yuuichiro says, alarmed, and turns to run back to the sitting room -- which tragically puts all those people who carefully put themselves at the ''back'' of the pack towards the ''front,'' instead. The journey is more dangerous, in the dark. Those corner-tables with their vases are all the more treacherous by torchlight. Hurrying back, it's not so long before they reach --

Hiroko has fainted on the ground, sprawled over her sitting-cushion. Above her, a thick mist, lit in the shadow; it roils, images resolving in the aether. Yuuichiro, ever-brave, strides forward in the dark. He grasps an ofuda -- a spell-tag. "Scatter, evil spirits!" He incants, as he throws it towards the fog. It stops, in the mirage, and the glimmering light fades into darkness. Or was anything there at all...?

"Eh?" Yuuichiro asks, looking back and forth, as if he hadn't quite planned this far ahead. "Did I banish them..?"

Here a scalding noise, like laughter forced through a steel press, as that mist flares up and rolls over everyone. Yuuichiro is, after all, a ''trainee;'' down he falls, in deep slumber, just the same as Hiroko.

And certainly, for a moment, sleep ''feels'' like it would be the best option, a deep somnolence fought off only by magic and experience. The dark is deeper, following that wash of glimmering mist. There are plenty of corners to hide in or halls to retreat into, where one might change one's outlook.

Because when that mist collects again, it's in the vague shape of a woman -- a woman with hair which billows like a snowy cloud around her, all wrapped in shining green-and-silver tinsel, claws where her hands should be. "CaROILER..!" She announces herself, slashing the air in two halves.

The pressure in the sitting room rises...!

COMBAT: Rei Hino transforms into Youma Form Caroiler!
COMBAT: Rei Hino has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 6 opponents!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"R-Right behind you!" Lera says to Setsuna. With a twitch of her eyebrow, a little like she has just been called out. Technically, she was, only by herself.

Her eyes shift towards Fuu. She makes quite the face at the image of some sort of undead eating bodies and shivers, looking about like she is ready to bolt. She restrains herself from doing this, somehow.

"Y-Yeah, foreign ghosts are okay," she says. "I'm sure it'll be fine, y'know?"

Lera keeps moving -- hurrying along -- until she slows in the hallway, when she hears that scream. Yuuichiro turns and runs; Lera's eyes widen, and she tries to hurry too.

She doesn't move as fast, though. She sees where Hiroko has fallen with her flashlight; then, she looks up, and stares at where the mist is. Taking form, clearly ''not'' banished, and becoming a woman. A youma, she realizes. "S-Setuna, that's--"

It makes it easy to know what to do, at least. She holds her hand up -- and both of her Devices gleam in the light. "Soaring Sky, Broken Ground, set up!"

<Get set!>
<Get set!>

Light flashes around around -- and when it fades, she stands there in her green coat, with a two-toned sword in one hand and clockwork shield in the other. She looks at Caroiler -- her brow furrows -- and then she shakes her head. "I-I don't think the scenery's right for that kinda song...!"

The shield flashes. A crackle of light that runs across the clockwork parts -- and then explodes off, as a bolt of green-gold light that shoots off towards the youma.

COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket Dynamic!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Fault Siege on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino partially dodges 3 Fatigue damage from Lera Camry's Fault Siege, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Psyched! Rei Hino's Fade and Flash abilities activate!

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna puffs up a little bit, straightening her shoulders and looking Very Serious. ...Not that she doesn't usually look kind of serious, but even so, protecting Lera is important, and Haruka's approval adds to her pride--she must!! And then there is the matter of the foreign ghosts, and...

"You know a lot about ghosts," she says to Fuu thoughtfully. And then she moves along with the others--but--

"But if the ghost is causing problems, we should tell it so. Maybe it doesn't know," Setsuna says. "Or maybe it does..." That would be a problem. Bad ghosts are bad! "But I think there's probably a ghost bureaucracy too... Someone has to keep track of all the ghosts."

Ghosts ghosts ghosts--unitil the lights flicker. And a scream. Setsuna hurries, too. "Oh--"

"Ah, are you..." He's asleep. The mist collects. The awful noises--Setsuna frowns. "A youma!" she answers Lera.

She pulls her Linkrun, and calls, "Akarun!"

"Pretty Cure!" A flash of red light, "Beat... Up!"

Her transformation is swift and dramatic, bringing Cure Passion to the fore as Lera swings her weapons. She dives straight forward towards the Carolier herself, diving down and then spinning upward with a series of fierce kicks!!

"I won't let you do as you like, ghost!"
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi transforms into Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Rising Passion on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino perfectly counters 12 Fatigue damage from Cure Passion's Rising Passion, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Rei Hino's Reverse and Tactician abilities activate!
COMBAT: Rei Hino's counterattack, Polterg's Eve, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Cure Passion!

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"He's... something like one?" Usagi answers, seeming mildly confused as to what his position actually is. "Either way - he's got this!"

Hopefully he's got this, because that would mean she won't have to do a thing, or go near the ghasts at all-!

Even if he's never done it for real before-! And even if Rei didn't think he was ready! Usagi definitely wasn't ready to do the things she's done the first time, but she did it-!

Usagi however is staring out like she regrets her life choices right now from her chair.

He's got this. He's got this. She hopes he's got this and that it's nothing like what Luna thought-!

Haruka's flippancy at Fuu's inquiry is comforting in a way. If Haruka isn't tense, then maybe there's nothing to worry about?

Either way she's out of her seat and Haruka might feel a dainty set of fingertips daring to catch hold of the leather of his left jacket, just above the elbow, like she dares not do much more.

"Ah... I just thought... since you're not... escorting anyone around today."

She demures, in a way that seems to contrast how she's the one who took her arm in the first place.

As they're led around by the flashlights, Usagi may be looking, but all of her looks are furtive, like there's a possibility she might open her eyes and see something really scary-! And then he addresses her: "P-Pretty funny-! Aha... Y-You're right... who'd have... who'd have thought? T-Though it's not like some test of courage where it's just... the two of us! Nori-chan and Secchan are... taking the lead-!"

And then the scream curdles her blood, and her arms wrap around Haruka's bicep as the tiny blonde presses the side of her face against it. "H-Hiroko-san!?" She bleats out, as they rush back towards the room.

And Yuuichirou...

"He's got this-!"

Usagi has never seen Rei-chan fail when doing this. Or at least if she does it did - something-!

However...

He falls asleep.

"... ... Y-Yuuichirou-! No no no-!" Usagi calls out aghast and terrified, and shaking her blond twintails in denial of the reality. Despite what she says, her primary concern is that her life - that of a cute girl who in no way wants to fight ghosts, is on the line. "I don't want to do it, but I have to-!"

Fumbling with her compact, she might just have used Haruka's broad back as cover for her transformation.

Moon Cosmic Power - Make Up!

It's not long after that Sailor Moon is crossing her arms in disapproval of the Youma.

"Hold it right there-! This is the season for gift giving and kisses under the mistletoe-! You shouldn't just haunt people because you missed your chance two months ago! Sailor-suited Pretty Soldier of Love and Justice: Sailor Moon-!"

Striking a fierce pose, she points at the Youma.

"In the name of the Moon - I will punish you-!"

Now then - in this wide angle shot of the room do you see Sailor Moon? No? She's right at the back... behind... literally everyone else.

COMBAT: Usagi Tsukino transforms into Sailor Moon!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used In The Name Of The Moon on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino cleanly braces 0 Fatigue damage from Sailor Moon's In The Name Of The Moon, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Moon is Psyched! Rei Hino's Block and Parry abilities activate! Cripple and Diversion applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Hmmmmmmmm ... I suppose you have a point, Haruka-san," Fuu acknowledges her fellow blonde's logic, nodding in agreement. "Although that presupposes that there was a live foreign visitor recently enough for their untimely demise to leave a ghost, or ghast, or what-have-you."

And then Haruka goes from soundly logical to outright flirting, leaving Fuu flustered and scrambling, briefly, for a rejoinder, which keeps her from replying properly to Setsuna. "Wouldn't that be Michiru-san's job, or ... well, if you insist, I *will*, but it's not the same when you fish for it like that, is it -"

The scream from the sitting room is *almost* a relief. Fuu is happy to step aside so Yuuichiro can lead the way back, but follows along as quickly as her legs and the surrounding bodies will permit. By the time she reaches the room we started from and takes in the mist occupying the space between its walls, her flashlight is on and held in both hands, almost as if the beam of light were a lot more coherent and infinitely more capable of cleaving something.

Yuuichiro flings a talisman and calls an invocation. The mist pauses ... then intensifies to the sound of caroilous laughter, along with a wave of soporific force which staggers the archer ...

Right into Haruka, as luck would have it.

The impact jostles Fuu back to her senses, and she works to get her feet back under her center of gravity (preferably without stomping on any toes). "I'm sorry - are you all right?" she asks quickly, wincing at the cry of 'CaROILER!' slicing through the air.

She dropped her flashlight when she was staggered, but there are bigger concerns - like donning her glove-jewel and transforming into her Magic Knight form. If that short-lived whirlwind helps give Haruka some cover, all the better; if Haruka doesn't need it, that's fine as well. And as soon as the Wind Knight has finished transforming -

"WINDS OF ADMONISHMENT!!"

- there's *another* whirlwind, this one whipping the fog into a frenzy around Caroiler, and hopefully keeping the misty 'spirit' from dodging around.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Wind Knight!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Admonishment on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Psyched! Trap applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

In the car:

"She's certainly been hunting for quite a crew... I begin to wonder what she may know," Nori muses to Fuu.

Here and now, though:

Nori blinks at Fuu as she shows some sort of diagnostic knowledge of -- "How did you...? You seem very familiar with the occult, if you know that much, Hououji," Nori says to her. "... Do they eat the dead? In that case, maybe..."

Nori looks towards Haruka. "Maybe they're hungry enough to not wait until we have passed on."

After this, Nori meets Yuuichiro's gaze as he speaks to her, smiles to her. "I think you'll be able to manage, if we truly do encounter a restless spirit... Yuuichiro-san." An immediate step up in familiarity!? How forward. Even so, they move along the estate hallway. "This must be from before the war," Nori muses aloud, before:

SOMEONE SCREAMS!

When they return - the banishment is inconclusive - and Nori Ankou quietly opens a window and climbs out of it, with a faint rustle of exterior bushes afterwards. Eerie lights gleam...

And the front door of the house swings open...

And the sitting room is approached with ominous steps...

And in the doorway, pale and limned with evocative inverted life, is the shape of la Sirene de Diamant, the Pharos at her waist gleaming with a light that never warms.

"Winter is cruel enough, even on the Kanto Plain, without your treachery," says la Sirene de Diamant. "You should have let yourself be banished... now! Return to your rest!" One hand thrust forwards with a splay of fingers (did she just wink at Sailor Moon? the fog being hit by a whirlwind makes it hard to tell) just in time for that shimmering light to fly out.

But will it collide with the tinsel!? La Sirene may have underestimated this shade... or, potentially, ghast.

COMBAT: Nori Ankou transforms into La Sirene de Diamant!
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has used Carbonado Kaleidoscope on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 23 Fatigue damage from La Sirene de Diamant's Carbonado Kaleidoscope, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Rei Hino's Block and Parry abilities activate! Stagger applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Sailor Moon in turn, winks back at La Sirene. Her wink is way less subtle.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Uranus [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.
Haruka quirks her lip when Nori speaks about hungry ghosts. "Don't look at me," she says amiably. She keeps that smile going as she looks back down to the flustered Fuu, giving her a friendly open ear for all the babbling she wishes to do.

Usagi is courageous enough to take her jacket. Just a pinch of leather, is all, but still, a high achievement. Haruka reconsiders Fuu's thoughts in light of it. "I guess it depends on how well you fish. I have a lot to learn about it, I see."

Looking down (and down more, given the height gap) at Usagi, Haruka greets her with a nod. "You thought you'd borrow my jacket?" she teases. She waits just long enough for Usagi to ''start'' to reply before she interrupts by pushing that arm through Usagi's instead, pulling her close. "As you wish, ohime-sama," Haruka says. She enjoys being able to call Usagi that in public; all it takes is a good excuse to pass it off on, and those are easy to come by when you are as gallant as Haruka. "Stay close, then. I'm mostly sure there are no cannibalistic ghasts here. But if I was one, I'd go for the girl who eats the most desserts, first."

But the happiness to be found in protecting a tiny twintail against shadows and cobwebs lasts so briefly. Haruka's blue eyes go sharp and serious as she follows, along with the others, towards the scream, and she watches Yuuchiro's efforts carefully. When the supernatural fatigue comes over them all, Haruka blinks it away forcefully, but it is enough to distract her, such that she only notices Fuu falling into her when they actually come into contact. She's forced to dip her knees and catch up Fuu beneath the shoulder, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Hououji, you're here," she says, a little too close to Fuu's face. "I knew you'd protect me..."

Separating from the other two blondes, both four-eyes and twin-tails alike, Haruka draws free her transformation pen, glaring at the ghost. Sailor Moon accuses Caroiler of missing her chance at Halloween, but Haruka, for her part, felt like she was having a perfect Halloween *until* Caroiler showed up. Golden energy courses down over her body as she ignites her henshin.

"Sailor Uranus!" she calls back, as if introducing herself in return. She swivels her arms artfully a few times as she transitions from the dance of her henshin to a harder, more martial combat stance. "I don't know if you're dead or not, but you will be."
COMBAT: Sailor Uranus has used Acts with Elegance on Sailor Uranus.
COMBAT: Sailor Uranus has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Uranus accepts Sailor Uranus's Acts with Elegance, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Empower and Surge applied to Sailor Uranus!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Hiroko may well have been in great danger, were it not for the quick response of her guardians. (Yuuichiro is... he's fine, down there. He's having a nap. It's fine. Don't worry about it so much, and don't worry about the way he seemed to recognise Nori, either.) ''Now,'' Caroiler has bigger fish to fry before she can get to that isolated little poet.

Lera gets all set-up with her Devices, and ''insults Caroiler's singing.'' That would be bad enough, if not for the crackling of energy along exquisite gears, leaping from those machinations into Caroiler's path. She dances backwards, one step and another, never ''quite'' reaching the ground -- the mist coils about her feet, leaving question as to whether she even has any, but it's only her hot-footing which leaves holes in the mist around her instead of the tinsel of her body. She swipes at the holes, quickly-quickly, covering up the evidence that she was lasered. It seems to bother her quite a bit!

Cure Passion, meanwhile, sets out to answer the eternal question: can you kick a ghost? I mean, I assume that's the eternal question. It probably keeps everyone up at night. But the mystery deepens when Passion spins upwards -- and phases -- right through Caroiler? More mist than monster, she drifts to the side, and cackles as she solidifies again: "Caroiler!"

But when she's bid to HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, of course, her head turns to behold one Sailor Moon. Anger crosses those too-sharp features, all angles and length; she snarls, and reveals a set of considerable teeth in her jaws. Do ghosts eat the dead? She's certainly equipped for the job.

This is the precise moment she is bowled over by a whirlwind.

GHOSTS: Strong versus kicking. 
GHOSTS, ALSO: Weak versus wind?

Floating around in the mists, as it turns out, is a real problem when there's suddenly air currents to deal with. Caroiler grasps a sitting-couch with her claws, all sinking in, a POP of an elegant button, a RIP of red thread, and its insides spill into the outside. (It's full of stuffing.) This is where the kaleidoscopic light of the Pharos reaches her, and it refracts on that shimmering tinsel, lighting her up like the merriest of Christmas trees. She yowls, entirely unhappy about the whole situation. Lera and la Sirene prove quite conclusively that light does, indeed, hurt ghosts.

Haruka does not try to kick a ghost just yet, but that's just because her kneecapping comes in the form of a declaration, instead. (It seems that ghosts are also weak to speeches. Who even made a ghost weak to so many things?! Well, at least she hasn't drawn out anyone's Pure Heart -- whether she hasn't had the chance to, or whether she's part of someone else's plot, it's difficult to say.) Caroiler's eyes narrow, as she straightens, rising up against the dark of the room. "CAROILER!" She huffs, and this one might be translated, perhaps, to a need to get serious. But it seems she ''does'' have something else to say, reaching out with one of those claws: "All your regret..!"

Her hair shimmer-glimmers with that same light in the dark, as it rises and billows, mist pouring out throughout the sitting-room. Images of the recent past dance within them, but each event is tinged with a new anxiety. Some horrible thing which may have gone wrong -- or, indeed, which DID go wrong.

The worst part is how ''thick'' the fog becomes. It's hard to find anyone else, through the images of what has been.

Can you possibly have the confidence in yourselves to decide you did the right thing..? Do you have the humility to admit you may have faltered..? Can you reach out, through the fog, to find an outreached hand?

COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Poltinsel on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Poltinsel on Sailor Uranus.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Poltinsel on La Sirene de Diamant.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Poltinsel on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Poltinsel on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Poltinsel on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon braces 6 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's Poltinsel, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino is Psyched! Sailor Moon's Parry ability activates! Trap applied to Sailor Moon!
COMBAT: Lera Camry cleanly braces 11 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's Poltinsel, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lera Camry's Block and Parry abilities activate! Trap applied to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Sailor Uranus braces 6 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's Poltinsel, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Trap applied to Sailor Uranus!
COMBAT: Cure Passion fails to brace Rei Hino's Poltinsel, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Trap applied to Cure Passion!
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant braces 7 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's Poltinsel, taking 6 Fatigue damage! La Sirene de Diamant's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji dodges 5 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's Poltinsel, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade and Flash abilities activate! Trap applied to Fuu Hououji!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Wh--hey! That's not fair!" Lera calls after Caroiler, as she moves, and her shot blasts through mist instead. She does chance a quick glance at Hiroko, confirming she is okay, and then back at the youma. Passion is having similar trouble, too, she sees.

Her nose wrinkles -- and she brings up her clockwork shield. The barrier between the clockwork portions flash -- and there's images of the past dancing about. Lera sees a few images whisk by.

Dropping a tray in Infinity's cateria, to her embarrassment.

A low grade on a test, the paper crumpling in her hands.

Getting blasted through the sky by a beam of violet light, from a fight not so far back.

Her brow furrows -- and she looks around, at fog that is thick and blocks all from view. Her amber eyes look about -- but she can't see Cure Passion, nor Sailor Senshi; there's not even a glimpse of Nori or Fuu. She sucks in a breath. "It wasn't all that bad," she manages, her breath shaking, and then settling. She slides the shield to her forearm. "Sky?"

<I'm with you.>

"Let's see if we can cut through, y'know? And try to find them," she says. The sword ignites -- a brilliant plasma flame leaping off the sword -- and then she strikes down, trying to cleave through the mist.

And, hopefully, push it back with the heat. "HEY!" she calls out. "Is anyone else out there?!"

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Corona Crash on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to dodge Lera Camry's Corona Crash, taking 38 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lera Camry is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Passion is not here to kill a ghost. She is mildly concerned that Uranus ''is''. But the ghost is attacking and they have to defend, so talk of whether or not you can kill a ghost is a problem for the future's Setsuna. For now, she instead works on trying to kick her--and that... does not work. Passion leaps back to her feet again once it fails, and frowns, looking seriously at Carolier. A huff--and then, talk of regret--Passion braces herself, because her old regrets are many--

...But isn't she mostly at peace with those? No, it is the recent past that comes to mind. ...Did she do enough to help Lera, in all the awfulness with the copied Devices? Could she have done more? There's always more she could have done. She thinks about it, and there are more images, but that is the strongest, those terrible, difficult battles and the travels that came of them.

"...No," Passion answers, "I... I did my best."

The fog is thick.

"Even if I didn't always succeed..."

Passion reaches out--hearing Lera's voice, she thinks--

"And I still will--"
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Finding Happiness on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 7 Fatigue damage from Cure Passion's Finding Happiness, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino's Block and Parry abilities activate!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Um-! That is-!" Usagi starts to respond fumblingly, but then Haruka pushes her arm through hers, and Usagi suddenly looks dumbfounded, then flushes bright red as she's called 'ohime-sama'. It feels good? It feels nice at least, to hear such titles from her lips.

"Thank you." She whispers back. Arm in arm, she takes the command to stay close, before the final joke that would usually cause her outrage, causes her to flutter her lashes, as she assumes... something differently, than what she might if Luna said it. "H-Hey... are you trying to say I'm especially sweet?" The thought makes her smile.

Trying not to read TOO far into Haruka's fliration with Fuu, she transforms.

-=-=-

Sailor Moon gets this nervous look as the 'Ghast' looks over her way. Then seems relieved as all the layers of protection between her and the Ghast keeps it from getting up in her business.

And then the fog is unleashed. And she starts waving her arm abruptly, putting a hand over her mouth as she uses her sacred moon scepter to try and clear the fog.

However... images fast overtake her.

-=-=-

"I know. I know-! I'm just worried though. The enemy... they're even coming after you while you sleep. And it might help for us to know what you're dealing with."

"Mmm..."

"Whatever it is... I want to help. That includes Hotaru-chan..."

"... You can't. You just can't."

"Chibi-Usa... I can try... we can try."

"Why would you ever think you could help me!? Just don't even bother-! I can handle it all on my own-!"

-=-=-

As if on script, the feelings of that encounter made her bleat out her simple response, the same as it was that time, "Chibi-Usa-!"

Fingertips reach out in the thick fog, then... her hand clinches down upon her scepter again. "I don't know what she's going through at all." She whispers to herself, "But... I still don't think wanting to help her is wrong."

Still though, she can't see anything in this fog-! And as oppressive as it is, it must be so much worse for everyone else. "Hello-? I know you're all out there... so..."

And so, she puts a hand up to her forehead, with a touch to the gem of her sacred tiara, it becomes a shining disk in her hand. "Moon Tiara-"

And... she flings it blindly into the fog. "-Boomerang!" And yet, it's shining arc may perhaps be anything but blind as it sweeps through the fog, cutting through it in an attempt to burn away its dark power... because... it imbued by a simple feeling.

She doesn't really want to feel alone in this fog right now. Thankfully, one of the earliest lessons she's learned is... she isn't.

Ever.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Moon Tiara Boomerang on Sailor Uranus.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Moon Tiara Boomerang on La Sirene de Diamant.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Moon Tiara Boomerang on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry accepts Sailor Moon's Moon Tiara Boomerang, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Lera Camry's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant accepts Sailor Moon's Moon Tiara Boomerang, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cleanse! All of La Sirene de Diamant's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Sailor Uranus accepts Sailor Moon's Moon Tiara Boomerang, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Sailor Uranus's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene de Diamant [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

It screams its name and flails around. Shining tinsel, la Sirene thinks as her eyes narrow behind the paint upon her face, as the fog gathers... thickens...

And...

Memories flick through her mind.

Awkward moments.

Strange glances.

Momentary pauses. Hitches in conversation.

La Sirene thinks of words from Tsuru. From Mikoto Minagi. Mami Tomoe. Our own Yuuichiro, currently sprawled out. Mediocre test grades. Fatigue that she can't push through. Long pauses, sideways glances. Memory seems to fade, almost; or to lose its color, its savor.

Her heart beats a little faster. Something flows through her blood. A formless worry. Muscles in her chest tighten, subtly. Her body tenses, pulls in. Smaller. Just a little. She wants to - to - to reach out; but who is there? Who would take her hand, here? They might like to look at what she presents. Do they like to look at HER? To see her, to be with her, to speak with her? Is she...

A moonlight beam twinkles in the fog. No, not a beam; a tiara, a shining proof of something. Something greater. Someone out there who has been her friend, and believed in her, no matter how distant. Someone who may be bound to a star where la Sirene is not so fixed --

La Sirene's lips quiver in the fog as she struggles for breath - presses a hand to her forehead. She straightens up, as that twinkling tiara feels like it's cutting a string - one holding her up? Or no, one restraining her.

And la Sirene speaks:

"Creature!"

"How dare you! Is there not suffering enough without your cultivation? Do you think that your fog bank is enough to wreck our hearts?" she cries out, her voice tending to penetrate but here muffled despite her best efforts. Solution: get louder.

Something faintly goes thump, then rattles...

Then there is a sudden opening of an eye in the fog!

No, it's not an eye; the Brazen Pharos, held aloft with both hands (having been untied from its usual waisthigh perch) is shining in the fog! Tilting downwards slightly, the open eye is eerie but not hostile, the effect a sort of sorrow-limned sanpaku as it tilts downwards, the center of the 'beam' seeming to sweep, as if SEARCHING...

(La Sirene found a chair and is currently standing on it. So much for that upholstry-- though, of course, these things tend to take care of themselves...)

COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has used Abyssal Vision on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace La Sirene de Diamant's Abyssal Vision, taking 22 Fatigue damage! Blind and Tangle applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Uranus [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.
Haruka is surprised at Usagi's failure to get scared at the idea of being cannibalized for the subcutaneous ice cream she's surely composed of. For her to moon about it instead is not a misunderstanding in the least, but it is a fairly extremely choice of emphasis, and an unusual one. She looks down at the other blonde blankly for a moment, then laughs.

"That's what you are," she agrees. "Shortcake."

-=-=-

It's always been too easy to envision, but Uranus is not sure why she is envisioning it NOW. An Inner senshi, whose uniform shifts from blue to red to green to orange, lying prone and insensate. Neptune, with the fallen girl's heart, lifts her eyes in shock to meet Uranus's, and this time, instead of shaking her head, she nods.

You can't, Usagi begs. She's my best friend.

Uranus and Neptune have achieved so much since the world's second chance. So many hearts returned, so many dreams restored. Uranus tries to string together the incidents like a rosary, but she just can't. No matter how many they save, there will be a few that they kill. It WILL happen. The tolerance the Inners have, the increasing cameraderie over time, is an illusion.

And nothing Haruka has done protects her from that.

The fog is physically, mystically driven away from Uranus by the tiara of her princess, and Uranus lets out a gasp of anguish. The visions leave her... or their supernatural strength, does. She never needed a Christmas ghost to carry that fear around.

But she can clench her fists now, and her teeth. Lifting her head sharply, she locks her eyes on the ghost.

There is a natural human impulse to try something you just saw doesn't work. Your friend pushes the doorbell and it doesn't ring. Don't you want to push it, to the annoyance of your friend? This is how Uranus feels about kicking ghosts. For all the respect she has for Cure Passion--who kicks harder and better than a Pretty Cure?--she simply has to know for herself. Maybe Passion didn't kick it ''right''.

"I don't appreciate that trick," she tells Carolier. "If it was just on me, that would be one thing, but you..."

Charging, Uranus kicks off the aged boards of the mansion floor and swings her knee at the tinselly head of the spirit.

COMBAT: Sailor Uranus has used Don't Get In My Way on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Sailor Uranus has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 16 Fatigue damage from Sailor Uranus's Don't Get In My Way, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino is Quipped! Rei Hino's Block and Parry abilities activate! Stagger and Tangle applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

That fight... did Lera do enough..? All those gnawing little doubts -- she carves through them. Corona Crash is her retort, asserting reality; that plasma is hot enough to sear the mist itself, burning it away like so many spidery silk-threads, and it carves through as easily as a sword through a web. With a wail, it is at once clear that Soaring Sky hit its mark -- and that Caroiler is a warped reflection of the past. "Caroiler...!!"

Because it IS warped. It takes recognition to stand against it, to reach through the fog, but Cure Passion believes in herself. She's doing her best, and she's not here to kill a ghost, and -- and there's Lera, resolving in the foglight.

The sound of that heat hitting its mark may well serve to guide the Wind Knight's own blade, through the fog -- carving upwards, there's a "CAH!", which might be half of a caroiler, all cut off by the stabbing. They're stronger together, and together, the Wind Knight and Lera score strikes on Caroiler to stop her from redoubling her savage mists. What she's spread can't carve through Cure Passion's resolve, and it's vexing.

"Caroiler!" Roils Caroiler, as that section of fog begins to clear. Her problem, outside of those assaults on her person, is a boomerang tiara -- flung by someone who wants to help, who HAS help. Look, through the roiling mists: there is a lighthouse, shining bright, Pharos on high. The light cuts through what fog remains, and Caroiler, still singed from Corona Crash, is illuminated in the dark.

The boomerang-tiara circles back around, and with that slicing motion, it's shining clear. It's not the past that needed defeating; it's the ghosts which haunt those memories.

Fog dismissed, Uranus has a clear shot.

Does Caroiler know the girls she's fighting? If she has any sense of them, she would know to fear Cure Passion's kicks above all. Or perhaps the light and heat has forced her into this world, to avoid being pushed to and fro by the winds. The fact of the matter is that she does ''not'' phase through Uranus when that Senshi kicks off the ground, flies through the air, bird-soarer; rather Uranus IMPACTS, all uppercase, and whatever a ghost's face is made of ''crunches.'' It's like a memory of marbles lost under the family car's tyres, cracked into sharp little pieces, never to roll again.

She reorganises her face as she lurches back, claws rubbing her cheeks.

"Caroiler!" She spits, clearly annoyed. "You've forgotten!"

This time, the mist rises up ''behind'' her, like a screen's projection. Perhaps it's because the events shown are known to everyone present, because they're as familiar as your homework. Teachers lecturing on the importance of final exams, a ticking clock, revision -- it's a school night, and you're off fighting monsters! In all those images she displays is woven the horrible feeling that you'll surely ''fail,'' focusing on something else as you are. Is it another trick..?

Forget the past -- present day, present time, there's ''still'' plenty to worry about.

COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Polta Claus on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Polta Claus on Sailor Uranus.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Polta Claus on La Sirene de Diamant.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Polta Claus on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Polta Claus on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Polta Claus on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry dodges 7 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's Polta Claus, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Rei Hino is Psyched! Lera Camry's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon perfectly dodges 13 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's Polta Claus, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Sailor Moon's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Cure Passion partially dodges 3 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's Polta Claus, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Passion's Fade and Flash abilities activate! Cripple applied to Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Passion has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant fails to dodge Rei Hino's Polta Claus, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to La Sirene de Diamant!
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Sailor Uranus partially dodges 2 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's Polta Claus, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Sailor Uranus's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Uranus has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji braces 5 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's Polta Claus, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Fuu Hououji's Block and Parry abilities activate! Cripple applied to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Rei Hino has saved her current combat state for later!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

[[2021-11-06_-_A_Christmas_Caroil_(Part_2)|TO BE CONTINUED...]]

2021-11-06 - A Christmas Caroil (Part 2)

2021-11-07T11:33:05Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: "snacks," said hiroko, activating the secret code to activate half her guests

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: A Christmas Caroil (Part 2)'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The magical girls fight against the despair Caroiler tries to fit into their present and future lives, and make their way out of the fog.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Rei Hino]] (as Yuuichiro Kumada), [[Lera Camry]], [[Setsuna Higashi]], [[Usagi Tsukino]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Haruka Tenoh]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Tama - Nishitama
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-11-06 - 2015-12-16
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

[[2021-10-30_-_A_Christmas_Caroil_(Part_1)|LAST TIME:]] We focused in on this time. Current day, current hour, current... exam period.

"You've forgotten!", roiled Caroiler, as the mist rose behind her. Projected on the screen of mist were events known to everyone present, as familiar as homework lying forgotten on the table. Teachers lecturing on the importance of final exams, a ticking clock, revision...

Of course, within these images is the horrible feeling that you'll fail these most vital of end-of-year exams, enough to bring the year of any student to a crashing halt.

But was it another trick?

Of course it was.

On the opposite side of the room, the napping forms of Yuuichiro and Hiroko find the fog creeping up on them. Luckily, amongst everyone, the Wind Knight spies it first -- she goes to stand between the mists and the civilians, occupied with keeping the fog from encroaching over them. This will keep her occupied, but it will keep them safe, too.

For everyone else -- there's their projected demise. The end of the year is the most important time in a student's life, and here you are, chasing ghosts.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Lera thinks she hears Passion. She isn't sure -- her voice is still distant. There is a flash from the mist, though; Lera's eyes widen as the glow of the flying tiara cuts through the fog for just a moment. She nods her head. "Sailor Moon!"

She calls out, even if she isn't sure that her voice will carry to her. She sees the light from Sirene's lattern, through the mists. Haruka's voice carries through -- her eyes widen a little at Uranus's words, realizing she knows that. She isn't alone, she realizes, and that is enough to steel her.

The fog breaks and Uranus takes her shot. She sees Caroiler -- and the sudden flash of an image of a poor test score and her hands ahking. She grits her teeth -- shakes her head -- and then looks back at the Youma. She focuses for a second, before she raises Sky in one hand. "We can do both! We've always been able to, y'know!" she yells. The Device splits -- the two-toned blade dividing down the middle -- and energy cracks between the two halves, arcs of lightning jumping between them. "Sky!"

<I've got you! Aurora...>

A brighter glow appears. Lightning sometimes shoots off it, hitting the floor and grounding. A few lingering bits of mist are driven back by it. The two blade halves tremble, as a brilliant glow begins gathering between the two halves. It makes it hard to look at; Lera keeps looking anyways.

<Burst...>

Three rings appear in front of the split sword. They're red-gold in color, filled with Midchildan runes, and rotating -- and they keep hovering, as a blast of light explodes outward. It's a column of energy that passes through the middle of each, condensed down to an impossibly bright line of light. It shoots onward, straight for Caroiler.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Aurora Burst Ray on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 30 Fatigue damage from Lera Camry's Aurora Burst Ray, taking 45 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino's Block and Parry abilities activate!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Ordinarily, academics just don't scare Setsuna Higashi. The curriculum in her home world was strong in many ways, and her relentless approach to studying has always served her well. Adapting to the way math was taught in Tokyo was easy, for instance. Her studies are work, but they're rewarding work. But... there are some subjects...

There are some subjects she just never was well prepared-for, and still has to work harder at. Subjects she just can't ''understand'' the same way. Not like kicking and math. And the clock ticks and ticks and ticks. Setsuna... should be studying literature! And social studies! ''Especially'' social studies! The geography of a world that's new to her in the past few years, the study of goverment systems she never needed to understand...

But--But--

...It hits her hard, the fog projecting into her mind, and Passion falls to one knee, briefly caught in despiair. But...

She remembers. She didn't forget. She has a study guide for those subjects, prepared for her by Ami and Honoka! She remembers. She didn't forget. She has a study guide for those subjects, prepared for her by Ami and Honoka! "The top students of Juuban are supporting me!!" How can she give up so easily? How can she give up so easily?

"I--Won't..."

Passion ''charges'' through the fog, leaping up into the air and extending a heel. "I won't give up!" Along with Soaring Sky's light comes PASSION KICK MARK TWO!!

COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Passionate Kick! on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 30 Fatigue damage from Lera Camry's Aurora Burst Ray, taking 45 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Cure Passion's Passionate Kick!, taking 22 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

With a quick motion of her hand, Sailor Moon grabs the tiara and holds up two fingers in a V, "I've got your back Lera-chan-!" As if proud of herself for dispersing the fog. Just in time to see Uranus take her shot. The word 'shortcake' still fresh on her mind. (She'd blushed.) However, the contrast in intensity makes her wonder... what Uranus saw in the fog... and makes her more glad to have come to her aid.

Which is when the ghost tells her she's forgotten-! And the fog rises up again. "Whoa Whoa Whoa Wait-!" She says as she rapidly crosses her hands back and forth as if to denial, "But it's almost winter vacation-!"

And an apparition of Haruna Sakurada appears right in her face, in the mists, holding up her recent English Exam. It has the following written upon the top.

''''42''''!!!

And the paper itself is marked all over as if by some angry historian annotating a work they disagree with.

Her mouth open in the only word that she can read on people's lists.

'U-SA-GI!'

Sailor Moon suddenly lets out a cry, as she ends up on her knees in dramatic despair.

"I-It's not fair! I already worked so hard to get into high school! How does anyone expect any girl with a social life to keep that pace up forever!?"

Finals are coming up. What is she supposed to do!? She just knows she hasn't studied anywhere near enough! And she's going to fail! Even though she is putting in more effort than she used to!

And then all of a sudden, she just climbs back up, "That's it! Tomorrow I'm relying on Mercury-chan! She knows all the words!"

... Well that was fast. Poor Mercury though, to suddenly deal with the sudden transition (albeit likely temporary) in her friend.

"But reminding me about that was mean-!" Was it actually mean!??

Now on her feet, Sailor Moon responds by just, abruptly trying to launch herself into a leap towards Caroiler, "Sailor Moon KICK-!" As a slim heeled Moonboot snaps towards the Youma's head just after the Pretty Cure's Kick.

Which, compared to the strength of a Pretty Cure is probably just insult to injury in her specific case. She's the Senshi of Love and Justice - Strength isn't one of her appellations.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Sailor Moon Kick on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino partially dodges 2 Fatigue damage from Sailor Moon's Sailor Moon Kick, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Psyched! Rei Hino's Fade and Flash abilities activate! Stagger applied to Rei Hino!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene de Diamant [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"I found you," la Sirene declaims. But something else has found HER in term. The demon is speaking to them - it's reminding her of something she's forgotten.

What could she have forgotten? And if she did forget it, did it matter? But the aphorism does not do much, because there's a screen, a vision, an image of -

Of -

Of academic failure.

La Sirene feels a cold jolt and something seize at her heart at the thought. Sweat gleams on her immaculate skin despite low body temperature buoyed by her strange enchantments. The thought is horrifying on a deep and interior level, and it does not help that it's *damnably plausible!* For she is NOT the best student - adequate, yes, but adequate does not go very far. Her life plan did not look towards college; she looks, unheeded by parents, towards a career in beauty and perhaps to stranger shores.

BUT IS THAT WISE? Is she simply setting herself up for something worse? This close, this near to things. Is she hurting herself? Is she ill in the mind from this? Will she find herself wading through the rest of her life ignorant and foreclosed? Beauty does not last forever, it is said, and while the statement's cruel sharpness is not an absolute reflection of the world, it is not *incorrect*. The Red Future will at some time become the Red Present, if she is spared; and from there, it will become, inevitably, a Red Past. And she will persist, for a little while or a long while, and --

She covers her eyes. She won't look. She can't look. If she looks she'll know, and the anticipation is at least something exciting. Open her eyes and she will see the sentence of death.

...

Death? la Sirene thinks.

I might fail these exams, but it surely won't *kill* me, she reasons further. I have certainly been wounded by such things, and I would suffer, but I would not *die*. What comes after is hard to say, but -- and the thought derails as she feels a feeling like a searchlight at the base of her spine, projecting a column of light into the cloudy skies of her soul.

"... You're not a very kind ghost, are you," la Sirene says, rustily, through half-closed lips. She keeps a hand on her eyes... the right hand... as she reaches out with the left. "On deportment, I would rate you a solid... zero." Index and pinky fingers raise. Her head tilts back as the right hand comes round in the form of the charm:

"Les Mysteres," though you had never left me, la Sirene thinks with a sort of inner sobbing shudder, "COME!"

A single smash downwards; an echoing sound, synthetic silver and magic; and the rippling ink-burst of this strike, towards Carollier, a luminous orb. Or...

... a zero??

COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has used Les Mysteres on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace La Sirene de Diamant's Les Mysteres, taking 33 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Uranus [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.
Uranus cringes for a moment as the mist rises again. Last time, she had not overcome it; she had only evaded it, in the end, tiara ex machina. This time, she cannot count on being so lucky. She needs to be ready this time. She needs to...

Contain her belly laugh, apparently.

"Hohoho," Uranus chortles, getting richer before Caroiler's eyes. "You think I'm scared of exams anymore? I'm a college athlete. If my grades are bad, that's the university's problem to fix!"

There's a reason it's not 'Sailor Uranus Says,' apparently.

Having succeeded at kicking a ghost, Uranus seems determined to take it to the next level. Attempting to seize Carolier's arm, she makes a test of ectoplasmic physics with a judo style throw aimed at the couch.
COMBAT: Sailor Uranus has used Elegant Throw on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Sailor Uranus has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Rei Hino perfectly dodges 40 Fatigue damage from Sailor Uranus's Elegant Throw, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Dodge! Rei Hino's Fade and Flash abilities activate!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Doing both is the watchword which contradicts Caroiler's dramaturgy, a declaration of hope in the hopeless abyss of academia. With it Lera brings a sword -- though the word almost mightn't do service to that weapon, all split with sparking energy, a runic revolutionary Device. The blast which comes from it bisects that projection into two halves -- a teacher, on one side, her class on the other -- and carves right into CAROILER, too.

And as we have seen, inscrutable fog is weak to the clarity of light. It defines her form, all its edges, as that tinsel sizzles at the tips. Enter -- CURE PASSION, who won't give up.

"CaROILER--!" Protests the youma, who phased out of reach the last time Cure Passion tried her signature heel lash on her. This time, she has no such time to prepare herself against a Cure, and still sizzling, PASSION KICK MARK TWO crashes square into her centre of gravity. There is a jingling of bells which presumably made up the contents of her midsection.

It turns out ghosts can fly, and Cure Passion can make it happen, because she goes flying -- and impacts with the heel of a Sailor Senshi's elegant boot on the way, as if one kick led sorely to the next. Caroiller ''thumps'' against the wall, in precisely the way ghosts should not.

"Caroiler," grumbles Caroiler, as she turns to the wall, as if she'll phase right through it. This is the precise moment that la Sirene de Diamant rates her own end-of-year performance with a big, fat 'ZERO'. Les Mysteres echoes through the sitting room, and lights her up again. ... of course, the consequences for her failure aren't academic in the slightest.

And it turns out someone ''else'' doesn't have anything to fear from academia, either -- the mighty form of Sailor Uranus, who Caroiler finds as she turns. Rather than rely on intangibility, she bodily springs back away from the Senshi's grasp, sweeping up in the fog to take place in the centre of the room.

"Tomorrow... and tomorrow...!" Cries Caroiler, as the fog ribbons out from her central location -- one ribbon for each girl, it turns out, as each rises, takes shape. They did their best in the past, then, and the present cannot cow them. But...

Who is in their future?

The fog takes the shape of a person; the person, informed by your eyes. Perhaps a husband, or a wife -- a loving child, or an old friend -- a highly-rated peer, or a target of long admiration. It's someone... from your ideal future.

And they're ''terribly'' cross. Arms folded, or turning away -- wagging a finger, pointing accusation -- somehow, these figures say without words, you've set your future awry. The horizon is bleak.

But... is it?

After all, in your future... it's not just the ideal figure there. Here, too, are the people fighting beside you.

And, connected by those misty cords, all those negative figures lead back to --

COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Poltercracker on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has used Poltercracker on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Rei Hino has used For Those Who Roil In Darkness, Hear Now My Ultimate Hymn -- A Future Carved From Pumpkins Sinks Into The Snow! on Sailor Uranus.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Rei Hino has used For Those Who Roil In Darkness, Hear Now My Ultimate Hymn -- A Future Carved From Pumpkins Sinks Into The Snow! on La Sirene de Diamant.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Rei Hino has used For Those Who Roil In Darkness, Hear Now My Ultimate Hymn -- A Future Carved From Pumpkins Sinks Into The Snow! on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Rei Hino has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Passion braces 46 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's Finisher, For Those Who Roil In Darkness, Hear Now My Ultimate Hymn -- A Future Carved From Pumpkins Sinks Into The Snow!, taking 38 Fatigue damage! Cure Passion's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Lera Camry dodges 5 Fatigue damage from Rei Hino's Poltercracker, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino is Psyched! Lera Camry's Fade and Flash abilities activate! Blind applied to Lera Camry!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Go, Passion!" Lera yells after the Cure. She can't cheer on everyone else -- she has to run, bolting to the side -- and sees Caroiler. Then, she sees fog swirling into existence. It takes the form of someone here -- though recognition inhibition makes that hard to recognize. A woman with longer hair and, despite the monochromatic nature of fog, a hint of red eyes. Her arms are folded.

An old Setsuna Camry shakes her head, with a look of disappointment. It cuts for Lera -- makes her take a step backward, her eyes widening for a second. She sucks in a breath; but then, ahead of her, rushing in, she sees a certain pink-haired Cure. She grits her teeth, then shakes her head 'no.'

She doesn't have to yell out her denial.

"Ground, let's... let's bring this down to earth," she says.

<Gladly.> Broken Ground rumbles his reply.

The shield glows and flashes -- the triangular stone at the buckler's center flashing -- and then a thousand motes of white-red light fly out. They shoot up into the air, rising in a cascade. Then, they drop down -- a veritable rain of destruction, all focused on Caroiler.

<Gaia Cataclysm!>

COMBAT: FINISHER! Lera Camry has used Gaia Cataclysm on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow...

Today, Passion kicks a ghost. It feels good. She kicks a ghost with encouragement from Lera, no less, which is even better! All of them are working hard, working together despite these terrible mists. ...Well, mostly. Uranus's answer is...

"T-that's how it works?" she blinks, surprised. But she shakes her head, and considers--tomorrow. The ribbons come... in their future.

There is so ''much'' to be seen in Setsuna Higashi's future. Thanks to a miracle of hope and the good friends she's made, that future is bright and stands out long ahead. She sees Lera before her, hurt and disappointed. But...

...Setsuna has seen it before, and it did not break her; she knows Lera wouldn't give up on her after one mistake. She spots the Lera of today, and sees her gritting her teeth--and understands.

"...I've already made mistakes," Passion answers solemnly. "And more than mistakes--done awful things. But... they forgave me. And I won't stop doing my best to be worthy of that. Even if I stumble."

"...So you! You are done!"

She lifts her hand. "Sing, O rhapsody of happiness! Passion... Harp!" In her hand appears a shining instrument, and the gem in her other hand fits perfectly into its top, completing the item of power. Then Passion narrows her red eyes at her opponent.

"Rage, storm of happiness! Pretty Cure--" Hearts begin to whirl and bubble around her as if in a sea of energy, and she starts to spin within it. "Happiness... Hurricane!!"

The storm of hearts rushes towards Carolier to burst into red and pink eternity!
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Passion has used Pretty Cure Happiness Hurricane on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene de Diamant [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

A vision washes out towards la Sirene, who is (to say the least) worrying, on some level, at how many horrible visions this thing is presenting. They have to find it, to strike it. Sailor Uranus's statement, distant though it is to her, makes her laugh -- and a moment later the fog takes a strange and diaphanous form.

For a moment la Sirene sees her mother, though not much different than she is now, save in the face. Both a year or two's age, and something--

-- but then the impression ades. There is someone else, smearing together; a shape struggles into something like a tow-headed young man, rolls through an appearance worryingly similar to Yuuchiro, passes through and contracts to reach someone smaller and more distinctly blue-topped...

But what is consistent is the look on their face. A sort of weary fatigue mixed with disgust. The disgust is plain enough but the fatigue, somehow, is worse -- it is one thing to have offended or to have wounded someone dear to you. That cannot be understated; its agony is sharp and jagged on a number of levels. But worse, by far...

... is to see that they expected this would--

"I SEE YOU" la Sirene screams. It is a scream; it echoes off of the walls of the room as she throws one hand forwards, fingers crooked into clawlike gestures. She still has that chair she is standing upon! Her eyes narrow, and they are wet as she says, "Tomorrow is frightening enough without your help. No one needs to be reminded about the horrors and the difficulty that awaits in the future. The erosion of time..."

"But it doesn't destroy anything," la Sirene continues: "It only transforms. For the sake of a suffering world, I won't let you make anything worse--"

The light at her hip (well, un-light, but it has a similar effect) suddenly opens up; the strange halo around her blooms, erupts, flickers towards the top as her crooked fingers form a slight fist and the jewels on the back of her hand glitter, black diamonds seeming to swell with light. And then--

la Sirene reaches down to grasp her wrist, no, her glove. A single silver clasp is undone and then the fingerless garment is taken off and thrown forwards, sailing over the head of the figure which is in this moment a cryptic and classical figure, smaller yet than the one before--

The light around her elongates outwards, like a teardrop or a great piece of pulled mochi, gleaming and casting strangely shaped shadows. But these ones, at least, are not mocking--

The snap-forwards makes no sound, but the feeling is like a dam breaking, aiming to pour down with cascading luminous force upon Caroiler!

COMBAT: FINISHER! La Sirene de Diamant has used Saturday's Delight on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Sailor Moon looks at Uranus with a look unto awe after she lands from her kick...

"... Wow... Attending a University is the real reward..."

Maybe the idea of grades no longer being her problem is appealing-! Though she missed the part about being a college athlete to get that privilege.

And then... ribbons of fog shoot out and wind towards her. Raising her Rod, it sparkles as the fog crashes against it and splits it... "Yatta-!"

... and then abruptly surrounds her. And suddenly her eyes grow wide.

Because sitting down is Tuxedo Kamen. A little older perhaps. A little more tired. A hand across his abdomen, he sits against the wall. Too tired to stand...

His eyes though. They're not looking at her.

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama-!" She moves forward suddenly.

The apparition... it holds out a hand suddenly, as if to tell her to stay back...

... and he still doesn't look at her. Silent, in his disappointment, his accusation. Looking upset. Looking tired. Looking ''disappointed''.

"What-What's wrong... what did I... I..." Finding tears in her eyes despite herself, she finds herself wiping them away.

She understands intrinsically... she made the wrong decision. Made the wrong call. And someone in her life is ''disappointed'' in her for that decision.

Wiping away at her eyes, she looks up. "If I-I've learned anything... it's that... messing up... messing up... isn't the end." She says, as if she were thinking of that time long ago, with Sayaka Miki in a warehouse.

Or at the foot of Tokyo Tower.

It's quite possible she'll mess up again and again and again, what's important is how she fixes it.

"So don't show me things that promise that it is-!"

Presenting her rod in front of her, she begins her choreography, a dance within the fog, of twirling rod, of chiming sound. And then... "MOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN SPIRALLLLLLL-" A rapid rotation, from high to low, faster and faster, her twin tails whipping around her like golden streamers. "-HEART-"

And then ending with a pose upon the ground, raising the rod high.

"-ATTACK!"

A kaleidoscope of stardust, and hearts stream outwards from the Moon Spiral Heart Rod, filling the space around her entire... and joining into a massive heart that speeds through the fog, trying to find... the source.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Moon has used Moon Spiral Heart Attack! on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Uranus [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.
"That's Passion, all right," Uranus praises the Cure, as she makes second time the charm for ghost-kicking. She wasn't able to get hands on Carolier herself, but she pursues, putting a boot on the couch (ew!) to leap after, and...

Ever fall asleep again after a bad dream, only to plunge right back into it?

The context has shifted only slightly. Uranus feels wearier. Sailor Moon is older, longer-legged, a college-aged heroine primarily distinguishable from her younger version by height, but the gap between her and the Outers has widened in the area of age as well, because at Uranus's side, Neptune has grown (immaculately) into full adulthood, and Uranus surely is the same. The only bright moment of this vision is when Uranus gets to clearly visualize the seafoam effect of a few seams of premature white in Neptune's hair, shocked in rather than aged in, perhaps through dark visions of her own.

"She's my best friend," Sailor Moon objects, and the girl with her head on Sailor Moon's lap slides freely between blue, red, green, and orange.

"Must we?" Uranus bleats a whisper. It slips out of a crack in her, unexpectedly.

Neptune startles. Looking over at her partner, she pauses a moment, then limns her eyes with beautiful lashes. The sadness in her sinks and sinks, already slipping out of Uranus's reach even as she struggles for words.

One of us must, Neptune confirms. The words write themselves in Uranus's head rather than her ears, as if written in Michiru's cursive, the letters that appear in the margins of the sheet music on Haruka's piano. Little words left by a lover and a partner, guidance or requests, moments where Michiru leads the dance of Haruka's fingers across the keys. And Neptune takes a step forward, as Sailor Moon cringes away, wrapping her arms closer around her best friend, whichever it is. Neptune departs from Uranus's side.

It happens all at once, in a moment of furious devotion. The mists part around a crackling, vast orb of golden energy that rips along the ground. With so little distance to travel in this enclosed space, it is not unlike throwing a bomb point-blank, and Uranus, her short hair wild in the wind, seems ready for the blowback.

"One of us... means both of us!" she shouts at Carolier, inexplicably. "World Shaking!"
COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Uranus has used World Shaking! on Rei Hino.
COMBAT: Sailor Uranus has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Rei Hino braces 80 Fatigue damage from La Sirene de Diamant's Finisher, Saturday's Delight, taking 53 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Rei Hino's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Sailor Uranus's Finisher, World Shaking!, taking 93 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Lera Camry's Finisher, Gaia Cataclysm, taking 108 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Cure Passion's Finisher, Pretty Cure Happiness Hurricane, taking 98 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Rei Hino fails to brace Sailor Moon's Finisher, Moon Spiral Heart Attack!, taking 192 Fatigue damage! Rei Hino is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

How many horrible visions does Caroiler have to show..? Hers is a dark reflection, and, as Sailor Moon has noted, a very, very mean trick. La Sirene screams through the horrors, and through her tears she sights the source of their sorrows. ''Her'' trick is un-light, stretching, transforming; it reaches to that glove, thrown overhead. An invitation to duel, once upon a time. But this isn't single combat; la Sirene does not stand alone. The un-light snaps -- if Caroiler cast a shadow, it would surely be wounded. As it is she is caught there, between lighthouse and sea, a strange light shining through her mists.

Caught, then, in the epicentre of World Shaking's explosion. This isn't single combat for her, either -- it can't be -- it mustn't be. The world borne on each of their shoulders, it trembles as it courses from her, a gale which heralds a storm. The floor cracks asunder as World Shaking tears its way to Caroiler. That the explosion unseats none of them is its own little miracle.

Perhaps when one's future is under attack, a shield is the best defence. So, then, Lera employs Broken Ground, one flash of light to precede a thousand. Upwards they arc, and down -- storm-crashing, pelting relentlessly, a shower of light too thick to see through. Caroiler howls, roiled by rain.

Through the cataclysmic light of Broken Ground now cuts something on a different wavelength: sound, not light. Passion Harp sings a dozen-dozen hearts into the world, and they flood the area as she spins, the eye of a storm of affection. As they spiral, the purifying energy lashes through each of those ribbons matching fog-figure to their misty heart. The figures dash into oblivion, as that hurricane swirls.

But it's not the only thing spinning in the dark of the fog. Moon Spiral twirls, all the way up, all the way down, and these hearts complect together, one giant shower of stardust and love. One massive heart collides with Caroiler, and a cacophony of little red hearts follow in after. Those red hearts pelt into Caroiler -- as the massive heart pierces her entirely.

"Loveeelyyyyy...!" That shining light seems to be coming from WITHIN her, now, until it explodes out, and there's nothing left of the tinsel-ghost, Caroiler. Perhaps an ornament rolled under the couch. That couch, by the way, is entirely untouched by claws now -- music and light knit each split thread, made it new again.

It's still dark, for a few moments; enough time to duck into the hall or a shadowy corner and change, before the lights flicker on again. Remember electric lighting? It makes the room a much warmer and more inviting place than it was, in the dark.

It's once everything is lit up again that Yuuichiro and Hiroko stir, pushing themselves up from floor and sitting-cushion. "Did I get them..?" Yuuichiro asks, scratching at that bushy monster he calls his hair, which has gotten -- if anything -- even ''more'' untamed over the course of his impromptu nap.

"Somehow," Hiroko says, "the pall of fear which laid over our house seems to have lifted... I know not what you did, but I am certain it worked well." Her hand clasps over her heart, as she bows her head. "Perhaps now, my father will be able to reach the world again. But if you would like to stay, I have dinner prepared..?"

A sleep-over in a very fancy house isn't the worst way to end a day.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

It's dark. Lera takes a step to the side -- vanishing and appearing, a moment later, in her usual civilian clothing. She has a flashlight in hand. She takes a deep breath, exhaling. She glances at Setsuna and smiles, before she looks over the others.

She gives Usagi a knowing thumbs-up.

"Good job, Yuuichiro!" she says. She'll let him have this one. Then, she glances at Hiroko, and flashes a smile. "I know I'd love dinner, y'know?"

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Did someone say dinner?" Setsuna Higashi chimes in, stepping up to stand beside Lera with a smile. "I'd be happy to stay."

"Yes!" she agrees next, "Great work!" And takes Lera's hand.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Usagi Tsukino winks at Lera, offering a thumbs up out of a sight, and a small giggle, before clearing her throat.

"Wow Yuuichirou-! Rei-chan is going to be..."

Usagi Tsukino is typing a few lines on her phone to Rei Hino.

To Rei-chan: rei-chan! act proud of yuuichirou-san when you see him

"... so proud-!"

From Rei-chan: Just what has he done that's worth any praise?
To Rei-chan: jus do it Rei-chan!!!

And then immediately puts up her phone before she gets implied.

She then turns to Haruka Tenoh after, perhaps... still wondering, before she then looks at Lera and Setsuna and looks flustered at the hand holding as she asks Uranus, "S-So I know you have a busy schedule but... if you were sticking around... for dinner..."

She says as her foot scuffs upon the floor and rocks a bit in place, too flustered to finish that thought.

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene de Diamant [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Rarely has a more LOVELY sight been seen.

La Sirene leaps off the chair afterwards, shuddering with some revulsion. The memories of those horrible sights will be slow to fade, but at least now they are fixed. There are no more hastening in to imperil her, not right now.

For right now, the show must go on.

And so...

... la Sirene slips back through the door which she entered...

Out the front door...

Round the back...

Opens the window with one luminous hand, and draws it back. A few moments later, a more conventional hand comes up and, with more effort, pulls herself upwards and into the room, tumbling at the last moment and landing on her side with a thump.

It does mean that Nori Ankou is authentically out of breath as she comes upwards, shivering a little. "... I don't know if I could eat a thing, but... yes, it does feel like... something has passed, hasn't it?"

The front door still sits, slightly ajar.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Uranus [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.
Haruka Tenoh, back in her jacket and jeans, shows little outward sign of her turmoil moments ago. She smiles with a show of ambiguity when Hiroko declares the task finished, as though she and the other girls may or may not have had anything to do with it. "Well, I'm glad it wrapped up so easily." Her smile fades, slightly, when the gaze she sweeps across the assembled magical girls passes Nori. Perhaps there are others here who still carry with them their HalloChristmas nightmares.

But, as heedless as a puppy, unaware of what is in Haruka's heart right now, Usagi Tsukino plies at the taller blonde to stay. Haruka's eyes flicker, searching Usagi's soft young face for signs of the sense of betrayal that had felt so natural upon it in the dream, though Haruka has never seen it on her in real life. Versions, yes--but always mixed with confusion and trust. Not the despair of her vision.

"Hm," she says. "I think I can fit that in. I'll even stay around for dessert, if you do... just in case there was more than one ghost in the house."

2021-10-30 - A Christmas Caroil (Part 1)

2021-10-31T07:29:08Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: now i, rei hino, have the power of TO BE CONTINUED! my power is limitless!

2021-10-18 - It Suits You

2021-10-18T03:06:36Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: it's my mission to make sure the endbosses always meet in the most awkward of circumstances

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: It Suits You'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Shizuru chances on Mikoto, and they discuss Miroku. Something's hanging over the conversation, but Mikoto is too tense to explain. ... Shizuru isn't nearly so tense.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Shizuru Fujino]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-10-18 - 2015-12-13
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The campus is quiet, on a Sunday afternoon; no one who doesn't have to be here is here, on account of the siren-song of arcades and ice rinks, and for the truly lost, the ''library.'' Mikoto, herself, is here for club activities; there are a few ''extra'' boarders in Animal Care's facilities for the winter, and she has to make sure her cat friends are behaving themselves. (And making nice with the cats who were already there. (They're a little smaller, but they get along. (Cats come in all sizes!))) After making sure everyone will be comfortable for the day, she's left with the rest of the afternoon. Stopping by Kasagami's office to leave some extra work she's completed...

Mikoto has already made plans for going into the city by the time she leaves the secretary's doorway, and so, there's a quick stop at the restrooms between then and now. ''Ohtori's'' restrooms are, of course, as ostentatious as the rest of the Academy; coming out to wash her hands, the cabinet is four-clawed and sparkling ivory-white, four separate basins with soap in fancy sculpted bars. The mirror gleams.

The taps are ''just'' complicated enough to always seem to drip when Mikoto carelessly turns them back about. Drip... drip... drip. A thing evocative of deep water, buried and forgotten, even as those drops slide forlornly to the drain.

Mikoto looks back up to the mirror. Her hair is just as black; her skin is just as imperial; her eyes are just as gold. Her expression grows tighter, concerned, as she meets her own bright gaze. Her hand stills on the tap, where it had reached out to screw it tighter. ... like those fancy birds in Animal Care, it seems she is entirely captivated by her own reflection.

At least there's no one around to notice she's lost in her own little world, right..?

<Pose Tracker> Shizuru Fujino [Ohtori Academy (U)] has posed.

"Terrible, isn't it?"

Shizuru is there, a blink away. That probably means she was already here, but Mikoto spacing out makes it hard to be ''sure''. She appears in the mirror, and she is somewhat behind Mikoto, looking over the other girl thoughtfully as she moves to turn the taps, and where she is captivated by her own reflection.

"The way the faucets leak. No matter how often they fix them, it seems it happens over and over." A shake of her head as she steps up to the sink beside Mikoto and turns another on, taking the soap and delicately washing her hands.

She does so throughly, though there is no blood visible. It's nice to have good hygeine.

"Hm hm."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

That there is someone else at first doesn't seem to occur to Mikoto at all -- lost; lost in her eyes, or the memory of who they evoke. She has a little less strength, to meet her gaze, right now.

'Go on then. Take back your leash.'

Would he be angry? Or... would it make him happy...?

Mikoto isn't sure which one is worse. Both knot her stomach, a little twist of her lips, a swallowing.

Which is the precise moment Shizuru remarks that it is really ''quite'' terrible. "Ah--!" Mikoto gasps, gaze shifting from herself to the left to find the elder girl reflected there. Her gaze snaps to the side as Shizuru steps up to the water-basin, chin ducking down in a defensive gesture. She's talking about the faucets. "Oh..."

With a small, sharp motion, Mikoto shakes her head, and fastens the faucet tighter. "... right." What's on her hands doesn't wash out so easily, but at least the dirt can be scrubbed away. Mikoto knows that much these days.

<Pose Tracker> Shizuru Fujino [Ohtori Academy (U)] has posed.

Shizuru says nothing about that conversation on Mikoto's mind. How could she? It's not like the older girl reads minds or something. Or does she? Shizuru watches Mikoto look down, and looks back to the sink and her hands again for a moment. Scrub, scrub... Rinse.

"You're here a bit late. It's good to see you engaging in student life, Minagi-san."

Shizuru smiles at her. It even looks genuine. Then, she similarly closes the faucet she was using, and moves towards the hand dryer.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

From the outside, Mikoto must not seem like much of a conversationalist, but has she ''ever'' been one? Though, it's hard to say Mikoto finds this an awkward place for a conversation. Certainly it ''is'' an awkward place for a conversation, by most girls' metrics, but Mikoto has never much followed societal norms.

She hums through her lips; she, herself, just swipes her hands on that orange-brown blazer. "Animals needed food," she explains, to the point, and forgets to explain her position in Animal Care Club entirely. Shizuru smiles, but Mikoto still looks a hair unnerved.

She doesn't explain that, either.

A hand to the back of her neck, still a little chill from the damp, and Mikoto makes another noise, thoughtful from the back of her throat. "Hey..." She starts, before Shizuru can escape back to whatever dimension Shizuru spends most of her time. "... why'd Shizuru give me that?" What 'that' is, Mikoto evidently thinks is obvious.

<Pose Tracker> Shizuru Fujino [Ohtori Academy (U)] has posed.

Shizuru, on the other hand, is a great conversationalist. When she wants to be. Apparently that happens to be now, despite the awkward setting. Indeed--she doesn't even seem to notice how awkward it ought to be, talking calmly and casually anyway. It's all fine. Super fine.

"Of course." It makes perfect sense. Animals needed food. So that's that.

But Mikoto makes a thoughtful noise, and Shizuru pauses, turning towards her. She tilts her head, amiable in her question. 'That'? Hmmm. She considers, for a moment, pretending not to know. But she doesn't give Mikoto so many things that it's a reasonable thing to assume. No... She knows. So--

"I thought it suited you," she answers simply.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It doesn't occur to Mikoto that Shizuru is pretending, really; her first impression is that she's gathering her thoughts. It's what would be happening on Mikoto's end, after all. She knows Shizuru is socially clever, but those particular tricks...

Well, the reason they work so well is because Mikoto ''isn't'' used to them.

So Shizuru says it suits her, and Mikoto's head cants back against her fingertips, as if her neck is all acrick. She has to look up to Shizuru, anyway. She's grown an inch or so since she came here, but she's still ''quite'' short.

"Why?" Mikoto asks, after a moment, when she has gathered her own thoughts. (She's trying, after all, not to assume the worst of Shizuru. ... she doesn't always succed.)

<Pose Tracker> Shizuru Fujino [Ohtori Academy (U)] has posed.

Shizuru is of course ''always'' pretending. That's just how it is. But people don't know that, as a rule. She's very good at social tricks.

Shizuru is not so short! She looks down to Mikoto. And she gathers her own thoughts. Why? Well, that's a fair question, isn't it?

"Hmmm," she says, with the sort of tone one takes with something particularly interesting. "I could tell you it's because a cute monster is very like you--small, adorable, but dangerous nevertheless. That the club reminds me of your sword..."

"But no, you don't like games. So I will tell you instead:"

"It's because I wanted you to know that I know about your friend. The one you summoned, that time."

"...And it suits you."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Is that why it's so hard for them to get along..?

Mikoto, with no pretence, waits for Shizuru to answer. Now those eyes are all on her, too gold and too bright, a perfect mirror of her condition. Shizuru tells a story of what she could have meant, and Mikoto grunts, head canting to the side with a note of unspoken scepticism in that gaze.

Then, she gets to the point.

'That time'... there are only a few times Shizuru could have meant. Mikoto's eyes narrow, in that moment. She was watching?

Then they close, the rest of the way; her head dips, as her hand drops down to her side. It comes up in a nod, a languid motion, as she opens her eyes again to look at Shizuru. There is a certain sharpness to them not entirely present, before, guarded, ready.

Does Shizuru realise just how much weight it holds for Miroku to suit her..?

"Okay." She acknowledges it; she accepts it. She is silent, for a moment, a moment longer. In this place, it could so easily be called an awkward silence. Surely neither of them would be so easily fooled.

"You're right," she cedes, with imperial ''omae.'' There's nothing particularly arrogant to her tone; Mikoto has simply always been too, too close. "Miroku is my Child, and my Element. We're always together." Does she mean that sword, in its case on her back, or..? Perhaps not only that. "We served my Lord Brother, but when I left, Miroku came with me. That's all."

<Pose Tracker> Shizuru Fujino [Ohtori Academy (U)] has posed.

It might be.

That time. Mikoto's eyes narrow, and Shizuru's eyes do nothing at all. She doesn't flinch; she doesn't rear back. She doesn't even widen her gaze in interest. It's just... the same, as it was. That's all. Does Shizuru realize it? It's impossible to say, in the moment.

But it was a compliment, right?

It ''could'' have been an awkward silence, if either of them were awkward about it. Shizuru smiles, though, when Mikoto says that she is right. "Yes, I see. So that's why."

Another pleasant smile. "I do hope you'll take care of it." The plush, obviously. "But clearly, when I say I'm glad you're looking out for our mutual friends... You can imagine it's extra-true, with such a powerful friend on ''your'' side."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Was it a compliment..?

Mikoto is not calculating; neverless there ''is'' something calculated to the way she plainly confirms that information, for Shizuru, who wanted her to know she knew. Her association, complicated as it is, is not shameful. Hidden, yes; but many things are hidden, in this world. It is not so strange to have secrets.

"Yeah," she says, with no argument, as Shizuru hopes she'll take care of it. Mikoto, as ever, is economical with her words. 'It' could apply to a great many things in this discussion, plush included.

The rest of it, she doesn't reply to so quickly.

Mikoto isn't smiling, but she is, at least, conversing neutrally. That readiness has never quite left, a little curl of her fingers, a little narrowing of her eyes. Without cheer her words drag in the gravel of her throat, gruffness given from years of growling -- nevertheless she ''is'' talking, which is a signifier all its own.

Kozue might not have any respect for her, but she still warned her. It's uncomfortable, to speak of her Child.

But, given time, she speaks.

"I'll protect them," she says, "and I'll keep Miroku safe." These statements are similar, but not, entirely, alike.

<Pose Tracker> Shizuru Fujino [Ohtori Academy (U)] has posed.

It could've been.

Many things are hidden. Shizuru has secrets of her own--but it is not strange to know that Mikoto has them. Not since the whole school learned of it, those years ago. And Shizuru has long been known to understand many things. The Student Council's power and reach is significant...

A normal girl would be worried at this Mikoto. Today's Mikoto is ready to fight--ready to hurt. Perhaps kill. There is no cheer in her words. But she is talking. ...Shizuru, for whatever reason, is not a normal girl. She watches calmly.

It's the most fun she's had all day.

"I'm sure you will," Shizuru answers Mikoto. The statements are not the same. And yet she sounds sure of both. She smiles.

And then she turns to go. Unless there are more questions...

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Some secrets, yes, are more secret than others -- and this is one Mikoto has kept close to her for years, rarely seen, seldom understood.

Perhaps it's no wonder she's so tense.

Shizuru smiles; Mikoto grunts acknowledgement. She turns to leave.

It's not until her hand is on the door that Mikoto organises her thoughts to lance a question through the air, sharp as any blade: "How long?" Her eyes close, briefly, as she takes a breath; this question, at least, she realises may be unfairly ambiguous. She clarifies, a beat later: "Watching me."

It's not that she's too tense to mind her tense. Mikoto just wants to know how long she ''plans'' to watch her just as much as she wants to know how long she's ''been'' watching.

<Pose Tracker> Shizuru Fujino [Ohtori Academy (U)] has posed.

Rarely seen, seldom understood. That's fair. It's reasonable, for Mikoto to be tense. Shizuru isn't, though. She doesn't seem tense at all. Not until Mikoto finally asks the all-important question, and Shizuru pauses, briefly. It is ambiguous, and yet, it isn't. Shizuru turns back to Mikoto. She smiles again.

"As long as you're in Natsuki Kuga's life."

Shizuru continues out.

It's cold, in this bathroom.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Of course it's cold. It always is.

There's that little dip of recognition, as Shizuru turns to smile. It's hard to call it a nod. Perhaps it's more of a ducking of the chin, so as to protect a neck far too vulnerable to bloodless hands.

She gets her answer; she doesn't stop Shizuru again. The door closes. It has a nice, fancy hinge to stop it from making too much noise; that would simply be uncouth.

Mikoto glances behind her, back to the mirror, to her gold, gold eyes.

"... I'm used to it."

That's what she tells the empty room, more dismal, before she turns to leave just the same.

If she's being watched, she'd better set a good example.

2021-09-19 - Secret Party

2021-09-20T11:07:41Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: alternate title: Fuku Joins The Yakuza

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Secret Party'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Georgia and Mikoto host a very musical Secret Santa party, and good things happen to a cat. (This is not a metaphor.)''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Georgia Jenks]], [[Ye-jin Song]], [[Niramo Umokeshi]], [[Fumiko Inoue]], [[Shizuru Fujino]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Chitose Shiratori]], [[Eri Shimanouchi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy - Classrooms
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-09-19 - 2015-12-06
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's now December, and that means...

'Let's make a big party, Georgia! ... how'd you make a big party, anyway?'

That's right. Georgia and Mikoto have been working on an evil scheme this ''whole time.'' (It's not really an evil scheme if you're not evil any more, Mikoto...) Luckily, Mikoto has plenty of friends in the Student Council -- there's the Disciplinary Yukino Kikukawa, Kasagami Araki as the Secretary, and, of ''course,'' the Vice-President herself, Ye-jin Song, who Mikoto thinks is a ''great friend.'' With contacts like that, it's no wonder Mikoto and Georgia managed to score a location for their party -- one of the Ohtori classrooms, unused at this hour of the afternoon.

Considering all the musical talent -- and ''technological'' talent, courtesy one Fuu Hououji -- it's only natural that this party's entertainment would hit a high note. That is, of course, the point of the TV that's been set up with a gaming system running ''Band Together,'' a video game all about pretending to be part of a band. There are even instrument peripherals! Facsimiles of drumkit and guitar and microphone... even a ''triangle,'' with various button regions to hit with the stick.

This is, of course, a ''Secret Santa'' party, and everyone who was invited -- and you were (mostly) all invited, whether by friendship with Georgia or Mikoto, or the people who helped them set this all up -- was delivered a ''secret name'' to retrieve a ''secret gift'' for. What does this mean for any gatecrashers..? Well, there ''is'' a well-stocked snack table on the opposite side of the videogame set up; maybe the real gift is the gift of snacks.

(There are a lot of other gifts, though.)

And sometimes the gifts are people. Everything's just getting started, so Mikoto doesn't expect everyone to be here yet -- some of the people she's invited have ''things to do'' before they can get here! -- but she is filled with boundless excitement regardless. "Georgia, Georgia!" Mikoto bounces up beside her, holding up a delicious cooked chestnut. She's dressed in festive green and white, having apparently forgone wearing too much red or black -- the reasons why might be more obvious to people who know what's in the black case leaning on the wall. Her braids are particularly colourful, thanks to the beads clipped onto them -- Nori's gift, from a party prior. "We got good snacks, Georgia!"

She proceeds to eat the chestnut, only to blink, and add: "Oh, we gotta wait for everyone..." The 'oops' is silent. That's fine, though. There are also ''cupcakes'' and ''crepes'' and all manner of other party snacky foods.

And everyone got directions texted to them, so they won't get lost in Ohtori! Hopefully.

<Pose Tracker> Georgia Jenks [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Yep! It's finally here! Party time! Georgia is quite pleased with how well they managed to pull everything off. She's not much of a party planner, but thanks to Mikoto's connections they had ample help in setting everything up. Stood there with her hands on her hips, she takes a deep breath, puffing her chest out.

"This... is pretty awesome!" She exclaims, letting her breath go at that moment, grinning ear to ear as usual. She's certainly in a festive mood! Especially since she has on a Christmas sweater!

...A ''very'' ugly Christmas sweater. It's gaudy and loud, the central motif of it being an actual blinking red lightbulb that is supposed to be the nose of none other than Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer himself, who is stitched into the front part of the garment. She'd told Mikoto that wearing ugly Christmas sweaters was an American tradition, and left it at that.

When Mikoto came bounding up to her and mentioned the quality of their snacks while showing off a very tasty looking roasted chestnut, which made her laugh and nod in agreement. "Yeah! Everyone should leave with full bellies, huh?" And then she laughs again when Mikoto eats the chestnut and realizes that maybe waiting for everyone else first would be best. "Hey, one little chestnut won't hurt anything. Just don't eat the whole batch!" She winked and patted her friend on the shoulder heartily.

"Alright! Everyone should be showing up soon! I hope everyone likes their gift!" She thought about the gift she'd bought for the person she'd been designated to be the Secret Santa of, clenching her fist and pumping it with glee. Oh yeah. This was gonna be ''epic''.

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Ye-jin has decided to show up to the party, being that she allowed it in the first place. Maybe her presence was one of her conditions, to make sure things were appropriately festive. Accordingly she's dressed for the occasion, though it's not unusual to see her in red on most any day. Today she's chosen a loose crimson dress with poofy white frills that invoke clouds of snow, along with a big white scarf and festive green leggings. It's supposed to be a Christmas party, so she has to get the colors right.

She bears with her a small, thin and envelope shaped box with a big gold ribbon attached to it. Ohtori's Vice-President leaves it at one of the tables near the entrance for later retrieval, turning to those already assembled and giving a jazz-hands greeting of: "Hiii~"

She doesn't spend too long waiting before she fetches a crepe soon after, something to nibble on as she comments: "Is this it?" She asks, adding: "Next time you should ask for a bigger budge. We could have gotten you at least another TV." It doesn't feel right if an Ohtori party isn't excessively wasteful.

<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

A plate of frosted sugar cookies, each shaped and colored to look like a decorated evergreen tree, is gently placed on an already overloaded snack table. There was even sprinkles on the cookies to look like lights! Sighing softly in relief, Niramo takes a step back to take it all in...well, after taking one of her own made cookies away for herself.

Niramo made sure to dress properly for the Christmas party! A sweater with wrapped presents going all around, a crimson knee-length skirt with black tights and a beige scarf around the neck. There's even a green and red glittery ribbon keeping Niramo's ponytail in place, to finish the look off.

The ravenette checks inside her bookbag to make sure her Secret Santa gift is still there, being the fifth time she's checked in the short time she arrived. It took a bit of research into her Secret Santa but Niramo has a good feeling that she picked out the right gift for tonight.

"I brought some extra snacks just in case. I hope that's okay, Mikoto-san!" Maybe she should have texted the hosts if bringing extra food was okay first, but...better safe than sorry. "Thank you again for inviting me here, you two."

<Pose Tracker> Fumiko Inoue [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Ohtori. Once again, Fumiko finds herself in those hallowed halls... but this time they are decked. The Christmas spirit was here, rather than the spirit of balls, or dodge-balls.

Fumiko is also in the Christmas spirit, with a fluffy santa hat, and a soft red dress with white fake fur trim hiding black flat-heeled shoes. She also carries a large red box wrapped with shiny green ribbon. The way she carries the box makes it hard for her to navigate, but she eventually bumps into the right door, opening the door with her present. "Am I on time, everyone? I would hate to be late after such a wonderful invitation."

<Pose Tracker> Shizuru Fujino [Ohtori Academy (U)] has posed.

Shizuru Fujino is here, and she is in white.

She doesn't particularly have to get the colors right, since she wasn't actually invited. But she brings with her a small box, which she sets down on the table as she steps inside. "I think it's rather cozy," she ddeclares of the small party, the former Vice President clapping her hands together and tilting her head to the side with a closed-eyed smile.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!"

She rights herself and steps over to the snack table, where she acquires a crepe. She does not even slightly acknowledge that her presence might be weird.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Good day, everyone, and Merry Christmas!" Fuu proclaims as she enters the classroom; she is notably lacking in the Santa-hat department, but she *is* at least wearing an appropriately festive sweater - mostly dark green, with red-and-white patterns picked out along the torso and sleeves. Christmasy enough, one should hope. She's also wearing a green skirt, a little lighter than the sweater, and white socks which go at least up to her knees (since that's where the skirt hides them). She's also carrying a very Christmasy shopping bag, with artwork of Santa and a sleigh full of books, some of which appear to be falling off the back; an attentive eye will notice the logo for one of the major bookstore chains.

For now, the bag is deposited at the presents table - somewhere Fuu can retrieve it quickly when the time comes - and the blonde archer from Infinity takes time to seek out the hostesses. "Mikoto-san, Georgia-san, Merry Christmas to you both! I see you've gone all-out; I'm glad my advice was useful," she adds with a wide smile, inclining her head briefly towards the gaming set-up.

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

Chitose Shiratori has a concern. Oh, no, she remembered the date of the party, and she had her secret santa recipient selected. Chitose knew exactly what to get them, and she has brought it and has not forgotten. It's a small box slightly larger than her hands, wrapped in decent paper. It's just, well, Ohtori...

And so Chitose lingered a few moments at Ohtori's entrance, remembering her high school years here... and also that time she got kidnapped. That was an experience.

Chitose stands, enveloped by oppressive teenaged memories, before she finally takes a deep breath and goes inside. The air she breathed in immediately went to use. "I hate this school, I hate my boss's daughters... Why did they decide to go to this place anyway, they're not even using their education..." Chitose's voice fades as she enters the building.

When she finally gets to where the party is, Chitose's thoughts have slightly moved on. "...and that forest was the best part of this school, why did it have to burn down?" She opens the door and her demeanor immediately brightens up. "Merry Christmas, everyone!" She smiles and waves gently as she enters. "I hope I'm not too late." Before moving from the door, she finally takes a breath, and forces herself to relax. It's a party! She might as well have fun.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto, notably, does NOT think Georgia's sweater is ugly. Mikoto, in fact, thinks Georgia's sweater is ''the coolest piece of clothing technology she has ever seen.''

COUNTDOWN TO MAI DEALING WITH MIKOTO IN UGLY SWEATERS: T -3 Days.

"Mm!" Mikoto hums affirmation, braids a-bounce as she nods. "It won't hurt!" Especially since everyone is arriving! Mikoto waves a hand over her head at Ye-jin as she jazz-hands her way inside. "Ye-jin! Ye-jin!" She calls, yobisute, but she means no harm by it. "Yup!" She replies, cheerfully, no wind taken from her sails by Ye-jin's question in the slightest. "It'll be fun!"

(Mikoto might not understand how adding more screens to something adds more entertainment value. She's the little sister, after all.)

Distracted by Ye-jin's entrance, Mikoto almost misses something her nose does ''not:'' new snacks. Sniff, sniff, she looks over to find -- "Niramo!" Mikoto chirps, her eyes growing dinnerplate-large as she beholds ''homemade cookies.'' Niramo asks if bringing snacks is okay, and the response she receives, immediately, is Mikoto barrelling over to latch about her in a big hug. "It's good!!" She says, with feeling. The feeling is affection. (It is also hunger, but this is not about that.)

She just happens to look around Niramo, to find -- "Shizuru..?" Mikoto grasps at Niramo's sleeve for a moment of support, before she remembers that this is a ''party'' and Shizuru doesn't ruin parties with fights, Shizuru has been at ''lots'' of parties and hasn't chopped up ''anything.'' There's that little uncertain hum, before she steps away from Niramo to wave to Shizuru, too. "... hi! It's Christmas party!" Mikoto's smiling by the end of that statement, with a glance to Ye-jin, because surely Ye-jin is a helpful force in this situation.

And in a santa hat, there's -- "Fumiko!" Mikoto waves to her, too, her cheer steadier this time around. She's excited to see her! "Yup! It's party time!" She agrees, happily, not quite realising that it's not ''entirely'' an answer to Fumiko's question. Mikoto has always been casual about things like being on time, as someone who tends to time things by the position of the sun more than the numbers in the corner of her phone. (That's the time, Mikoto.)

A compatriot in green emerges -- "Christmas! Christmas! Fuu!" Mikoto echoes Fuu, cheerfully. There is ''absolutely'' a presents table. And there is a present being ''delivered'' to the presents table: Mikoto grabs a cupcake and bounces over to offer it to Fuu forthwith. "Yup! All cords are right, too!" One might get the impression that Mikoto got tangled up in cords trying to figure out which ones to plug in where. This is entirely the correct impression. Technology is hard.

Also hard: coming back to Ohtori, sometimes. Not that Mikoto thought about that -- when she and Georgia were planning, she got a ''great idea,'' and didn't interrogate it in the slightest. She's glad to see Chitose entering in, and maybe one day will even make the connection between old conversations and this situation, but today it's just: "Chitose! Chitose!" Mikoto bounces on her heels, waving to her, too. "It's not late! It's afternoon still! It's party time!"

(Mikoto apparently missed the memo on teenage parties happening at night, but it's fine, they have a ''location'' this way.)

Since Fuu reminded her of her ''technological achievements,'' Mikoto proceeds to bound over to the television, and all the gadgets wired up to it. "There's party games!" She proclaims, with Great Pride, as if this is what makes a Proper Party. (Well, didn't the talent scouts of Juuban just demonstrate party games to Mikoto..? Perhaps it's no wonder she's learned the correct action.)

"It's music, but it's game," she explains, helpfully, holding up a guitar with buttons where the fret board ought to be. "Umm, there's instructions --" She proceeds to fiddle with a controller for a while, only to hand it over to Georgia so ''she'' can get them to the tutorial level, instead, because technology is hard.

Maybe Georgia has a better explanation for why they'd want to make a game out of music, anyway..!

<Pose Tracker> Georgia Jenks [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikoto thinking Georgia's sweater is in fact ''cool'' is why the two of them are such good friends! She opens her mouth to say something, but is interrupted by the sudden arrival of the first party guest -- Ye-jin Song! Georgia whirls around, mouth still open, her grin fading just a bit. Ye-jin maybe not be her favorite person -- she finds her to be a bit bossy, given her position -- but she ''did'' help them secure this space. Even if she ''did'' just make a comment about needing a bigger budget to splurge for ''another'' TV. Georgia pauses for a moment, letting Mikoto bounce around and greet everyone else, before responding to the Vice Pres directly.

"Ah! Well... we only need one TV I think. I'm glad we have more than enough snacks, yeah?" There. That was a perfectly nice response to give to that in particular. Nodding, she turns away from Ye-jin to go over and commence in greeting all the newcomers.

"Hey hey everyone!" She mimics Ye-jin's jazz hands unconsciously, then, as if realizing this, drops her hands suddenly, settling for a wide smile instead. "Merry Christmas! Glad you could all make it!"

She then takes Fuu's hands and squeezes them lightly. "Yeah! Thanks again for your help!" Her eyes did ''not'' miss the fact that Niramo brought more snacks in the form of cookies!!! She shoots the girl an appreciative wink, and after letting go of Fuu's hands turns to give Fumiko a big thumps up in response to her query. "Yep! You're right on-"

And ''that's'' when she spots Shizuru, the ''former'' Vice President!!! Georgia blinks. "...time!" She finishes her sentence, shocked to see someone like Shizuru present. She holds a hand up and gives her an awkward wave and a smile. "W-Welcome! Glad you could make it!" And from the looks of things Shizuru is not the ''only'' non-high schooler to show up, Chitose seemingly rounding out the guests for now. Georgia gives her a wave, even if she may not be as familiar with her as Mikoto is. "Yeah! Welcome!"

Mikoto starts to mess around with the guitar controller for the game, which brings Georgia over. Of course, she gets the controller passed to her, and nods cheerfully as she starts to cycle through the options. "Alright... I think I have it ready to go!" She chimes, turning to wave at everyone. "Whoever wants to play step up!"

On the screen behind her is the name of the song in question: Oasis -- Wonderwall.

<Pose Tracker> Shizuru Fujino [Ohtori Academy (U)] has posed.

Shizuru :)s at Mikoto. It's nice. She doesn't chop anything. Instead she smiles at Georgia's surprise, not at all awkward. "Of course," she says, "I would hardly miss it."

On the other hand there's not a ''chance'' of getting Shizuru to go play the pretend instruments. No, she has a much btter, much different jobfor herself for the moment, and that's this:

Good luck, players. Shizuru Fujino is watching. Pleasantly. Almost placidly.

"This should be fun," she indicates. But it's not like it could be an order. That wouldn't make any sense.

<Pose Tracker> Fumiko Inoue [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Fumiko makes a slight groan as her legs begin to wobble. "Hey um... where... where do the gifts go?" She immediately wobbles off to where she is told, placing the box down and sighing. "Phew... been carrying that for a looong time."

She then looks through the room for the first time. "Wow," she says cheerfully. "Quite a turnout! So many of my friends are here! I'm glad I didn't miss it. And... Rock Band? Hm.... I don't know, a little tired from lugging that thing through the entire school. Maybe next round?"

<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Leave it to Ye-jin to question if this was the whole party setup or not. Then again, this party is taking place at Ohtori. If you don't overdo it, it's not worth doing should be a motto of the school. "Hey Ye-jin-san!"

Niramo waves a hand towards Fumiko as she arrives, carrying an almost comically oversized present, though it likely won't be seen. "Hey Fumiko-chan! You're looking good there!"

The Archer from Infinity arrives and apparently had a hand in the gaming setup? At least from what she could guess, anyways. But before Niramo could call out in greetings, she's suddendly the target of a full force hug from Mikoto, causing the ravenette to laugh before returning the hug. "Gaaaah, glad to hear it then! Setting this up must have taken you a while, Georgia-san, Mikoto-san?" Niramo flashes her own smile at Georgia in response

Freeing herself from Mikoto's grasp, Niramo makes her way over to the present table to place her own present down, a slim white package wrapped in red ribbon. Snacks were being enjoyed and Georgia and Mikoto seems to have the game getting ready to go. Slipping over to Fumiko, she waves again now that she can be properly seen. "If I had known you had such a big present, I could of come with you to help!"

But the mention of the game being ready is quick to distract Niramo, and she hurriedly walks on over to grab an instrument controller. Her expertise lies in older 'retro' games but she's played enough at the arcade to know how to play a fake guitar. She nods and places her fingers on the buttons...but something seems to be off. What Niramo had thought to be a guitar was instead a colorful saxophone.

The ravenette stares blankly at the controller for a few seconds as she processes this before the song starts to play, and she quickly scrambles to play as the notes come flying. Results are...varied, to say the least. "Totally picking up the triangle next song. That's so much simplier!"

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Eri arrives late, she's not wearing an ''ugly'' Christmas sweater per se, but she is wearing a green cashmere sweater to get in the mood for the season as well as a patterned red skirt and leggings. Her woven bag slung over her shoulder.

And in her hands a wrapped box. Obviously her Secret Santa gift??? Maybe.

If one looks closely it has holes. What? Though if one peaks they'll just see wrapping paper on the inside.

To those that witness her coming in, a wave, and a finger to her lips is all the greeting she gets, as if trying to be discreet about her late entry.

She does ''not'' drop off her gift, keeping it safely in her care, as she gives the rock band setup a curious glance... pausing as she examines it.

"Has the Dog Drug Reinforcement spread?"

She asks with a sense of mystified wonder.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Fuu is very, very careful not to let the sudden sinking feeling in her stomach get anywhere *near* showing up on her face, but the realization that she's probably obligated to play the game - which she implicitly helped select, if not in actuality - is about as inescapable as some of the more vicious monsters the Wind Knight has helped do battle against ... and far less susceptible to a well-placed arrow or carefully-focused spell, to boot.

Well, there's no help for it, is there? And the song Mikoto's managed to select, to judge by the preview loop, does sound relatively manageable, even for the less musically-inclined. Fuu does, indeed, step up, and selects the keytar; at least those don't require strumming as well as chording, right?

"You're quite right, Shizuru-senpai," Fuu says with a smile. "A game that isn't fun to play isn't any good." A moment later, the song starts for real, and Fuu turns her full attention to the precarious task of Not Failing Out. She *does* get into the song itself pretty well, although nodding her head and swaying in time with the beat may just be a tool to help keep the rhythm; her "playing" isn't perfect, but she hits considerably more notes than she whiffs.

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Niramo-chan." Ye-jin greets the smaller girl in return, smiling pleasantly, doing the same for the rest of the guests that arrive. "Shizuru-san, it's nice to see you." Ye-jin smiles even more brightly at her predecessor, waving her hand cheerfully toward the older girl. Despite Mikoto's nervousness Ye-jin seems happy enough with Shizuru's presence, and perhaps this is a good sign.

She continues to nibble at her crepe as Georgia demonstrates the wonders of video games, though Ye-jin herself seems fairly uninterested in the game, at least until she spies one of her favorite devices lying around with the controllers: A small plastic microphone.

The Vice-President lays her crepe carefully aside, wrapping it in a napkin and dusting her hands before reaching down to pick up the microphone and tap it several times.

Then, after that short warning, she launches into song. Which is, though amateur, not bad. She's on-key, she gets the words right, and Georgia will note her English is pretty good-not that the videogame cares very much. She gets points, according to the game, but she's singing more by her own rules than the algorithm-approved ones.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Maybe Mikoto just has older friends! She did mention Chitose, so maybe she just failed to mention Shizuru. Even though Mikoto seemed surprised to see Shizuru, too...

She helpfully shows Fumiko to the Present Table, of course. And soon, her attention's on Georgia!

The game helpfully flashes up with a tutorial on ''how to play it,'' which essentially boils down to: hit the correctly-coloured button when the prompt comes up on screen. The twist comes in ''where'' those buttons are, because they change based on what instrument is being wielded. The guitar has buttons on the fret board... the drums have coloured patches to hit with sticks... the triangle has coloured patches to hit with a stick, but it's an entirely different feel to the drums... the saxophone (there is a SAXOPHONE) has buttons on the little finger-pedals, which assuredly have a name, and which Mikoto assuredly does not know the name of.

Band Together apparently has some really ''wild'' peripherals.

Mikoto assures herself that she should ''not'' feel nervous about Shizuru as the young woman sits back to watch them. She has a sudden brainwave: can Shizuru be disarmed with ''snacks?'' Surely even Shizuru would not deny the power of homecooked snacks, and so Mikoto bustles over to snatch up a sugar cookie and goes to offer it to her. "Here!" She says, and it's definitely not nervousness which has her hurrying off to one of the Pretend Guitars forthwith.

"Ah!" Mikoto exclaims, when the extremely sneaky Eri reveals herself. "Yup! But this one's ''instruments,'' not dancing! It's still music!" Mikoto sounds enthusiastic about the idea of ''music games,'' without realising that she's rather put some of her friends on the spot about it. "It'll be fun!" She echoes Fuu, cheerfully, and --

Well, Mikoto is in no way a Pro Gamer, and ''also'' isn't much of a musician. But she's having ''fun'' hitting the buttons as the screen asks her to, and once she figures out the tune of the song, she hums along. Unlike Ye-jin, she doesn't ''sing,'' because Mikoto's understanding of English is much poorer. Of course, because she doesn't understand English very well, she doesn't understand the ''significance'' of those lyrics...

"Passed!" Mikoto reads out the successful level completion message, triumphantly. "We did it!" But she's noticed the people sitting back and ''not'' playing too -- Mikoto is doing her best to be Aware of Persons -- so she puts the guitar down, for the moment.

"Hey," she says, instead, "wanna give gifts?"

Mikoto bustles over to the Present Table, and pulls out... a very long and flat-wrapped thing, all floppy-floppy in her hands but for a weight at the end. Here she hops to Fumiko, and offers it to her -- and she will find, on the unwrapping, that it is a long, fancy rainbow ribbon on a stick. "I don't really get gymnastics," Mikoto explains, scratching at an ear with a shade of self-consciousness. "But I looked it up, and they had ribbons and stuff... so I thought Fumiko might like that!" It seems that she remembered the clubs Fumiko claimed membership of, back during that Juuban party.

<Pose Tracker> Fumiko Inoue [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Fumiko is content to just watch everyone else play fake instruments, while she nibbles on some snacks. Towards the end, however, she nods along with everyone else, a big smile on her face. When the song was over, she gives a loud applause and cheer. "Good job everyone! You did amazing! I should've joined in, but watching and listening was fun!"

The time came to open presents. Fumiko tears into hers, to reveal the ribbon on a stick that Mikoto got her. "Wow, thank you very much Mikoto!" She gives a polite bow, before twirling the ribbon around. "It is very pretty! I love it! Now, your turn."

Fumiko picks up the heavy box she got for Mikoto and hands it to her. When opened, it reveals a very large crock pot. "I know you really like food, so I thought... maybe... you'd like this? To be honest, you were quite the mystery to shop for, and... um... I hope you like it. If not... I... can return it..." Suddenly Fumiko looks very shy and self-conscious. "...I'm... not amazing at the 'secret Santa' thing..."

<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Niramo's certain that if she had a guitar in her hands, she could have easily played well enough to the beat of the music. The different layout and shape of the saxophone controller is playing havoc with her muscle memory, and Niramo's having to teach herself how to play a new insturment while everyone is watching AND two players joining her in the song! Be it luck, skill or a mixture of the two, Niramo manages to pass the song as well. Sighing in relief, she flashes a thumbs up towards Ye-jin and Mikoto. "Good work, everyone!"

And presents are to be handed out now! Setting the controller aside and heading towards the table, Niramo slips over to where she placed the slim present and walks to her Secret Santa receivee, Georgia. "I wasn't quite sure what to get you, but after asking around and finding out you played the drums...well, here."

Inside the box is a pair of polished rosewood drumsticks, light bouncing off the reflective finish. Along with that is a cushioned black drumstick bag to store them in. "I thought maybe something besides some regular drumsticks would work, so I hope you enjoy them, Georgia-san!"

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"You're quite good, Ye-jin-san," Fuu says in a tone both approving and appreciative. "And your English is more skilled than most of our classmates ..." There's a sheepish note to her voice as she acknowledges Ye-jin's fluency. But the time for exchanging presents has been declared, which is as good an excuse as any to set the keytar down and retrieve the bag she brought in.

A bag which, very shortly thereafter, is being offered to Ye-jin. "I wasn't sure what to get you that would be 'fun,'" Fuu admits, "so I went with 'useful.' You might not actually need it that much, but I hope it helps in your ongoing studies all the same." The bag holds a relatively stout paperback book, and unfolding the colorful paper from around it reveals the book's nature - a college-level English-Japanese dictionary.

<Pose Tracker> Georgia Jenks [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Georgia stands back and watches those who decide to join in play the game. It's pretty entertaining! And she has to admit that Ye-jin's English and singing is impressive. She bites her lip, as if she's fighting back the urge to say something. When the song ends and points are accumulated, she ''slowly'' moves to to Ye-jin and places a hand on the girl's shoulder. Her face has turned into one of seriousness. What could she be about to say?!

"Ye-jin-san... Have you considered joining the Music Club? We need singers..."

OH. Well! Georgia nods slowly, then lets go of Ye-jin's shoulder, turning away to head for the presents table since it seems as though it's time for the Secret Santa Gift Exchange. She plucks her gift up off the table and whirls around to face Niramo, who also has a gift of her own for Georgia!

"Oh! Alright! You first then!" She sets her gift back down and receives the one from Niramo, opening it up to find some ''very'' nice and polished drumsticks!

"Oh wow! Niramo-san this is excellent! I was just thinking to myself the other day that I needed a new set!" She wastes no time sweeping the girl up into a hug, before letting her go and setting her new sticks aside. Grabbing her gift, wrapped in some ''very'' yellow and polka-dot-filled paper. "Ta da! A birdie told me you'd like this!"

Niramo, upon unwrapping her gift, would find it to be a figurine! But not just any figurine -- it's Space Cadet Koko, the brave space-faring magical girl herself!

<Pose Tracker> Shizuru Fujino [Ohtori Academy (U)] has posed.

"And likewise," Shizuru answers Ye-jin warmly(?). She regards Fuu pleasantly as well, when she answers her statement. Her gift, of course, is already on the table. Who gets Shizuru's gift? Well, that's a mystery. Maybe no one. Maybe someone???

"Why, thank you," she says to Mikoto, and promptly dips the cookie in tea that she found somewhere. That's what you do with cookies, right? Of course it is.

She pleasantly watches the present-doing but makes no move to join in at the moment.

She is probably having a good time.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"So it is to... instruments, what DDR is to dancing..."

Eri considers this for a moment, then gives a slow nod at Mikoto. She would never, ever in a million years imply that DDR is not dancing.

Yet she knows in her heart of hearts, that she can't dance, despite dozens of hours on that pad.

Still she watches the musicians have fun at the rhythm game, and finds herself tapping her foot at the rhythm.

"Huh, the VP can really sing..."

Eri puts a finger to her chin, one handing her box as she considers how well Mai would stack up to her in a challenge.

Her bet is on Mai, though Ye-Jin's English skills might put them over the edge.

As gifts start being handed out, Eri hangs back for a while...

... though careful observers might note her bending down and saying something quiet to the giftbox that's meant for a certain someone.

What a weirdo!

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Once Ye-jin has finished her singing she sets her microphone down. She seems satisfied with her work, and the amount of points and stars on screen. She claps her hands together politely for the rest of the band, noting: "How fun."

"Thank you, Jenks-san, Hououji-san. Maybe I'll visit music club later." Ye-jin does enjoy being complemented. But she's not having too much fun to not return to her crepe. She nibbles a moment more before a buzz from the small bag she brought with her draws her attention. A moment later, after she's fished out her phone, she frowns.

Ye-jin picks up the gold-ribboned package from the table she left it at, stepping over to present it to Fuu. "Here you go, Hououji-san." She says, passing off the present with a toothy smile. "I hope you find something you like." She'll find inside the small package, past the big gold ribbon and decorative black case, is a sedate looking plastic card. Further inspection will reveal it to be a gift card for Yodobashi Camera, the gigantic electronic outlet and Akihabara landmark.

There's no written indication of its value, but Fuu will find, if she uses it, there's a credit of 22,000 yen on it. Because nobody told Ye-jin about things like spending limits.

"Oh?" Ye-jin takes a look inside her own bag, examining the contents. "Ah." She doesn't seem especially enthused, but manages a quick smile soon enough. "Thank you, I'm sure it'll be useful. I'm glad you noticed, I've been working hard!"

And with that, it comes time to depart. "Have fun with your party, Mikoto-chan, Jenks-san. I'm sorry I have to leave early." Ye-jin makes her exit after, pausing at the door to turn and wave like the celebrity that she imagines she is. "Byeeee~" She croons, one final farewell before she vanishes out of the classroom.

<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Niramo smiles softly to herself as Georgia approves of the new set of drumsticks, happy that her gift is exactly what was needed. The hug was unexpected but Niramo returns it with gusto. "I'm just happy I found a good set. I don't know the first thing about playing music, so-...oh, right!"

Packaging paper goes flying as it's precious present was revealed to the light, revealing Space Cadet Koko, winking with a large smile and her laser pistol raised victoriously in one hand. Squealing slightly, Georgia gets a surprise hug of her own, with Koko held carefully in a free hand. "Yes, I been looking everywhere for her! She came out recently and has been so hard to find. Thank you, Georgia-san!"

And it seems Ye-jin is having to make her way out just as presents were being passed out. Niramo lets go of Georgia after a second and waves to the Dance Captain. "Take care, Ye-jin-san!"

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Thank you very much," Fuu responds politely, even before she's seen that it's a gift card. She was hoping to avoid giving a gift card to anyone .... although it seems like her choice of present fell a little flat. If she'd known (or remembered) that Ye-jin is already pretty good with English ...

Well, it's done. And she'll be appropriately flattered (if not flattened) when she finds out how much is on that gift card Ye-jin gave her. For now, the gift card is tucked away, and Fuu turns her attention to the food table - tacitly letting somebody else take a turn on the game's keytar, in the meantime.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto hefts the heavy box...! Luckily, Mikoto is used to carrying heavy things. She is also used to ''unveiling'' heavy things, so a few moments of frenzied wrapping attacking later, the present is revealed to be: A MYSTICAL BASIN OF FOOD PREPARATION.

"It's slow cooking pot!" Mikoto exclaims, with glee, despite her inability to remember what it's ''called.'' (The fact that she does not stop to read the text on the box and just looks at the picture may well say a thousand words.) "Me and Mai needed this! It's pot for making rice ''all day!'' If I put things in, I can make good food, too... maybe, ''I'' can make food when ''Mai'' gets home!!" This is apparently such a magical concept that Mikoto's eyes have gone big as saucerbowls again, considering the ''miracle of the crock pot.''

There's a beat of this marvelling, before Mikoto remembers to say ''out loud:'' "I like it lots!"

She's just as enthused to see everyone else's gifts, with all the quick thinking they've done. The truth is, they put everyone's names in a hat, and drew them out at random. That's the true spirit of a 'Secret Santa', right..? Everyone seems to be enjoying it!

Even Shizuru...? Maybe Mikoto will find her gift at the end of all this. An odd number of gifts is bound to stand out. But it's probably fine, because there's no red cord on any of these.

Eri has a gift which makes Mikoto's ears twitch, but she doesn't call attention to it. She has faith in Eri..!

(Mikoto still remembers Ye-jin coming to karaoke with her and Mai, so she knows very well how fine Ye-jin's singing skills are, and how they shape up to Mai's. Mikoto, of course, is a biased reporter on these facts, so perhaps it's just as well she sees no reason to bring them up.)

"Ah -- Ye-jin's leaving..?" She sounds a little disappointed, given the fact that Ye-jin is Mikoto's friend who is ''definitely'' nice and not mean. "It's okay!" She assures her, in the next breath, waving cheerfully. "See you!"

Shizuru, who was unexpected, doesn't seem to have a gift to be given. It would be easy to just let this slide, given how Shizuru just kind of showed up, but... after wrestling with the particulars in her mind for a few moments too long, Mikoto wheels back over to the snack table and retrieves one of those little bags of roasted chestnuts, and ferries it over to Shizuru and her tea. (Where did she get tea? Did they make tea? Maybe the tea just coalesced from nowhere. It's Ohtori, after all.) "There's lots of snacks," she tells her, "so eat up!" A beat, and she adds: "Okay?"

Well, Mikoto is ''trying her best.''

<Pose Tracker> Shizuru Fujino [Ohtori Academy (U)] has posed.

The miracle of the crock-pot...

As Ye-jin leaves, Shizuru waves cheerfully(?) as if she had been invited in the first place. As if all this were totally normal. She observes the giving of gifts, the presents of cheer... and there is no red ribbon at all.

But when Mikoto returns to Shizuru, Shizuru accepts the package of chestnuts with both hands, setting down her tea (having finished her cookie) to take it. "How kind," she answers. "I'm sure these will be delicious. But I brought something for you, too."

Shizuru takes the nuts, and walks over to the present table, where she lifts with one hand the nice wrapped box that she brought. "This is for you," she tells Mikoto. "I hope you like it."

And she waits.

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

Chitose smiles at Mikoto "That's great, thank you Mikoto." When the younger girl heads away, Chitose continues her warm smiles for a moment before she... moves in closer to the party. Chitose's not the best in large groups, but she still wants to be at least experiencing the party.

Which is why she's not moving to really do anything with the band stuff. She's never enjoyed singing, and she wasn't really much of a game player anymore, so any attempts for her to enjoy it may not be the best. Plus, there are other people having more fun using it than she would be, so everything works out.

That doesn't really stop her from watching it, though. She's pretty interested in how everything works. The instruments are stylized, of course, but how is the game rating Song's singing? Chitose's English is pretty good, but she's not sure she's understanding the lyrics. Or maybe the music itself.

She's watching this even when people start giving gifts. It's not until she sees Eri talk to her box that Chitose remembers that she too has a box. The older girl turns and walks over to Eri. "Oh, Eri-san, I think this is yours." And she hands Eri her gift.

If Eri opens it, she'll see that she now has a new pair of winter gloves. Not mittens, but they're some balance of warmth, comfort, and style.

They're also more expensive than not. Fancy gloves, but not high-society gloves.

"I think I promised to buy you a new pair of gloves a while back, so here you go~" She smiles at Eri.

<Pose Tracker> Fumiko Inoue [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Fumiko quickly goes from unsure to excited as she notes Mikoto's positive reaction to her gift. "I'm so glad you like it! My mom wanted me to get you something like a necklace or a hat, but I don't know your style very well and wasn't sure you'd like such a gift, so... happy it all worked out!" She then looks over to the band game, and ponders playing a round. "Anyone else still interested in rocking out?"

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The pair of gloves is accepted with a smile.

"Ah. That's right." Quieter, "That feels like a lifetime ago."

There's a softness in that voice, like she feels touched that she remembers.

And then, after a moment, Eri holds out the box.

"Well... I doubt I can outdo that... but this is yours."

Eri keeps a hold on the box, but allows Chitose to open it in mid-air. Assuming she undoes the ribbon and lifts the lid.

There's a sound like a soft yawn. Then a motion, as two...

... paws...

Crest the side of the box. And the head of an orange tabby cat, with the fuzziest ears peeks out. Around her neck is a ribbon with a fake but well made blossom of a red Azalea, with Green to compliment it - hanging slightly crooked and loose.

Looks at Chitose and...

Miii~

Makes a call her way.

"Fuku would like to wish you, a very Merry Christmas... and to offer you this humble gift."

Reaching out, she unties it. And hands the hair ribbon over to her.

"I felt this might complement your braid nicely."

The kitten watches the motion, turning at the neck to follow the hand offering the ribbon, reaching out to bat at the dangling strands.

"You need not accept the messenger as your gift... unless..."

A twinkling in her eyes.

"... you felt inclined to adopt?"

<Pose Tracker> Georgia Jenks [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Georgia beams when Niramo sees her present and sweeps her up into a hug. "Haha! Yeah! It was kinda tough to find but I managed to snag one of the last ones in this one shop!" Thankfully she didn't have to fight anyone ''for'' the last Koko figurine. That would've been really bad.

"Oh, see you Ye-jin- san!" Georgia says with her own wave thrown to the departing Vice President. "And yeah! Come check out the club anytime!" Maybe... just maybe... Ye-jin isn't so bad after all? Georgia lets out a happy sigh, taking her drumsticks and drumming the air with them enthusiastically. She's ''very'' happy needless to say!

"Ooh Mikoto-chan! That pot is cool!" She says upon seeing Mikoto's present from Fumiko. And then, Shizuru comes over with... another gift for Mikoto!

"Oh wow! Two gifts Mikoto-chan! Lucky, lucky!"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto stops to think for a moment, before she tells Fumiko: "I like this way better than a necklace." Hers was a pendant, but... it's quite similar, isn't it? Similar enough to unnerve her, at least, though it's a subtle touch amidst her cheer. "So Fumiko was definitely right!" She hums affirmation to Fumiko's question, but first... she has someone else to check on.

She is no stranger to gifts! Behold her astounding crock-pot, which she has placed carefully on a chair so it won't get in anyone's way! Check out those beads on her braids, and if she were to pull her phone out, it would be in a ''very'' comfy case. But when she comes to offer kindness to Shizuru, what Mikoto ''doesn't'' expect is her having brought a gift for... "Me?" Mikoto asks, pointing to herself with a baffled expression.

She trails after Shizuru, too curious to be suspicious. How did Shizuru know to bring her a gift if she didn't know there was a party?! And when she receives the box, she opens it up...

One corner folds from the other corner, and there's a little ''thonk'' as the box itself falls to the ground. What was inside is held delicately in those slender imperial fingers, and the surprise on Mikoto's face is a distaff cousin to delight, in that both involve her eyes widening. "Ah..."

In her hands is an ''adorable'' little stuffed oni, a big spiked club in hands which would be massive if it weren't so small. The spikes are, of course, just firmer material. It is a cute little stuffed animal, all black and red where she is dressed in green and white, as if the plan all along was to unite the two of them together.

It's not an ''exact'' match, but it doesn't need to be.

This cute little stuffed animal is a message about Miroku, and not the sword hiding in a case all leant on the side of the wall over there.

Mikoto swallows.

She gives it a little squeeze, and smiles to Shizuru. "It's... it's really cute," she tells her, a little more quietly. She echoes Georgia, gratefully: "I'm lucky. Um..."

Her ears twitch again. Mikoto has heard a familiar little ''mii,'' and her good friend Fuku frees Mikoto from having to ask Shizuru why she thought to give her a gift like this in public. She was about to, you know. Mikoto doesn't think these things through.

Luckily, that means she gets to turn and grin, calling out: "Fuku! It's Fuku! Chitose, you gonna give Fuku an all-the-time home? He's really nice! He loves sleeping on people!" She's all eagerness again, and in the process even hugs the little oni to her chest, as if it were a very mean and spiky cat.

(Maybe all things are just degrees of separation from being a cat.)

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Meanwhile Eri out of the corner of her eyes gives Shizuru this surreptitious look which roughly translates to...

'''Really''?'

She doesn't look ''upset'' per se, it just might be the equivalent of a mildly exasperated sigh.

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

Chitose opens the box and opens it, not at all expecting what laid within...

She smiles as the tiny cat pops out of the box, and as Eri offers her the initial ribbon, Chitose's eyes look bright as she accepts the ribbon and tries to tie it on her hair, right at the base of her braid. There's a moment of Chitose taking her eyes off of the kitten, as if looking behind her to try and keep it on.

Then, she focuses directly on the cat, leaning in close and smiling at him. "Thank you, Fuku."

With that, Chitose gently picks up the box with Fuku inside, and raises him up with her as she rights back up. "Oh, Eri-san, he's wonderful."

She looks over at Mikoto, and smiles at her as she explains. Seems like she knows him. "Oh, yes. We'll take good care of him, don't worry about that. Thank you." And with that, she holds a finger up near Fuku's head, to let him get used to her before she took him home. Her family will love him, she's certain.

Chitose does feel a sense of relief. For a brief moment, she thought she had gone overboard with her purchase for a party like this, but now she feels it's almost too little.

<Pose Tracker> Shizuru Fujino [Ohtori Academy (U)] has posed.

Shizuru beams. "I'm glad you like it." And then she looks to ''kitten'' who is suddenly making miis, and lifts an eyebrow. Hello little kitten. Stealing the moment...

She looks innocent at Eri, as if she has no idea what she means, and comes over to observe Kitten. Fuku!

"Well, what an adorable messenger." She has tea again. For some reason.

She does not even start to answer Mikoto's question, or even acknowledge that there was anything other than pleasure at a gift.

And Fuku has a ''home''. Isn't that nice? Heartwarming.

<Pose Tracker> Georgia Jenks [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Georgia's eyes widen upon seeing what Shizuru gifts Mikoto. "Oh wow that is ''really'' heckin' cute!" Georgia exclaims, reaching down to poke the little Oni doll in the side. "Did you make this yourself?" She asks, looking up at Shizuru with a look of pure admiration. Handmade gifts were always a way to get Georgia to like you, fyi.

Then Chitose is gifted a ''kitten'' And actual kitten! Georgia blinks, and then hearing Mikoto shout the animal's name, quickly puts two and two together and laughs. "Oh yeah!"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The little kitten has ''certainly'' stolen the moment, and all the questions therein. This doesn't make the questions go away! There's just a cat now, which is more important. This is Mikoto's wisdom.

The oni doll is eminently pokeable. It's soft and cuddly!

Mikoto beams, when Chitose declares she has ''accepted Fuku.'' Of course, this means Fuku won't be hanging around Ohtori any more, but Mikoto can surely still see him if she visits ''Chitose.'' And now he'll be safe, because: "Forever home! Forever home! Fuku's got a forever home!" Where did Mikoto learn phrasing like that? Well, she is part of the Animal Care Club these days.

Luckily, with cats on their side, Mikoto will surely be very powerful at musical games. That's how this works.

2021-09-10 - Revealing Resentment! Is Conflagria Hungry For Power..?

2021-09-12T03:01:07Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: it's important dark fall tech to be mad at all the other generals

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Revealing Resentment! Is Conflagria Hungry For Power..?'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto and Yumi decorate Yumi's dorm for Christmas, and get to talking about the Ogre who attacked. Yumi sparks Mikoto's memory, and she and Tama give Yumi another perspective on the Hungry Queen's operations.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Yumi Ohzora]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Infinity Institute - Dorms
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-09-10 - 2015-12-04
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Even this early in December, storefronts have gotten into the Christmas spirit; it's a very lucrative holiday, particularly amongst the young and the lovestruck. Of course, this means that everywhere in Tokyo, Christmas ''displays'' are starting to go up. Lights on the front of townhouses, displays in commercial windows -- an everpresent, unnerving presence of Christmas-themed gnomes.

Students might live in dorms, but that's no reason for ''them'' not to get in on a little goodnatured decorating, either; particularly not the artistically-inclined.

ENTER: YUMI'S DORM

AND AN ENTIRE BOX OF CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS.

Also, Mikoto is here. She's fairly-well dwarfed by the box as she leans in to rummage through it, and when she emerges, there's tinsel caught about her hair and head alongside the sprigs of plastic she holds up. "... it's winterberries," She remarks, wrinkling her nose. "Why'd they say 'holly'?"

(Mikoto, you see, doesn't realise they're the same thing.)

She shrugs, and merrily hands them to Yumi to affix by the window; ''she's'' far too short to reach, but Yumi possesses that singular superpower of defeating high shelves ''without'' scrambling up onto the cupboards. She is decorated for the occasion, too, with those strings of beads Nori gave her to affix to her braids; she never bothered changing out of her school uniform before leaving for Infinity, so it's a splash of colour atop that yellow which suits her eyes so well. Miroku's case, of course, is leaning near the door. It's involved, but in a cool, detached sort of way.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

The youth... and the lovestruck. Or maybe those who ''want'' to be lovestruck. With Christmas approaching Yumi is conscious of romance, and she's definitely been on the lookout. But also, on the lookout for Christmas-themed gnomes! Witches and gnomes go back a long way, as it happens. A very long way.

"Same thing!" Yumi replies helpfully to Mikoto over the matter of winterberries and holly, and moves to place the decoration up by the window, making use of her considerable height to do so with ease. She barely has to stand up in fact. And in the meantime she has brought some other decorations, too--she has a lot that were there, and there is, on the table, a little series of... whimsical... gnomes.

That's real. That's happening, whether Miroku likes it or not.

"This is nice, right?" Yumi says, regarding her handiwork thoughtfully. She isn't having to exert herself a lot to put up decorations, which is nice; she likes to make sure her spaces are decked out for whatever holiday or event is next.

She is likewise still in uniform, nonregulation green tights and all! But not shoes. She is in her dorm, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto has been giving those gnomes some baleful looks. It's a good thing Yumi is used to protecting things from 'mysteriously' falling off shelves 'for no reason'. What dark sorceries have they laid upon Yumi such that she would invite them into her house?!

(It's Yumi inviting in dark sorceries, sure.)

Mikoto doesn't much understand the romantic undertones of the holiday; it was hardly relevant to her for most of her life. She thinks of things a certain way, like how the holly are winterberries as far as she's concerned. "Huuuh," she grunts, reflective, when Yumi informs her that half a dozen of one is indeed six of the other.

The tinsel falls over her face, all a-tickle-tickle at her nose. It wrinkles, and she sneezes, only to laugh at the entire sequence. "... yup!" She decides, with certainty. "I like Christmas!" There's hot pot! And shiny tinsel! And snowballs!

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi is good at dark sorcery! And at keeping her gnomes from destruction. Could she lovebeam a gnome...?

"Mm-hm," Yumi confirms when Mikoto huhhs, and then laughs a little when the tinsel falls and she sneezes. It's funny to her, too. "I do too," Yumi answers amiably. "It's nice, even if it's cold. But that's just more excuse to put on sweaters and blankets and use the kotatsu..."
Yumi, too, can appreciate cold. Even if it's... cold.

"...But before I talk about what ''I'' like about Christmas--are you sure you're OK after the other day? You flew pretty far.."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Perhaps the only reason the gnomes are safe is a certain girl's discouragement of using Miroku in the dorms. Apparently that's how holes happen in walls. But there aren't even any holes in their dorm walls any more!

At least the gnomes are safe... for now.

''But Mikoto has her eye on them.''

Luckily, right now she has other things to think about. Such as: "Kotatsu! Kotatsu!" Mikoto echoes Yumi, excitedly, all straightening up on her heels and hands balling up in front of her. "Kotatsu, kotatsu!" That probably means Mikoto agrees with Yumi's take on the cold.

Or at least with the kotatsu. Sometimes it's hard to tell.

(Mikoto doesn't much like being cold.)

Her whole body kind of cants to the side as her head tilts, considering Yumi's question, with a rising tone of a noise behind her teeth. It's a perfect pronunciation of: "...?"

After a moment, Mikoto laughs, again, straightening up. "Don't worry, Yumi! That happens lots!" Her assurance is entirely confident. "I know how to fall good, so I'm okay!" Besides, she landed in the water! Wait, sailing that far actually makes it worse..? Well, good thing Mikoto doesn't think to mention that detail, then. Her face proceeds to scrunch up a bit, tone dropping to something a touch more serious, as her hands come to rest between her criss-crossed legs. "That thing was weird, though... the Ogre." That it's also strange she can enter that focused contemplation immediately after laughing isn't something Mikoto comments on at this time, or ever, really.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

No Miroku use in the dorms!! Yumi doesn't want that much either. Miroku is...

Well, Miroku isn't ''nice'', but Miroku is welcome. Holes in walls not so much.

So, with her gnomes safe, Yumi smiles at Mikoto's reaction, because that's about how she feels about the kotatsu, or the more portable version of the kotatsu: the friend to lean on you while watching cooking shows.

But the question...

"Oh, good," Yumi says. "yeah, you're pretty tough--I guess you bounce, huh?" she says with a little laugh, which is actually a little jealous because Yumi has healthy ideas about endurance. "As long as you're OK, that's what counts."

A pause. "Yeah, it was pretty weird, wasn't it?" Yumi thinks. "And I was sure there was someone else there..."

Speaking of someone else, Tama apparently snoozes away in the other window.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's fine, Miroku is in its case, the walls are safe.

FOR NOW.

Mikoto hums affirmation at Yumi's guess, with a little braid-bouncing nod. (They make noises with the beads! Mikoto now comes with sound effects.) She's very tough, so it's okay!

Less okay: Ogres. "It looked kinda like Miroku, but different. That's why Yumi was worried, right..?" Mikoto scowls, with a hint of embarrassment, glancing aside. "I was surprised..." Maybe it's embarrassing for a warrior like her to let her guard down like that.

She scratches at an ear, self-conscious, before she looks back to the other girl. "Why's Yumi say that?" She prompts, on the subject of someone ''else.''

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

FOR NOW.

"I was worried because you were knocked off into the ocean!" Yumi insists, only a little grumpily over Mikoto's embarassment. "It's normal to worry when your friend falls in the ocean." That's obviously why she was worried. But, "...Also because you're pretty tough, and that it was strong enough to catch you off-guard..." Well, that's obviously not normal! So it's fine. But Mikoto looks back at her and--

"Well, i thought I sensed another person around, and then it mentioned a name before it ended--"

"Conflagria," says the cat.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto shakes her head, with a little whine characteristic of her frustration over not making herself understood. "I mean before," she elaborates. "When Yumi was worried about Miroku." Mikoto thought it was obvious! Doesn't ''everyone'' always have a few brain cells devoted to thinking about Miroku?

Maybe don't answer that one.

She ''is'' pretty tough, though, so an Ogre being strong enough to do that is plenty notable enough. And --

And it turns out Tama isn't sleeping at all.

Remember those baleful looks Mikoto was giving the gnomes when they were getting the decorations out? Her expression now isn't ''so'' distaff from that, clouds all gathering over her expression as her lips tug down and her nostrils flare in a derisive snort. There's a noise in her throat which drags her tongue to the floor of her mouth, all gutteral, all grumpy.

"I don't like her," Mikoto grouses, folding her arms. "She's the Hungry Queen's woman... always made me uncomfortable. And she's ''rude.''" There are certain implications in that construction, foremost the idea that Mikoto has ''met'' Conflagria, and it ''didn't go well.'' Maybe it's not so hard to imagine. How ''does'' Dark Fall get along with each other with the personalities it tends to attract..? That is an excellent question Mikoto does not remember enough to answer, but it seems Yumi can jog her memory ''this'' much, at least.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Oh!" Yumi gets it after. "Yes," she says. "I was worried about that too, though... you've mentioned it's not the same, so I try not to worry too much about it." That it's not the same situation. That Miroku isn't the same as the Ogres--which Tama seems at least willing to humor.

Yumi sure notices the funny look--well, not-so-funny--that that name gets. And Tama turns her green eyes to regard Mikoto as she discusses the woman. There are implications...

"I see," Yumi says. "That would make sense, if she's summoning Ogres--right?"

"Ogres can be called by those outside the Hungry Queen's service," Tama demurs. "But usually they just eat the summoner."

A pause. "...The Hungry Queen has tempted many mortals with fortune, power, whatever wishes they might like fulfilled. It would not surprise me if she has servants now of that nature; she has in the past."

"Huh," Yumi says. "So it's not just the Ogres, huh...?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Not just?" Mikoto echoes, with a quizzical expression. Her lips all scrunch up as she thinks very hard, head tilting to the ceiling. "Buuut... I don't really remember Ogres doing stuff. The Hungry Queen had ''people.'' Kinda like me, but..." She lifts a hand, to wave it, as she tries to piece through the fog in her mind.

What else bothers her about that statement..? Something about her...

She hums frustration through her lips, and settles on what must be different: "I didn't have help." This feels entirely true. Mikoto was working on her own, unlike so many of the dark unions under the Demon Kings.

"I never asked why Conflagria was like that... it was awkward. But I guess she's powerful, so maybe it's about power..? Mm..." Something about that doesn't feel quite right, like a misattribution error, but Mikoto can't put her finger on why.

She's uncomfortable operating in the twilight of her memory, at least; that much is obvious. It's unnerving to know she doesn't know things.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Oh, yeah?" Yumi asks. "I haven't exactly seen the Hungry Queen's... operations, outside of Ogres showing up to eat people." Something about her.... didn't have help. "Mm, yeah."

"Ogres are ancient spirits of the earth, corrupted and bound. They are 'help' if what you want is destruction. They are not very good at other tasks." This is Tama, naturally, who rises from her perch at the window and streeeeetches big, tail up.

"Maybe she's just a jerk," Yumi says. "You kinda have to be a jerk to be up for summoning things that eat people and then having them actually eat people, you know? Like if I were going to summon up minions, they'd be... nice minions! Good minions!"

"Uh-huh," Tama replies.

"Anyway maybe it is about power. Thanks, Mikoto-chan--you remembering that helps. It means I definitely have to plan to deal with people. To summon an Ogre she must be a powerful witch..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"It's... fancy," is the word Mikoto settles on, when Yumi wonders about the Hungry Queen's ''operations.'' She sounds vaguely unnerved by the description.

Or maybe by the woman she's describing.

She never met her ''personally,'' Mikoto would surely ''remember'' someone like her -- but it still makes sense she'd be wary, doesn't it? She had to mind her manners amongst her erstwhile allies, and while she could defend herself just fine against people like Conflagria without raising any eyebrows, Dark Fall has a much more rigid hierarchy than the girls of Tokyo. The Hungry Queen was simply a bigger fish than Mikoto ever was.

It's a creepy sort of feeling... is that why she's shivering, all a sudden?

Mikoto frowns, scratching at her cheek. "We were all... jerks, Yumi," she echoes the word, uncertainly. "Dark Fall's not good. Even the nice people feel bad... one girl..." She trails off, remembering the sleepy child, and shakes her head with a noise of dismissal. Mikoto just stood aside... so she doesn't feel she has any place to talk about what she remembers of her.

She does manage to smile a little when Yumi thanks her, at least. "Yeah. But Yumi handled me, so you can deal with Dark Generals, right? Conflagria's not powerful like me, but Yumi'd know more about witch stuff, so Yumi can deal with her sort of power!" Mikoto thinks, for a moment, and nods firmly as she folds her arms back down to issue her turncoat advice: "Curse her to be quiet. Yeah, that works."

... Mikoto ''really'' didn't get along with some of the other enforcers in Dark Fall, huh?

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Fancy. That would seem appropriate for a Queen, wouldn't it?

"...Hey..." Yumi sets down the next decoration and steps closer to her friend instead, leaning down to enwrap Mikoto in a hug.

"Hey," she says. "You were. But that's in the past, now. You've helped a lot of people, too. And you do what you can."

Not powerful like Mikoto... Yeah. Mikoto's pretty powerful. "Right. I know my witchcraft! I can figure her out, too. I'll just have to be on the lookout for her, too." Curse her to be quiet...

Well, Yumi can't really complain.

"It's OK. For now, we've got decorations to put up, right?"

Tama watches Mikoto for a longer few moments, before she hops down, and walks beside her, brushing against her leg in passing.

"...You do have... decorations to put up." A pause. "Bring me a tree to climb."

Tama saunters off.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto didn't think her malaise was so obvious, which is really just a small part of the larger tragedy that Mikoto is flatly incapable of hiding how she feels about anything. She is ''distressingly'' honest. She remained honest even when she was lying to everyone; everything aside from the content of her words painted a particular picture about how she handled life in Dark Fall.

Which might be why she didn't get along well with most of the people in Dark Fall, really. Mikoto put all her energy into learning how to fight, and none at all into social defence. But the same thing which caused her problems in Dark Fall is a boon in Tokyo, where her friends have no interest in taking advantage of her true feelings. It takes Mikoto a moment to mentally shift back to ''that'' reality -- a moment where Yumi finds her stiff in her arms, arms all folded, elbows drawn in -- before she sinks in against her, wrapping her arms around Yumi's waist.

(Mikoto is very warm. It's like she's always ready to run a marathon, even when she's been sitting down putting decorations up for so long... but maybe she just possesses the true spirit of kotatsu comfort.)

She can at least give her good advice, even if it takes her a moment to shake off those last little cobwebs of spite. Yumi can surely ''feel'' the way Mikoto relaxes more when Tama brushes past, assuring her that there is a cat who is surely present. "Mm!" Mikoto nods, against Yumi, before she straightens up out of the puddle of Mikoto oozing over the other girl. "We still gotta do the tree, Yumi!" She pauses, and adds: "Yumi's gonna have to put the star on... it's too small for me to climb good."

This, of course, implying that Mikoto has already beheld the plastic tree and determined whether she can scale it.

Climbing is important, after all!!

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi can imagine exactly how well Mikoto got along in Dark Fall society--because she imagines it similar to certain aspects of witch society, for some reason that she doesn't particularly seek to examine at the moment. Yumi has skills that Mikoto doesn't, and she is willing to wait through that moment of stiffness. She has long appreciated Mikoto's warmth, because she doesn't much like being cold either. Among other reasons.

Little cowbebs of spite... Yes. Yumi notices Tama being ''nice'' to Mikoto and smiles as a result, straightening too--to note, "Yes!" she says. "I can do that~! Besides, it's important to get the angle just right," she says. "So it looks the same across the room..."

Of course Mikoto has already attempted to climb the tree. Tama will have an easier time of it. Tama, who after brushing past Mikoto, stops in the entryway to watch the two girls for a little while too.

Her tail flicks lazily, thoughtfully as she does.

"Okay though, but you gotta get out the box, it's too heavy for me..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Yumi can do that..? That's good magic!" Mikoto, that isn't-- actually, you know what, that's totally magic, it's Christmas star magic, it counts. She looks absolutely fascinated by the idea that something can look the same ''up close'' and ''far away.'' Mikoto's idea of far away might be different to Yumi's, but it's all the same within the confines of a dorm room which only has so much space.

Mikoto is very good at climbing trees, but not, perhaps, the types which are small enough to fit indoors. She might seem entirely graceful in her arboreal environment, but did you know Mikoto was once betrayed by a branch ''breaking off underneath her?'' Even Mikoto can be surprised by the turncoat betrayal of trees.

Wait, no, don't think about it like that, it's fine. See? Even Tama doesn't think Mikoto is bad, she thinks; see, she's even sticking around to see what they do. And Yumi likes her, too! Mikoto's okay, and the nice thing is that when she tells herself that, she can actually ''believe'' it.

It's a little strange that she can go from such a gloomy expression to smiling so warmly within a few minutes, but that's just the labile nature of Mikoto.

"'Kay!" She chirps, brightly, when Yumi admits it's too heavy for her. "I'll set it up! And there's the shiny stuff, the, theeee --" Mikoto rocks back and forth for a moment as she tries to remember what it's ''called'' before she realises it's still around her shoulders, and holds up the shiny tinsel she shook off her head not so long ago. "It's crinkly!" She explains, cheerfully, as if this explains precisely why the tinsel is so important.

(Mikoto knows that cats cannot resist tinsel. Perhaps not even Tama...)

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

It's Christmas star magic! Yumi won't argue the point, though it's not really the supernatural kind of magic. It's fine, though. But then, Yumi's idea of close up and far away depends on her eyeglasses...

Mikoto is sadly fenced in by things like 'the laws of physics' when it comes to climbing, especially when branches break. But Tama and Mikoto...

What Tama thinks is mysterious, but she has shown her affection. So Mikoto's OK. Yumi definitely likes her.

"Great!" Yumi says, "And it's called tinsel! Funny name, right? Tin-sel. No tin in it or anything, but still." It's crinkly! Yumi accepts some of it from Mikoto as she holds it up, and a certain cat... watches it.

She will bat at it later. In private.

And Yumi... Yumi will worry a little about Mikoto, and look for a way to help her keep feeling better. And think about... Conflagria...

2021-07-14 - These... Are The Crystal Lights!

2021-08-08T06:12:37Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: i can keep up with chasing up logs for uploading, i swear

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: These... Are The Crystal Lights!'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Rei and Steven decorate the beach house for Christmas.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Steven Universe]], [[Rei Hino]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Tokyo Bay
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-07-14 - 2015-12-08
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Oh boy, its Christmas!

THe holiday near the end of the year is one of the very few that appears to be the exact same as in Beach City, Delmarva, and beyond! Well, except for a family tradition involving KFC. Wonder why that is? Not that Steven will complain! He likes the mac and cheese.

But that can wait, there is a MUCH more important task at hand! Boxes and boxes of Christmas decor has been hauled out of the ancient, mouldering ttroves of eclectic treasures known as Amethyst's room. The boxes in various conditions, from good, solid square, to some sort of vague beanbag chair shape. Either getting wet, or crushed by heavy weights, or just used in combat for unknown reasons.

Most of the good stuff has withstood the test of Gem, with a few porcelain santa gnomes having cracks or pieces fallen off.

One unfortunate soul has lost a nose. ''The horror''. But even with the gristly Christmas gnome scene, the home is in high spirits! Jingle Bell Rock currently plays on an old FM radio and cassette player. Hooked up to a small set of speakers in strategic spots in the house, the sound fills the two-story bungalow with cheer. Small trays of fresh gingerbread cookies are splayed out for anyone. (This is a Universe tradition in the holidays; just have good food out to snatch each time you pass by the counter!)

But this isnt the only person that will be present though soon, as Steven needs help from nice, tall friends who can reach high shelves! Also cool people to hang out with too.

Lion is also about too, though when dozens of boxes appeared out of a room, he disappeared. The boy assumes he is in a box, but is unsure which.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Rei, as it turns out, is ''reasonably sized.'' Not quite model-tall, the way Nori is, but her five-foot-three is perfectly respectable for reaching up onto shelves. This is not to mention the extra height she gets from her shoes, which she is quite expert at utilising.

Christmas is a surprisingly secular holiday, in Japan; the viewing of Christmas lights is a well-loved tradition, amongst the youth of Tokyo. And so, when it comes to setting up these structures--!!

"Hiii~!" Rei waves over her head as she approaches from the sands, in a tartan-striped skirt and green leggings, a deeply fashionable red cardigan, ''a headband with a Christmas tree emblazoned on one side.'' "Sorry I'm late!" Rei might not, in fact, be ''that'' late; there was just a little happening at the shrine. It's fine!

She comes up to the bungalow, beholding those various sets of boxes. "Looks like you've already made a good start!" She encourages him, just the way she'd encouraged him to decorate when she first heard of this idea. Rei is, it turns out, surprisingly supportive to the younger denizens of the city, even if she yells at certain ''other'' figures in her life. Eyes falling on the cookies -- "Wow! Is that gingerbread?" Rei, much like a friend who shall not be named... has priorities..?

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

A voice rings from outside the screen door! "Ooooh, comiiing!" he says. What greens Rei however is not Steven, but rather a ball of tangled christmas light cords vaguely shaped like Steven. "Hiii! I'm helping!" a small boy's voice comes from the cord. Either this is a sudden and disturbing turn of Steven's powers, or he might be in a bit of a pickle.

"Yes it is!" the boy says, waddling back inside the house, a rainbow of colored lights trailing behind him. "Feel free to have some! It just came out of the oven like, thirty minutes ago!"

Hands attempt to part the lights tangled around Steven's head so he can see. "Where do you wanna start?" The tree is up in the living room, back lacks msot decorations. There are spots made in the house to support stringed lights, as well as plenty of area to make the outside of the home light up.

Lastly, looks like there are recipes and ingredients to make mint cocoa bombs to give to people with gift mugs! Some sort of small gift handout!

So many activities...

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Ah-- hello, Christmas lights!" Rei corrects herself, quickly. "Need a hand?" She'll pick up a conspicuous pile near the top; it's a ''little'' tangled, but Rei, who has dealt with her share of cords despite the lack of technology in her house, is quick to untangle it. Perhaps it will help Steven see a little better!

And when they come to THE COOKIES, and Steven so kindly offers, well, ''obviously'' Rei has to grab one and pop it in her mouth. Munch, munch, swallow... "Hey! These are ''good!''" Rei is something of a cookie conniseur; evidently, Steven's meet her very high standards.

(Okay, they're not that high. Still good gingerbread, though.)

"You've got a lot ahead of you, huh?" Rei asks, looking out over the tree and the living room. She looks down at the lights in her arm, and taps a finger to her chin with her other hand. "Hmm... let's decorate outside first! If we leave it for later, it will get chilly!" That's Rei's foresight forecast.

She does notice the recipe, though. "Oh, are you going to cook something else up?" She asks, pointing out the mugs.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Some of the cords get lifted off of Steven, and suddenly he can see the light! The Christmas kind, not the other kind. "Oof, thanks! I was becoming a cyborg, I think. I heard the humming of the lights kinda!"

"Thaaanks! I made them with the family when the yehard you and others might stop by! Some are also for friends dad knows, but there is a ton left over." Mostly to keep Amethyst from eating all of them in one go so they reach their intended targets.

"Yeeeaaahhh," he says, flopping on the ground by a box as he reaches for more cords to untangle. A pink snoot pokes out of a nearby cardboard 'bed'. "Yeah! Good idea! We got stepladders and plenty of extension cords!" Rei may have seen hooks already installed in the wood beams to hold the lights. Plenty of spots to plug them in are provided.

Steven heads for the door, still trailing more cords than a computer server room. "We gonna light everything up!"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Just be sure not to become a ghost in the shell," Rei reminds him, cheerfully. "Otherwise, I'd have to exorcise you!" She laughs at her own joke, even though ''that's not what that phrase means, Rei.''

She smiles, as Steven mentions why he made those gifts. "I'm sure everyone will love it!" She says; despite apologising for being ''late,'' Rei may, in fact, be quite ''early.'' Is this the power of a perfectionist..?

Rei smiles, to the pink snoot. Seems Steven's cat is having fun.

"Good thinking! Extension cords are very important," Rei agrees, as she trails Steven out. (She reaches down to pick up a trailing cord before it can catch on the door on the way out.) Once she gets out to the glorious front of the bungalow, she looks up, with a deeply contemplative expression.

"This house... is a canvas!" Rei decides, and tries to slap a fist into her opposite hand, only to get a bit tangled up in cords. "A--ahem," she plays it off, as she shakes the trail out to begin untangling it. "I mean -- it is a unique opportunity to be creative," she says, as she carefully uncouples two lights. "It almost makes me wonder whether I should take advantage of it... you know! Get everyone designing light shows!"

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

"I won't be a ghost, promise! I don't like exercise anyway." He... might have gotten the word wrong. But he will still endeavor to not become the shell ghost!

No one is late at the Universe household, everyone shows up right when they are needed... or whatever that cool line is Greg says sometimes when he is ''actually'' late. "We got uh, the power strip things to plug them in together with. It is made for workshop environments and can take a lot of stuff!" A small hand points down to a bright yellow and gray 12-slot strip. It looks heavy, and has metal framework.

"I didnt think of a design! We can do those?!" Steven exclaims toward Rei. "Augh, I didnt even think of setting one up! Uh, quick! Where do I find those? What are we gonna do?!"

The small pile of poofy hair, wires, and what looks like a thick christmas sweater is starting to have a better shape as the lines are pulled from him.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Ex-''or''-cise!" Rei enunciates, clearly. "It means to force ghosts to leave a place." Or a person, but Steven is, like, twelve. There's no need to scare him with the idea that there is a skeleton inside of him right now. Halloween was ''so'' last week.

She looks down, to find the power board. "Oh! Good!" Rei decides, as she continues disentangling cords. She listens to his excitement, and can't help but giggle, which is absolutely an expression Rei ''can'' wear, when she's not fronting in front of everyone.

"There are all sorts of things you can do with lights! Some people choose to light up signs or cut-outs, and other people make choices about what colours to put where... sometimes you can even program the lights to flash on and off in patterns by twisting the bulbs!" Rei is creating nice, neat little coils of light-strings; they're not quite ''Pearl'' neat, but it's better than the discordant pile poor Steven's been hefting about.

"... what colours do you think would look best here at night?" Rei prompts him, after a moment.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

"OHHHHHH," Steven replies with. "Okay, yeah that makes more sense with you! I was gonna ask whe nyou started to do lots of exercise and stuff when you said that!" Another braid of lights gets pulled out from the pile coiled around him. These ones are light blue!

The extender looks like it is high grade. Surely it won't cause any issue! Looks brand new too. Possibly the only thing new here at least to soem degree. If the lights go out that is fine. If the house burns down, well, no more lights!

"Wait wait wait, people can program these lights to do stuff? Like what? Do you plug it into a computer? ...Flashing might not be good by the beach, I don't know if it would look good. Hrm..."

A look toward Rei as he pries out a set of standard lights, no special colors. "I uh, well maybe christmas colors? Or like, rainbow colors? Dad bought strings of lights colored after the others, could do that too. They are here somewhere!"

But where exactly?

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"I-- I get plenty of exercise!!" Rei can't help but insist, with a huff. "I'm a shining star of the Archery Club, you know!" Let's not mention Rei's terrifying skills with a bicycle. That way surely leads only to pain.

Rei happens to come from a fire shrine, so she surely knows all about fire safety. It's fiiine.

"I mean... I suppose you could use a computer? Perhaps Fuu-chan would know..." Rei is caught up in wondering for a moment, before she crouches down with a light to demonstrate. "But if you twist the light around a little -- in the types where you can -- it changes how the light displays. Just don't twist it too much, or you'll remove the bulb!"

She looks out, over the ocean, as she straightens up. "But okay -- no flashing." She doesn't ''think'' Steven's house will be misinterpreted as a lighthouse, but stranger things have happened around this particular boy. "Oh, coloured after the others? Let's have a look!"

Rei proceeds to studiously check all the piles of lights she has disentangled for the Correct Colours.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Did he accidentally confuse her with Usagi? Oh, he might have!

''He can never let Rei know.''

"RIght! I know that," Steven says, sounding a little timid suddenly, but still holding to his task! Where did the gang get so many lights? Did they string up the entire statue one time or something? ...It sure feels like it. "Oooooh, she does know a lot about programming! Maybe I can get her to come over! See if she can hook up stuff to the lights."

He wonders if Fuu is busy. He hasn't seen her in a while now..

Among the piles there are myriad colors and patterns, some are multicolor, some change colors or seem to. There is also a set that look like fish for some reason.

But out of the colors, besides classic white, there are light blues, pinks, magentas and purples. Multiple lines of them! Whatever these were used for, they were the main colors. "Yeah, those!"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Rei and Usagi are nothing alike!! Just ignore the way she zeroed in on those cookies first thing!!

Luckily, Rei is a future-reader, not a mind-reader, so she can't complain. "I'm sure she'd love to!" Rei encourages Steven about Fuu, instead.

Amidst her piles, she eventually finds the 'other's' colours; of course, she's familiar with the colour scheme of the CRYSTAL GEMS, though the full extent of why is a carefully-kept secret. (But surely Rei knows about Steven's many moms, even as a shrine maiden. After all, she visits sometimes!)

"All right!" Rei declares, in triumph, as she holds aloft a string of magneta lights. "It's time to give this house the colours which suit it!"

One might get the impression that Rei is raring to help Steven with this ''all on her lonesome,'' but if other people show up to help them later, well, it's probably for the best. Rei can't actually do everything herself! No matter what Rei says.

2021-08-04 - The Family Business Is No Dancing Cat, and Other Complex Calculations

2021-08-07T06:18:40Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: 'ye-jin, did you know the dark magical girl support group meets on thursdays? you didn't? well i'm just putting that out there' -- mikoto minagi 2k15

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: The Family Business Is No Dancing Cat, and Other Complex Calculations'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Ye-jin helps Mikoto with her maths homework. Mikoto hears out Ye-jin's hopes and dreams. The lies they tell each other can't quite obscure just how similar they are. An ancient conspiracy, from a certain perspective, is certainly a family business.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Ye-jin Song]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy - Gardens
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-08-04 - 2015-12-11
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

There's a nice garden, out here in Ohtori -- which could describe any part of Ohtori, disconnected from time and space by the liminal space of the roses which remain in bloom no matter the frost over the island. They climb up the lattices of the gazebo, as the shade of clouds pass the ground. They creep into the shaded alcove, all white carvings coiled around, red as blood.

On the bench is perched a girl who has never much cared for roses, when it comes to bushes to sit under. Too prickly, Mikoto thinks, though she's crashed through a few to retrieve her cat friends. One of them sits next to her on the bench, pawing at the papers on her lap, as Mikoto stares at them with a shuddering intensity.

Much like the black-and-white yearling, Mori, Mikoto does not understand mathematics. But finals ''are'' coming up, with a frightening quickness, and Mai isn't the only one having to study furiously all a sudden. She writes a number down on the sheet, only to scrawl it out a moment later.

She rolls a sound from the back of her throat up to her teeth, as she throws her head back in despair. "This was easier when I didn't care about it," Mikoto grumbles, to Mori, as she tilts her pencil towards her.

Mori immediately bites the eraser.

Mikoto makes an affirmative noise, as if she has just said the most sensible thing in the world.

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

While there are many who stalk the grounds of Ohtori Academy, traversing its marble halls and well-groomed gardens, there are few who can do so as ferociously as the Student Council's Vice-President. With a heavy coat thrown over her uniform and a pair of clompy boots, Ye-jin Song's arrival is heralded by the stomping of grass as she makes her way through the gardens.

Thankfully, it is not Mikoto Minagi who is the subject of her wrath today. Unfortunately, she is still a bystander. It is not long before, in passing, Ye-jin glances up from the stack of papers in her and turns her gaze upon the dutifully working mathematician and her cat companion.

"Mikoto!" She says, in a tone that indicates the following conversation may go poorly. "What are you doing?"

She asks this both like it isn't obvious and also like it may or may not be a crime, depending on the answer that she's given.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto would rather be a cattematician...

Her ear twitches; she can hear the acrid undertones in Ye-jin's greeting, and there's this little duck of her head, pencil flicking back in towards her. A complex series of calculations goes on in her head, instead, as she tries to figure out whether she's angry at being spoken to like that, or whether she's done something to deserve it. "... Ye-jin!" Mikoto replies, with a lag for all those processes, and her cheerful greeting is built on an uncertain foundation.

Mori isn't quite as mired in Mikoto's brain as she is, and immediately hisses at the rude lady and leaps over Mikoto's lap, bounding off into the rosebushes. Mikoto watches her leave, and wonders what she knows that Mikoto doesn't.

Her gaze comes back to Ye-jin, and she holds up one of the papers, shaking it a little demonstratively. "Today's homework is hard, so I was trying to figure it out." Mikoto applying herself academically is new, of course. It was only from August that she even started ''coming'' to class more than once in a blue moon. Now she barely skips class at all!

Except for when she's having a catnap with her friends and sleeps through classes, but this is not about that.

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Ye-jin too watches the cat go, her eyes following the animal until it disappears into the rosebushes. She's unsure if this is something she should (or can) be mad about. She decides, eventually, to turn her attention back to Mikoto.

"Homework?" She asks, her tone changing to something a touch more curious. Homework must not have been the answer she expected, despite it being the obvious one. She's not used to Mikoto doing classwork, which is enough to distract her from her rampage. For now.

"What is it?" Ye-jin asks, shaking the papers in her own hand before she takes a few steps over to squint at the markings Mikoto has made on her paper.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

To be fair, Mori doesn't like strangers, period. To be extra fair, Mori catches Ye-jin's number immediately and wants nothing to do with anything she's selling. To be triply fair, can anyone really say they've just been sassed by a cat? Mikoto's cat friends aren't mooncats or staff-guarding cats. They're just normal cats!

(That's what passes for Mikoto's normal friends, apparently. Every cat in Tokyo. No one knows where she obtained this dread cat friendship power. Some girls in Ohtori are only waiting for the day she unleashes her cat army to conquer the world.)

Mikoto, who did NOT have the sense to run off into a thorny rosebush immediately, bobs her head with an affirmative grunt at Ye-jin's question, instead. She's relieved that this was apparently the ''correct answer,'' because Ye-jin doesn't seem quite as irate as she was a moment prior. "It's maths," Mikoto explains, holding it up so Ye-jin can examine the horrors of algebra.

... which really shouldn't be tripping Mikoto up, given she's in eleventh grade, but she did skip an AWFUL amount of class before this.

"I don't really get it... but Afro-sensei said if I didn't do it right again, I'd have to stay back after class." Mikoto sounds vaguely baffled by the concept of 'detention,' possibly because whenever someone tried that on her before she just jumped out the window and left. She wrinkles her nose, and explains that, in her fashion: "I don't see why I should, but Kasagami's trying to help me, so if I ignore the teachers she'll be mad at me." Oh, is that how Mikoto has been catching back up to good academic graces? ''Secretary power?''

Or maybe makeup work is just Kasagami's true evil. Either/or.

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Well you're not allowed to have pets in the garden." Says Ye-jin, briefly remembering something she can be angry about.

Thankfully it doesn't last very long, and after a moment she's peering at Mikoto's homework. She does look vaguely disappointed when she discovers its math and not English, since this doesn't afford her the chance to immediately show off. Still, the work is simple enough that she can engage in her favorite activity:

"This is wrong." She says, stabbing a finger at Mikoto's work.

"Give me your pencil." Ye-jin's palm extends imperiously, awaiting the gift that she's demanded. She flips some of her papers over in the meantime, finding a blank surface to begin scribbling on once she's given her due.

"It's like this, see?" She pauses before continuing, asking, "When did you start paying attention to schoolwork, anyway?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Mori's not my pet," Mikoto corrects Ye-jin, smiling. "She's my friend! I don't know if she has any forever humans." On account of her technically being a stray cat, Mikoto isn't ''technically'' breaking any rules.

She almost certainly picked up 'Forever Humans' from her new club, though. Imagine a vicious creature like Mikoto tending to the gentle beasts of Animal Care Club?

Being fair, Mikoto struggles with English just as much as Maths, but her ''English'' homework is safely ensconced in that little pink backpack which shares shoulder real estate with the much longer, more ominous black case propped up over there. She blinks those big, gold eyes as Ye-jin says her numbers are wrong, and doesn't seem to find anything unusual about the way she makes her demands a moment later. Mikoto hands over her pencil without complaint, because Ye-jin is helping her, after all.

(This isn't a new concept to her.)

She leaaans over to inspect the numbers when Ye-jin asks her to see, blink-blink-blink. "Oh," Mikoto says. "I didn't know that worked..." Mikoto hasn't done much mathematics in her life, perhaps.

Before she can ask Ye-jin about her strange number tricks, though, Ye-jin has a question of her own. Mikoto tilts her head, a hand to her chin. "Ummm.... August," she says, once she places the dates. "After everyone --"

Mikoto blinks, as she realises she has almost ''broken the unspoken rule of not involving normal people,'' and she looks suitably abashed as her hand lowers down to her chest. "Um, I had some stuff going on, but... then I came back to live with Mai again!" NICE SAVE, MIKOTO. "And after that, I could think more about my future... and what I wanted to do! Mai's working hard to get into university, so I thought I can work hard, too!" Her cheer has returned in full force by the end of her explanation, perhaps entirely on account of Mai featuring in the sentence.

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Mmm." Says Ye-jin, a noise that indicates that this answer is sufficient. She continues to scribble out figures, sometimes taking longer than others, but generally getting things right. She points them out as she goes, too focused on the numbers in front of her to maintain her irritation for much longer than a few more minutes.

"And what are you going to do with your future?" She asks, her eyes slanting over toward the HiME across from her.

"Something you need good grades for?" She sounds almost incredulous about it, but there's a thread of genuine curiosity in there too.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Huuuh," Mikoto says, suitably impressed at the way Ye-jin actually makes the numbers go. Perhaps Ye-jin is a mathemagical girl...

(Mikoto is easily impressed by academics, given how little prowess she possesses.)

Mikoto's grins, broadly, when Ye-jin glances over to ask. "I wanna work with cats!" She insists, quite proudly. "I understand how they work better than lots of people... so I can help people get along with them better, too! Then there'll be less strays, and more cats who are happy all the time!" Her logic, in a sense, is unassailable. But Mikoto is so terrible at homework, and so ''good'' at...

... well...

Mikoto doesn't think Ye-jin knows about that, so she doesn't have any need to clarify why she doesn't wish to make fighting her life.

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"With cats." Ye-jin replies, lips pursing. "How simple." And very Mikoto.

Of course, there's only one future. It's shining and gold, and Ye-jin stares into a nearby hedge as she considers where such a simple, pleasant dream could possibly fit in it. Or how it will have to be extinguished.

"Then you'd better get better at math." She decides, returning from her reverie to address Mikoto again. She ignores those grim thoughts for now, sketching out a few more lines and numbers before letting the other girl take over once again.

"You'll need extra credit, too." The vice-president continues. "So you can help me with my fliers, when you're done." It's unclear how this translates to credit. Maybe there are Ye-jin credits.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Yup!" Mikoto says, cheerfully, as if something being simple is no insult at all.

She notices Ye-jin's silence, tilting her head as she watches her gaze slide off to the hedge. Mikoto makes a thoughtful noise, but doesn't interrupt. Instead, when Ye-jin comes back, Mikoto's face scrunches in a thoughtful frown, before she nods again. "I'll try hard!" She assures her, as she takes back her papers and pencil.

Mikoto considers all those numbers, as Ye-jin goes on. "...?" Mikoto vocalises, perfectly, as Ye-jin describes ''that'' as extra credit. It's not like she's unused to the idea, but... "Okay!" Mikoto accepts it, a moment later. Maybe she just doesn't know what she'll learn yet.

Mikoto looks back down to the numbers, and then back up to Ye-jin, again, as if she's going to ask a question about her arthimatic.

"What's Ye-jin wanna do when you grow up?" Mikoto asks, instead.

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto's question is something Ye-jin's thought about on several occasions, but it still gives her pause. Her fingers crinkle her stack of papers, thoughtfully flipping through pages while she decides on an answer.

"I..." She begins, hesitating for a second before continuing, "They want me to take over the family business. That's what my parents do, so they expect me to do it too." Papers crinkle as her fingers make themselves busy. "I want to make Grandpa happy. So I have to work hard."

"Maybe," She hedges, "When I'm done with that I'll be a dancer. That's what I'm the best at. Once I get everything done."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The hesitation isn't confusing at ''first,'' until Ye-jin explains just what plans are written for her. Mikoto blinks, looking down at her own papers. There's something a little downcast to her, as she says: "Oh..." ... even so, she wants to be a dancer...

Mikoto hums thoughtfully, through her lips, a hand curling at her chest. There's no jewellery there any more.

"... I was like that." Mikoto says, after a quiet moment. "The last thing Grandfather told me... was to find my Lord Brother, so we could..." Her head cants, as Mikoto tries to think of how to put it. "... take our place. We have an old, business..." It's not ''really'' a lie, in one sense of the word, but Mikoto still feels a little uncomfortable abstracting so much for Ye-jin's sake. "... so there's lots of pressure to bring it glory."

Mikoto doesn't enjoy indistinct pronouns, but she can't very well tell Ye-jin the glory is for Japan itself. It's not ''entirely'' a lie, she tells herself. If she could tell Ye-jin the truth, she would.

Maybe it makes sense Mikoto's family has an old-fashioned business, though, when she calls her older brother by such an old-fashioned word. 'Ani-ue' is archaic and formal and entirely unsuited to her usual simplicity.

"But... I realised I wasn't happy doing that," she goes on, after a moment more. "And if we wanted to succeed, um, our business, we'd have to make lots of people unhappy. Maybe that's just business..." Salarymen always seem terribly cross, to her eyes, so ''that's'' not really a lie either, is it? Her brief melancholy is interrupted by a smile, as she looks to Ye-jin. "But, I think I can find a better way! So... maybe Ye-jin's dancing will help, too! What we want matters, Ye-jin!" She sounds so sure about that...

<Pose Tracker> Ye-jin Song [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Ye-jin's attention remains on Mikoto as she explains about her brother, her family, and the expectations placed on her. It does sound similar, in a way. It's not something she knew about Mikoto either, not exactly.

It's something that Ye-jin considers, Mikoto's earnest assertion that what she wants matters. The wine-haired girl is silent for a few long moments, nothing coming save the crinkle of paper as he fingers flex against the stack of documents that she's placed in her lap.

"I want to make Grandpa happy." She repeats. "And if I can do that then everything will be okay. We can all have what we want." There's something about the words that sounds like she's trying to reassure Mikoto. Or maybe just herself.

"It's nice that you're happy, though." The words come almost unbidden, and Ye-jin herself seems vaguely surprised that she's said them. She's quick to correct course.

"But you should get better at Math. And come by my office later so I can give you things to do." She stands after that, putting herself back in order. "I'm going."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

There's something so achingly familiar to those words, that logic. But Mikoto still remembers Kasagami's reaction to what she thought of those rumours. Is she just hearing those things because Mikoto herself said them so sternly...?

One thing's for sure: Mikoto does not look reassured, concern worrying at the twist of her lip and the way her head ducks a little as she looks to her. She hums through her lips, again, as if she wants to say something and can't quite think of how.

But when that extra little detail slips out, ''that's'' what brings the smile back to her, perking up, sunny again. "Yup!" She agrees, happily, and Ye-jin's correction might not be as cutting as it could have been, because Mikoto just looks down at her papers and nods firmly. "Okay! I'll keep trying!"

She'll show up at Ye-jin's office completely unannounced, obviously. The one good thing about negotiating with the Mikoto terrorists may be that Mikoto is ''astoundingly'' good at getting flyers into improbable places. Is there anything she ''doesn't'' climb?!

(The unscalable wall of their differences, perhaps.)

"See you, Ye-jin!" Mikoto chirps, with that selfsame simplicity, and her legs swing under the bench as she lifts her pencil to attempt those sums a second time.

2021-08-06 - Hot Potbelly Ogre?! Yumi Shines For Hanae's Sake!

2021-08-07T06:12:45Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: there are no less than four of yumi's gears grinding forth in this scene and i want a medal

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Hot Potbelly Ogre?! Yumi Shines For Hanae's Sake!'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Yumi and Hanae invite some friends out for hot pot. An Ogre wasn't invited, but shows up anyway.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Yumi Ohzora]], Hanae Fujioka, [[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Eri Shimanouchi]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Fumiko Inoue]], Conflagria
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Uminari Seaside Park
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-08-06 - 2015-12-14
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Nabemono is the traditional winter dish of Japan. The broth is boiled in one big pot, and everyone gets together to take their favourite pieces; many a gathering has been written around Japan's hot pots. These are, of course, usually held inside, but...

Everyone knows today is supposed to be a lovely day, mild and sunny. That is to say -- everyone who watches the weather channel. That is to say -- everyone whose parents watch the weather channel. This happens to include the eleventh-grader Hanae Fujioka, flower of Infinity's swimming club and Yumi's former roommate, who happens to have just the camping gear for this situation.

Witness: the PORTABLE HOTPOT.

Uminari Seaside Park has some outdoor cooking facilities, though they're usually taken advantage of in the summer. This may well be a boon in disguise, because it means this forward-thinking party can take the choicest position by the bay, King Penguin overseeing their conference with an approving eye. Yumi and Hanae have invited friends and associates, of course -- this is the core tenant of hot pot -- and the pot bubbles over the cooking pit, cheerfully. It's not impossible for someone to drift in, drawn by the scent of boiled broth.

Let us note here, gently, that ''Hanae'' is the one attending the cooking pot. She knows Yumi better than to let her try.

One of those friends -- who may ''well'' have just drifted in on the scent of food, let's not discount it -- is Mikoto Minagi, who coils around Yumi with a hand lashed around her waist, in shameless affection. She spins on a heel as she unlatches herself, hands clasped up to her chin. "It smells good!"

There's a moment of distraction to Hanae, before she grins. "No touching 'til it's done. And don't even think about adding extra iron!" She points her ladle at Yumi, accusatorially.

It's the sort of companionable banter which characterises the wait for the HOT POT. There's still plenty of time for people to get here, too.

Today will be a good day..!

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi loves things that are warm in winter. She's the kind of girl who wears tights with her ''summer'' uniform half the time, because of how easily cold she gets, and hot pot is nice for everyone! ...But, for the record, it is ''absolutely'' for the best that Hanae is handling the hot pot rather than Yumi. Yumi's cooking is...

...legendary.

But Yumi is the giant beanstalk around which the party is gathered, ruffling Mikoto's hair a little idly before suddenly--

"Ohmmmuguh that was ONE TIME, Hana-chan!" Yumi complains, but she's not really particularly mad. She laughs a little despite herself or maybe at herself anyway. "...It ''does'' smell good..."

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Eri arrives shortly after Mikoto, her pace sedate as she walks up. Right now the day is mild and sunny, yet all the same, she's wearing a winter peacoat that's a muted dark grey, a checkered green scarf loosely hung around her neck to make allowances for the temperature, a pair of checkered green stockings, and boots.

"Now now... it's not nice to tease Yumi-chan about that."

Eri's holding a shopping bag at her side. "It was an honest mistake."

Eri says as she comes to her defense, which is perhaps a touch hypocritical as she's teased Yumi for it often enough in the past, "The only reason you're not teasing me for worse is because you didn't see ''my'' early efforts."

There's a glint of something in her glasses as the sunlight catches the lenses just right. "I made sure of that."

One can almost imagine her burying the evidence, literally.

"Anyhow I come bearing gifts. Presenting more fresh produce for the feast. Please take advantage of it."

As Eri hands over the shopping bag to Hana, containing all kinds of hotpot ready vegetables that have already been chopped up and prepped in separate containers.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

There's probably a saying about hot pot parties to the effect that "friendship is the best seasoning," or something along those lines. If there is, Fuu doesn't actually know it - but she's all too happy to help put the principle into action, showing up with a supply of ingredients that can be added to the pot.

Fish cakes, eggs (some hard-boiled in advance, some which will need to cook long enough to get there - the latter are still in their shells, natch, so be careful), chicken, pork ... clearly the archer wanted to make sure all bases were covered. "I probably should have asked what kind of broth you were planning around, Hanae-san," Fuu says apologetically as she offers the insulated bags. "But between these and Eri-san's offerings, there should be no way anyone leaves hungry today, right?"

Once she's delivered her burden to the cook in charge, Fuu turns her attention to the others. "Yumi-san, thank you again for letting me know about this party. Mikoto-san, Eri-san, how are you both doing? It's been a little while since we talked."

<Pose Tracker> Fumiko Inoue [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

What a surprise! No, not nabemono in the winter - that is traditional! But Fumiko being invited? When Yumi offers her an invitation after Drama Club, she gives a polite but calm "thank you very much, I will try to make it." However, as soon as she got home, she excitedly rants to her Kwami, Ressi, about how great this is to be invited to more things with more friends. At the mention of food, however, Ressi mysteriously senses danger and must come along in secret for Fumiko's own safety.

"Sorry I'm late," Fumiko exclaims, bowing to Yumi. She then stands up straight and waves to everyone. "Hello! I hope that bringing carrots was okay!" She pats a bag of groceries and smiles. "Pleased to meet you al- hey... I know you...~" She looks at a few of the girls she knows, and hopes they consider her a friend.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"And what about that time you decided to add bone chips to my omelette so it would have extra calcium?" Hanae accuses Yumi right back, a hand to her hip. "I'm not even going to mention the magnesium incident. ''You know what you did.''" When Eri comes to her defence, Hanae sighs a mighty sigh. Fuu and Fumiko have come to give her prizes too, though, and when she looks through the various bags of offerings, she grins. "All right, Yumi-chan, you're forgiven... on the basis of bribery!"

Hanae gets to adding the extra ingredients to the hot pot, humming cheerfully to herself. From her seated position, she has a great angle to watch as Yumi's friends mingle with each other; there's Fuu connecting with them in her usual polite fashion, there's Mikoto moving amongst them to hug ''Eri'' now, instead. Eri can joke around with them so easily, and she's even made friends with Fumiko, from Drama Club...

The smile on her face for a moment is as despairing as the cool winter sun, shining without warming. "What great friends," she says, quietly, and it might sound like encouragement.

Mikoto smiles, sunnily, to Fumiko. "Yup!" She chirps, and Hanae's conclusion seems entirely correct, in Mikoto's case; she seems as if she already considers herself friends with Fumiko. To Fuu, she surmises: "Good! There's nabemono!" ... well, it is Mikoto.

"It'll be ready soon!" Hanae calls out to assure everyone, her own cheer returning. "Just give me a little bit to add these extra in..."

But clouds must have fallen over the sun, up there -- because it gets a little shadier, all a sudden. With it comes the sudden urge to simply lie down... and have a nap. It's a ''great'' idea, except for the fact that ''everyone'' seems a little wobbly all a sudden, and -- well, there's at least ''someone'' here who recognises a sleeping spell, surely. The magical girls in the area will find within them the strength to resist, but Hanae -- a perfectly normal girl -- slumps away from the cooking pot, with a soft, understated "z".

Mikoto shakes off her own yawns, looking over to her in concern, and back to: "Yumi..?"

But it's not impossible for something to drift in, drawn by the scent of boiled broth.

BGM shift: SB YUNE - Dread of the Grave https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH0EpArEJRE

All a sudden, the ground... ''shakes.'' Pound-a-pound, once and again. From behind the obsfucating form of King Penguin's slide and over to the other side of the group leaps a figure three times the size of a man, tusks hanging long from his jaws, face all painted red and black. Patterns sprawl over his hanging belly, the vast claws which grasp two long bones like massive clubs. His chest is bare, and the loincloth about his legs is simple and stained by a dozen dropped meals.

Mikoto draws her blade from its case and charges him immediately; of course Yumi can expect her to defend her friends. (Yumi can expect this loyalty.) But that vast creature's twin clubs ''snap'' shut on Miroku's blade, just before it can make contact. "Rrrr--eh?" Mikoto's growling ends in a surprised noise, as she looks from the red-and-black face of the Ogre, down to the black sword Miroku, and back up to the Ogre. Blink, blink. In that momentary bafflement, the Ogre takes advantage of her confusion to spin rapidly about, and ''fling'' her off towards the bay. "WAAAaaaaahhhhh...!" Mikoto wails, as she disappears with a cheerful little ''*twinkle*''.

"GYAH HA HA!" The Ogre bellows, slapping a bone to his belly, with a deep and rakish laugh. "ME WANT... DINNER!" He brandishes one of his clubs, pointing it straight...

... at the sleeping form of Hanae.

The shockwave of his club lashing out to a point washes over everyone still standing, and with it is carried the stunning revelation that those tusks aren't just for decoration. Running away is a perfectly reasonable thought for any normal girl at this point -- and the playground behind them offers plenty of opportunities to hide. Or, for any girls occupied with secrecy, to transform.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi transforms into Youma Form Hot Potbelly Ogre!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 4 opponents!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used LET'S EAT on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi accepts Mikoto Minagi's LET'S EAT, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Empower and Surge applied to Mikoto Minagi!

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"You're welcome! The more the merrier, right?" Yumi waves a hand a little at Fuu as if to say it's all fine. "Besides, you sure did bring food. Hana-chan might actually not be hungry later..." She can totally get her back a little. Until--"Augh! The magnesium...!" But Eri--Eri, and her earlier efforts.

"Are you OK, Eri-chan?" Yumi says, putting the back of her hand to her forehead. "You're being awfully nice." A beat, "But bribery works."

Then a beaming smile to Fumiko as she apologizes for being late. "You're right on time! Carrots don't take that long to cook anyway, right?" ...Do they?? She really has no idea.

It is pretty nice; Yumi may not be doing a lot of the work, but she is happy with her efforts thus far. There are people here! She... doesn't notice Hanae's quieter words. Instead, she suddenly wobbles on her feet, and this is not so unusual to Yumi; she fights it immediately, putting out a hand for the closest person whose shoulder she can grab--Mikoto's--to push herself to a seat. But Mikoto looks to her in concern, and she notices--

"Hanae...?"

The ground shakes, and Yumi has a very bad feeling immediately. "Mikoto--" A wail. A twinkle. And then suddenly that deep laugh, the clubs...

Hanae.

"NO!"

Suddenly Yumi reaches out for her phone and taps a button--a staff pops into existence, white wood gently spiraled with a green crystal at its tip, and she lifts it up. "Staff of Lost Ivy--In my hand remembered be!"

She doesn't run. She doesn't back up. Instead she shimmers green, and her attire changes; uniform becomes a different kind of uniform, a black dress with green leather boots and gloves and boots, a pointed hat with a wide brim, and a braid of her gray hair all at once.

"Where are these spells coming from--"

She doesn't know, but she can't stop to think about it. She points her staff at the Ogre. "Know the agony of hunger unfulfilled! Hollow Curse!"

A green-black curse projectile rushes for the Ogre, and Yumi runs in front of Hanae to stand her ground before her friend.
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora transforms into Witch Ivy!
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora has used Hollow Curse on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi fails to brace Yumi Ohzora's Hollow Curse, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Diversion applied to Mikoto Minagi!

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"That is the idea... after all..." The corner of Eri's lips take on this mirthful tug as she answers Hanae's acceptance of her bribery, "... that is the Ohtori way." Before she looks Yumi's way and grins, "So - what, if I'm being nice - it must mean I'm falling ill? I ''am'' capable of it... from time to time."

Eri puts an arm around Mikoto as Mikoto comes to hug her. "Where's this coming from?" She gives her this fond look, before ruffling her hair, "Hai... Hai... I promise, I'm not about to run off anywhere..."

Eri gives Fuu a glance upright as she asks how she's doing, "Well... mostly I'm yearning for the Winter Break." She says with this coy look at her, "I certainly have plans enough once finals are over."

What are these plans? Why is she giving that look?

"Oh? And who is this now? Carrots? I'll have you know-" She says with a teasing tone as Fumiko greets them, "-I have high standards."

Hanae says it'll be ready soon, and Eri makes no effort to hover. It is not her kitchen space after all, nor is it her event to supervise. Seeming to enjoy just the privilege of being yet another guest...

She doesn't seem to notice the moment that they all become covered in shade. Until...

She puts a hand to her forehead, as if she suddenly feels just a touch light-headed. "That's odd." And then Hanae slumps...

"Ah."

Perhaps she's enough of a veteran ''now'' at least to understand the implications. The ground begins to shake, and squaring her stance, the ring on her hand vanishes, to reappear as a small ornate egg. With a flourishing spin, she transforms, as the leaves on the ground seem to rise up, trailing across her body. As they go, her clothing changes into her magical girl outfit. Until eventually she tugs a long green vine, laden with sharpened thorns out of the gem, which vanishes to reappear on a subtle barette in her hair.

And that's when she sees Mikoto's swing caught between two clubs. Usually when Mikoto swings at a thing, Eri has nothing to worry about. Yet this time...

"Fall b-!" She calls Mikoto's way, as if noticing just how grossly she underestimated the creature's strength... perhaps... for reasons.

All the same, she understands at least that Yumi's old roommate is under threat.

Leaping up as the shockwave hits the ground, she lands towards one of it's flanks. Her strategy is simple, distract it from Yumi - who is standing inf ront of her friend. She doesn't like the idea of Yumi taking a direct hit. Noting Yumi casting her curse... she decides something stands at least half a chance. Her whip flies through the air over it's shoulder as it suddenly tries to go round and round and round the creature's wrist... and the handle of the club it's attached to . Eri then suddenly runs behind the creature, towards it's opposite arm... and yanks the whip taut.

Her strategy is deceptively simple. At this angle tugging it backwards threatens to bonk the Ogre with its own club right in it's face.

Assuming... Ivy's curse weakened it enough that she can actually pull it off.

"Ivy! Can you put her on your broom? Any spells to get her out of here?"

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi perfectly dodges 11 Fatigue damage from Eri Shimanouchi's Gardener's Grasp, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge!

COMBAT: Fumiko Inoue transforms into Serpentina Ruse!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Mikoto's proclamation that there's nabemono prompts a smile and a nod from Fuu - not the dismissive sort, but a genuine acknowledgement, even agreement. "There is indeed! And a long tradition of friends and family gathering around the pot on a cold day. Granted, today isn't as cold as some -" She actually checked the weather forecast herself, rather than depending on her parents to relay it. "- but still worthy of being warmed by food and friendship, isn't it?"

Eri, too, draws a nod of agreement from the Infinity student. "I'm looking forward to being done with finals for the term, no question about that. Hopefully our art teacher won't throw too many surprise questions on the test; if I have to try and remember the difference between Ionic and ... what's the other kind again? Tonic?" She sighs, shaking her head. "Give me a test where I can reason the answers out instead of depending on brute force memorization." Even the ever-studious Fuu has her academic woes and travails.

And then, some which have little to do with the hallowed halls of learning. The drop in temperature prompts her to tug her heather-gray sweater a little closer about herself; the wave of drowsiness which comes close with it actually makes her head droop a bit, only to shake it off, blinking awake and straightening her glasses. It's the fact of Hanae's sudden flop (''away'' from the pot, thank the heavens) which actually puts the bespectacled blonde on alert.

Even before the thumping of the ground, like a great heart - or like footsteps looming steadily closer.

"An ogre?" Fuu's first reaction appears to be one of bemused disbelief - but when Mikoto, one of ''the'' strongest magical girls Fuu knows for her weight, gets slung off over the bay, Fuu's green eyes go wide. "MIKOTO-SAN!!!" she calls out, casting a worried glance after her friend - and then turning her gaze to the ogre ...

Right in time to get blown away by the shockwave from the clubswing, tumbling away. A really sharp eye might notice that her tumble isn't entirely uncontrolled - is she pushing herself further along? Maybe - but it gets her further away from the ogre ...

Far enough, in fact, that when the Magic Knight of Wind rises to her feet after her whirlwind transformation fades, she's well out of melee range (for now) and excellently positioned to unleash arrows or spells upon the ogre.

The latter comes first: a cry of, "WINDS OF ADMONISHMENT!" heralds the howl of a sterner wind, descending and converging in an attempt to bind the ogre where it stands. If the monster can't swing its club so readily, that ''should'' reduce the threat ...

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Wind Knight!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Admonishment on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Serpentina Ruse [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

''Friendship sure is nice'', Fumiko muses as her carrots are accepted by Yumi and 'judged' by Eri. And Mikoto greets her like a friend. This was turning out nice! She smiles as she hands over the carrots. She tries to figure out who to talk to first... but then gets the urge to lay down, maybe take a nap. Before she could follow those urges, mumbling sounds came from beneath her coat. She shakes her head clear, only to see the giant ogre. Quietly, she mumbles "Guess you were right" to her coat, but out loud, she shrieks. "It's gonna eat meee!" She darts away, hiding behind the protective guardian penguin.

Completely unrelated and completely by chance, the Snake Miraculous hero Serpentina arrives! "Seems like someone is upset they didn't get an invitation," she says to the rampaging ogre. "There is plenty of food to go around, but trying to eat an innocent girl is wrong! If you could mind your manners, we'd gladly share food with you, but for crossing the line, you must be stopped!" She dramatically points her parasol in her right hand at the beast, left hand on her hip, looking sideways at it. "A shame we all must fight you, but you asked for it!"
COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse has used Ramble On on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi braces 10 Fatigue damage from Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Psyched! Mikoto Minagi's Block and Parry abilities activate! Cripple applied to Mikoto Minagi!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi fails to dodge Serpentina Ruse's Ramble On, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Mikoto Minagi is Quipped!

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Where ARE those spells coming from? There is a distant dark chuckle, by the trees which line the path in towards the lake; the shadows obscure her, but that's a feminine voice, hat all drawn to pointy tip and broad rim, hair which flows down like fire around her edges. With the flutter of a cape she turns, and disappears down the path.

She has left a hungry soul to fill the void; she scarcely needs to linger.

The Ogre takes a thunderous step forward, only to be met by the pure energy of the Staff of Lost Ivy, who refuses to flee. He wails as the Hollow Curse crashes through him, clubs slapping at his jiggly-jelly belly. "NO, NO, NO! ME ''HUNGRY!'' ME ''EAT!''" It's an awfully simple way to approach this situation. Speech may not be entirely paired with reason, for this particular monster.

His club crashes forward --

Only to have a vine come into his field of view!

He pulls his arm back, and Eri's whip wraps around his bone-club, instead. Around and around and around he twirls it, and he spins around when Eri runs behind him. Instead of hitting himself in the face, he pulls the whole club back to pull ''her'' in -- and THWACK, his other club comes down atop her.

He proceeds to bite the whip to free his club from its cruel embrace. Now his bone club has thorns. He has become ''more dangerous.''

"PFEH," he spits out a bite of whip, sticking out a tongue which is blazingly, outrageously red. "NOT DINNER!" He stomps his big, bare feet, petulant. "FINE! ME EAT YOU FIRST!"

This is both a reassuring statement for the prone form of Hanae, and a terrible omen for the girl standing sentinel before her. Because the Ogre rounds on Lost Ivy, furiously, and crashes both his clubs together -- with her in the middle, teroyaki clasped between the cruelest chopsticks in the world.

Luckily, the world will never know whether bone clubs really work as chopsticks, because as they clap down, the buffeting Winds of Admonishment interrupt his buffet. The Ogre releases his clubs so he can stagger to the side, only to be faced by... a ''fierce declaration.'' "ME NOT ''ASK,''" he says, and an Ogre saying something is apparently analogous to an Ogre yelling something. "ME ''EAT!''" He crashes his clubs together, slamming them down on the ground to rock the earth beneath the Wind Knight and Serpentine Rusa's feet.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Hunger Hype on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Sized Up For A Snack on Yumi Ohzora.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Drumming Up Dinner on Serpentina Ruse.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Drumming Up Dinner on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi perfectly dodges 18 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Hunger Hype, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Eri Shimanouchi's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji dodges 21 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Drumming Up Dinner, taking 31 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Fuu Hououji's Fade and Flash abilities activate!

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Oh, are you having some trouble with art?" Yumi asks Fuu. "That's my main subject, so I'd be happy to go over it with you later." Yumi is technically more into painting then architecture or even the Classics, but even so at Infinity she's expected to know more than just what she works on herself.

She's looking forward to break too, of course.

"Just run!" she offers to Fumiko, "It'll be okay!" But Serpentina arrives and, "Whew--we could use the help," she admits, looking worriedly back at her friend. Eri moves in to help--but even Eri, one of the strongest magical girl she knows, has trouble with ''this'' Ogre. And Yumi suspects there's something strange going on, because--

"Who--"

The laugh from the distance can't take priority over a very hungry Ogre who has a lot of things to say.

Yumi throws up a barrier before herself as the ogre brings down his clubs, and whether the barrier would've been enough is thankfully not tested--Fuu's magic helps, and Yumi takes what little space she has left and scoots back. "I can try!" she calls back to Eri, and her broom pops into existence with a brilliant shine of light--but she can't get free enough of the ogre to actually help with that, yet. So instead she has to try to make a way out.

"Of course you don't ask, you jerk!" Yumi says, appreciating Serpentina and Fuu in the moment rather a lot. "But I'll feed you something you won't like!"

She hoists the Staff upward and begins to focus. "Holy light, overflow in radiant might! Sacred Ray!"

A green-white beam of coruscating energy--far unlike the curse she just cast--rockets towards the Ogre.
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora has used Sacred Ray on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Eri might have been amused by the idea that Fuu is being thwarted by architectural styles, but the conversation shifts into battle far too quickly for her to tease her on that.

Instead, she witnesses the ogre bite off her whip, and gets yanked when he pulls her in.

Rather than test her luck, Eri lets go of the whip just as the other club tries to pin her in place. The club coming close enough to nearly part her hair. "What? Not a fan of vegetables?"

Eri taunts it as she hits the ground, and immediately falls forward to run through its legs in an attempt to disorient it as she darts around, staying close to the ground. "If ever there was evidence another friend of mine was going to defect to Dark Fall... truly it is your dietary preferences."

Despite her confident outward appearance, she breathes an internal sigh of relief when the Ogre decides it is better off eating her first.

Everywhere she seems to run along the ground, there's a glimmer of green magic. Tiny sprouts following her foot steps as she tries to run around the furious - and hungry ogre in a flanking circle where she tries to keep just ahead of its ability to turn and strike her.

And then abruptly, the gleaming magic all seems to connect itself as multiple vines burst from the ground and try to encircle each of its limbs in multiple places, trying to leverage the Ogre away from Yumi and Hanae.

The girl reaches up to her head, and pulls out another long thorn whip from her limb.

"Come on. Surely you're not the type to play with your food? So immature..."

Eri says as she glances Ivy's way as she unleashes her purifying magic, and without saying anything, she subtly shifts her stance... the way she sees it. The Ogre is either going to focus on her, or that purifying spell is going to bring its unholy wrath down on Yumi.

Either way, one of them might need to run interference to keep Hanae safe.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Dryad's Interdict on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi dodges 5 Fatigue damage from Eri Shimanouchi's Dryad's Interdict, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Mikoto Minagi is Quipped!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi fails to dodge Yumi Ohzora's Sacred Ray, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Stagger and Tangle applied to Mikoto Minagi!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

The chuckle, and the figure from whom it emanated, both go unnoticed by the Wind Knight; if she's aware of the laugh to begin with, it's little more than background noise in the face of the ogre itself, and of the literally earth-shaking counterattack which the monster launches.

And it shakes the ground so violently that despite her attempt to leap away to safety, the Wind Knight still winds up getting bowled off her feet; she just manages to roll through the fall and come back to her feet, before springing through the air, landing atop the King Penguin slide.

"I don't suppose there are any magical girls who draw on the tale of Momotarou for power?" she suggests wryly, her bow and quiver materializing as she regains her balance, inwards and outwards. Precision of her landing aside, that wasn't her best jump, and she can still feel it, as if the ground hasn't quite settled down again. Or maybe that's just her inner ears remaining wonky. Still, her sense of balance isn't going to stop her from putting a few arrows into the ogre; she wastes no time in nocking one to her string, and drawing back, taking a deep breath to center herself before she settles into readiness, lining up her shot.

She could draw upon her magic to boost the shot ... but for the moment, she relies primarily on skill, letting the power that already suffuses her Wind Knight form be the source of this arrow's strength, and the arrow flies.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Basic Archery on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi braces 5 Fatigue damage from Fuu Hououji's Basic Archery, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Mikoto Minagi's Block and Parry abilities activate!

<Pose Tracker> Serpentina Ruse [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Serpentina stands strong as she stares down the ogre. She will NOT let it intimidate her, especially since her allies are here, doing their best. At least, that was the plan, until the beast's strength was enough to shake the earth. She attempts to jump out of the way of the shockwave, but misjudged the range of the attack and is sent tumbling. Actually tumbling. Gymnastics really paid off as she avoided getting hurt, though it took a second to shake the dizziness and shock from the attack off. "Hmph. Not exactly good guest etiquette." She bravely charges at the ogre, leaps up, starts to thrust her umbrella at it... but just before the last few moments, she opens the umbrella too far, sending a gust of air at its face and launching her backwards - hopefully out of range of any counter attacks.

COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse has used Wind Wall on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Running, in the face of an Ogre, is an eminently sensible plan. They're STOMPY, they're CONFRONTING, and they're so, ''so'' very HUNGRY.

He finds himself faced with flowering magic in the form of a Puella Magi's vines -- the first he kicks away, but he is no graceful dancer, and Eri is so quick that the entire FIELD is overgrowing. His club is pulled away from Lost Ivy --

For a moment, he just looks out over the greenery, eyes growing big as saucers.

His face twists back when he hears Yumi's incantation, though, and he's rather much too grown-over to ''run'' from it. The blast catches him square in his voluminous stomach, and the good news, for the Ogre, is that it blows him free of all those vines.

The bad news is that the ''reason'' he's free is all that green fire which spreads across his body from the purifying point of contact, bringing him to a howling point. "OW! OW! BIG OW HURT! ME ''NOT'' EAT OW FIRE! NO!!!"

He ''chomps'' the arrow, as it flies through the air. This, it turns out, is ''also'' not food, because when he bares his fangs again, there's an arrowhead lodged between his teeth. He's gonna need a ''real'' big toothpick to get that out. He stomps over to the Wind Knight, and hefts one of his great clubs, bringing it down.

The Ogre turns and stands firm, as Serpentina Ruse charges with her umbrella -- apparently, he doesn't fear umbrellas quite as much as purifying rays. But his CHOMP is defeated by the way she opens her weapon up and goes sailing backwards. His vast hand reaches back, and... he ''flings'' one of his bone-clubs at her.

That at least means he doesn't have two clubs any more, right..?

But he STOMPS the ground -- and another bone-club erupts from the ground, ''RIGHT'' under Eri's feet. Touching the new growth of his magic is a terrible idea, as if the very magical ''idea'' of the Ogre's weapons invokes ideals of consumption. He tromps over to retrieve it, and brings it down on Yumi's head, the rest of that desire to consume carried entirely in his strike. She may need to find some way to protect ''Hanae'' from the strike, just as much as she needs to defend herself.

"HUNGRY!" He yells, in escalating rage. "HUNGRY! HUNGRY! HUNGRY!"

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Hunger Hype on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Bone Distance on Serpentina Ruse.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used I HUNGER on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Feeding Frenzy on Yumi Ohzora.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora counters 20 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Feeding Frenzy, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Yumi Ohzora's Reverse and Tactician abilities activate! Mikoto Minagi drains 8 fatigue from Yumi Ohzora!
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora's counterattack, Witch's Mirror, partially gets through, doing 17 Fatigue damage to Mikoto Minagi! Critical Counterhit!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi counters 11 Mana damage from Mikoto Minagi's I HUNGER, taking 11 Mana damage! Eri Shimanouchi's Reverse and Tactician abilities activate! Mikoto Minagi drains 8 mana from Eri Shimanouchi!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi's counterattack, Gardener's Trick, partially gets through, doing 20 Fatigue damage to Mikoto Minagi! Critical Counterhit! Exhausted applied to Mikoto Minagi!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji counters 5 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Hunger Hype, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Mikoto Minagi is Psyched!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji's counterattack, Unorthodox Swordplay, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Mikoto Minagi!

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi would ''rather'' be discussing homework. Instead, she's in a pitched battle to defend her friend who is at least not awake to stress out about it.

"I could go for peaches," Yumi answers Fuu, relieved at least that they have enough breath to be wry about things. But to Eri, "They are ''absolutely'' the types to play with their food, Eri!! And they are very bad guests!!" to Serpentina, no less. At least Serpentina gets out of the way fairly quickly. But Eri--well, Eri is shifting. Yumi has fought beside her long enough to know that she's going to try to run interference, which will make the next moment easier, hopefully--

"That's right, you don't eat fire! There's more of that coming for you, too!"

She stares a little as she sees him conjure a new weapon, wincing at the sheer consumption of its power. But stomp stomp, and Yumi's eyes widen. He yells, all right. She starts tracing a rune of reflection, and throws up both hands with her Staff to block the club with her magic, deflecting ''away'' from Hanae. A great beam bursts out of the clash straight towards him, but her barrier is imperfect--Yumi finds herself smashed down hard enough that the ground buckles beneath her, driving her a few feet down into the ground... but keeping Hanae safe.

"...Eri-chan, I think doing the greenery thing is distracting him. You miht want to keep it up." Oof.

"I'll try to--" Huff. It's incredible, the strength the magic gives her--but even so she's feeling tired already. "I'll try to weaken him if we can get him, together!"

She throws out another rune, carving it into the air in green and black, and the magic launches forth to drain strength and power.
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora has used Weakness Hex on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse perfectly counters 35 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Bone Distance, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Counter! Serpentina Ruse's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse's counterattack, Cobra's Hood, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Mikoto Minagi!

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

A bone club starts to erupt under Eri's feet. And suddenly she leaps up from her position. The club however juts out, clipping her foot in mid-air, and she feels this sudden hunger gnawing at her being. While most people would not know to look...

... the gem she sports in her hair darkens fractionally.

Fortunately, it's only a momentary touch, because she's back-flipping, and her whip encircling up with her, then around in the revolution of her momentum.

She sweeps it up and slaps the Ogre hard as it moves to retrieve the bone club, square in it's solar plexus with a blow that tries to knock the fight out of it.

Landing backwards, she dances away, grimacing as she touches her gem.

It's hunger tantrum though causes her to race away, running low to the ground. She scythes her whip around in a sudden revolution, before slapping the ground at it's feet. The impact strikes with a crack that's surprisingly muted...

... as the tip of the vine suddenly slithers underground. A subtle hand motion from the wielder directing it's flow. The ground begins to move aglow.

"You say that as if I'd stop." Eri says Yumi's way, utterly playing off the moment of existential horror with the resiliency of someone who encounters such frequently enough that she can - even with this new variety of it.

"After all, unlike ''someone''-" She says, deftly ribbing the breadth of Yumi's magical aptitude, "-Greenery is my whole arsenal."

And then razor sharp serrated foliage bursts out of the ground like so many blades. To those familiar with gardening tools, the thorned vines look vaguely like more organic versions of Hori-Hori knives.

The foliage tries to rake across the ogre, one after another in an attempt to cut and cut and cut, trying to box it into something more difficult to escape with Yumi's weakness curse upon it. "... I do always prefer... that." She says with a smile as the horror feeling recedes, "Together."

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Horticultural Horizon on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Serpentina Ruse [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Serpentina watches the bone fly straight for her. Her umbrella is already overextended, and she's in midair. Luckily, thrusting the umbrella at the bone closes it, just in time for her to re-open it like a shield. It knocks her back even further, but with no harm done. "Close one," she says quietly, sighing as she lands.

Everyone seems to have a plan. Everyone seems to have a role. But what about Serpentina? Should she keep acting the distraction, or hit back hard? Normally full force combat is one of her ally's things, not hers, but she's feeling particularly bold. She dodges back and forth, looking for an opening, chasing an opportunity down.

She spots it - while Eri's sharp greenery attacks from one side, Serpentina launches a series of pokes and strikes with the parasol, along with a few kicks for good measure. "Hope I'm not misreading you," she says to her allies. "I really need to talk strategy with you all sometime..."

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Wha --" Bow and quiver vanish, replaced by the Magic Knight's sword; her ability to swap weapons at will, flaring into or out of her glove-jewel, makes it easy to switch from ranged battle to melee. What's harder is getting her sword into the right position to block an incoming swing when the attack comes at her so quickly.

On the plus side, the Wind Knight manages to deflect some of the club's force, and even to riposte with enough force that the ogre ought to feel it. But the blow carries enough force that the green-clad Magic Knight stumbles off the top of King Penguin's head - and then slides down its tongue, like a girl half her age might be expected to in the course of playing on that slide. Fortunately, the ogre is spreading his attention around enough that she can come to a more or less safe landing while his attention is on a different magical girl.

The thought crosses her mind to see if there are any beans among the vegetables that Eri brought, but there isn't enough time to go rummaging through the leftovers. The thought of letting the ogre eat from the hot pot comes to mind as well, but it'd be a very small meal for an ogre that size, and this ogre is ''very clearly'' not an omnivore, given its fixation on human flesh. ''I suppose beating oni-san up is our best course of action,'' she muses, sword disappearing and bow rematerializing; as soon as the quiver has settled across her back, she's already reaching for an arrow - and this time, there's a noticeable breeze picking up around the green-clad Magic Knight. Now, if she can just put ''enough'' wind behind her next shot ...

The appearance of calm which comes over the Wind Knight is almost entirely out of place amidst the fight; the only indication tht she's aware of the battle raging on is the glint of determination in her gaze as she tracks the ogre's movements, picking her moment, her opening, her shot. Even the wind that whips at her hair and skirts seems to be set out of her mind as she lowres her bow, draws back on string and shaft ...

"Gale Arrow!"

And as the arrow flies, the winds gathered around the Magic Knight follow - a powerful gust, focused around and along the arrow's shaft, steadying its flight as well as speeding it on its way. The Gale Arrow might not actually knock the ogre off-balance - but if it was expecting something as gentle, relatively speaking, as the first arrow she loosed, then it's going to get a major surprise this time.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Gale Arrow on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi dodges 3 Fatigue damage from Yumi Ohzora's Weakness Hex, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Yumi Ohzora is Psyched! Exhausted applied to Mikoto Minagi!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi fails to counter Eri Shimanouchi's Horticultural Horizon, taking 39 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi's counterattack, Drumming Up Dinner, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Eri Shimanouchi!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi braces 18 Fatigue damage from Serpentina Ruse's Umbrella-Fu, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Mikoto Minagi's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi braces 13 Fatigue damage from Fuu Hououji's Gale Arrow, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Psyched! Mikoto Minagi's Block and Parry abilities activate!

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Maybe the ''Ogre'' would like peaches? No, that seems unlikely. The only thing this Ogre seems to want is human flesh.

"ME CRUSH YOU! YOU BE ''GARNISH!''" How this Ogre, who speaks with such simplicity, knows such a word as 'garnish'...

... it would be funnier if Yumi weren't being crushed under that club. His magic discharged, he tries to step out of the way of her runes, but he's just not ''quite'' fast enough. The hex curls around him, and he is taken a step from his glorious strength to something more approachable by mortal hands. He finds himself faced with more of those vines --

Once is a marvel, but twice is ''annoying,'' and he slams his clubs down on the hori-hori vines. They are not moles, and it fails to send them back into the earth. Instead, the vines grow ''over'' his clubs, up to his patterned arms, making sashimi of his many tattoos. What drips from him is green and brown and black, if it can be called blood at all.

His annoyed growl pitches in the background of Eri's recovery, as if the very concept of doing this together is the thorn in his side. He needn't be so metaphorical, though -- because Serpentina Ruse appears quite literally at his side to needle him with parasol pokes. "NOT DINNER!" He chastises her, as he wrests his clubs free, just a moment too late to strike her down.

He tries chomping the Gale Arrow. It blasts into the back of his throat. He goes, "COUGH! COUGH! HACKKK!", and buries one of his clubs in the ground so he can reach back and grab it and pull it free. The shockwaves carry forward to shudder at Eri and Fumiko's feet, as if his solution to their slipperiness and speed is simply to make ''more'' of the ground unstable around them. "YOU IS ''BAD'' DINNER KNOWING!" He criticises Fuu's cuisine, as he picks up his club again, and throws it towards her.

He whirls, grasping his remaining bone in both hands, and brings it RIGHT down on Yumi, in a blow which threatens to shudder the earth.

He seems... terribly focused on crushing Yumi, specifically.

Perhaps it's because she's the one guarding his dinner..?

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Rub-a-dub-dub! Thanks For The Grub! on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Rub-a-dub-dub! Thanks For The Grub! on Serpentina Ruse.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Bone Distance on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Sized Up For A Snack on Yumi Ohzora.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi braces 10 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Rub-a-dub-dub! Thanks For The Grub!, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Eri Shimanouchi's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji perfectly braces 29 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Bone Distance, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace! Fuu Hououji's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora braces 29 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Sized Up For A Snack, taking 24 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Yumi Ohzora's Block and Parry abilities activate! Trap applied to Yumi Ohzora!
COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse perfectly dodges 19 Fatigue damage from Mikoto Minagi's Rub-a-dub-dub! Thanks For The Grub!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Serpentina Ruse's Fade and Flash abilities activate!

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

There's something to be said for backflipping! Yumi isn't doing it. But Eri can. Yumi notices, all right, the way Eri's gem darkens just a bit, the way that impacts her. Yumi worries, immediately--but the ground is moving, and--

"The whips totally count as--" Huff. "Separate!" Unlike someone!! Yumi, who--yes, has a lot going for her. She prefers together, too.

"Talk later, hit now!" Yumi suggests to Serpentina. "You're doing just fine!"

Fuu's arrow at least gives Yumi a brief moment to breathe. But--

"Garnish!?"

But the Ogre is coughing, and hacking, and ''swinging'', bringing down a blow for Yumi that is terribly focused and terribly powerful. The young witch throws up another barrier with her hand, but the barrier shatters after a moment, Yumi thrown down over Hanae with a surprised cry that doesn't see her immediately get up.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"You're quite correct, oni-san," the Wind Knight replies serenely, even smiling at the ogre and offering a slight bow ... and then, sweeping her left arm upwards (bow still in hand), she conjures a curtain of wind which intercepts the thrown club, not only blowing it off-course but sending it sailing off over the harbor. "I'm ''terrible'' dinner. You would suffer indigestion beyond belief if you tried to eat me," the Wind Knight finishes.

The focused state she entered into before loosing her Gale Arrow is still with her, giving her a mix of calm and clarity without which she'd have been hard-pressed to deflect the club-throw. That focus may not last much longer, thouh, particularly when she sees Yumi bowled over in defense of Hanae.

The winds gather once more as the Wind Knight dismisses her weapons, drawing her hands and arms back, as if pulling the storm together in preparation. "I'm afraid you're going to feast only upon your own demise, oni-san," she says mildly, her gaze not so much 'hardening' as 'crystalizing,' the calm focus in her eyes replaced by an unyielding will. "Emerald ... CYCLONE!!"

Her arms sweep forward, and the tempest howls forth, flinging the full fury of the storm straight at the ogre - not to knock it off balance as she tried earlier, but attempting to rip it apart with the winds' gathered fury, not unlike the fabled kamaitachi writ large.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Fuu Hououji has used Emerald Cyclone: Focused on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Serpentina Ruse [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The ground quakes once more, but this time, Serpentina is ready. She jumps up, starts to fall back down into range of the shockwave and cracking ground... and opens her umbrella, seemingly catching an updraft and floating higher. She hangs in the air for a couple seconds, then twists around, spinning in the air like one of those old sky dancer toys. She whirls towards the ogre, and attempts to deliver a rotation-powered kick and bounce off to land on her feet on the ground. Hopefully after the ground settled down.
COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse has used Spinny Kick on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"No, not at all." Eri says to the idea that Serpentina might be misreading her. "I'd say you're doing exactly what you ought to be." She says, with only the slightest touch of a tease, before her glancing over her shoulder at Yumi, "And here I thought it was a grand witch tradition to consider my ilk one trick ponies~"

By her tone, Eri of course implies that she doesn't think that YUMI thinks it. Just that she's been through the Infinity Dorms often enough to realize that many witches do.

After all what Eri wants her to do, is to distract from Hanae and Ivy, and if Serpentina poking the Ogre through her vines does just that, it's a good enough strategy in her book!

Though as the Ogre pulls his club free and sends the ground tremoring with shockwaves, Eri suddenly drives the hilt of her whip into the ground, grasping it like she just planted the wooden handle somehow, as easily as she did a tree, and grasps ahold of it.

It's not the easiest ride to weather, as the ground constantly threatens to knock her prone, but she manages to keep stable without any embarrassing accidents.

Until the last second, when she sees Ivy fall onto Hanae. Wrenching up the handle of the whip from where she planted it in the ground, she traces her fingers across its length. And all the thorns suddenly shimmer with a light.

With a sudden pivot that looks like a normal simple whip strike, she revolves it with even greater power until it is but its lengths appear to be just a mere blur. And at the last moment before it strikes, the thorns grow to be as long as short swords - to be driven into the Ogre's flesh.

CRACK

A moment later, Yumi feels Eri's fingers around her wrist, as she pulls her up to her feet, then bends over to grab Hanae and pick her up. "I'll take Hanae-san for a bit. You do what you do best."

Shine.

A single word, which Eri doesn't say, but aptly describes what that is.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Aerating Edge on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"There are definitely better traditions!" Yumi answers Eri, and she rather wishes she could copy Fuu's calm and focus at the moment; she feels dizzy. But there on the ground, she for a moment can't move--until she feels Eri's hand take hers. She looks up, brim of her hat cutting off the sky as she sees Serpentina and her rotating kick. She's up at her feet, and Eri--

"...Thanks," Yumi says to her, and breathes in, trying to catch her breath. She lifts the Staff. "...Come on," she says. "We just need... a little more."

She traces runes with her Staff, white-green, so unlike her curses; it's a warm power, a heat that radiates but does not burn any of the girls here. It feels like growing things, and smells of flowers, is reminiscient of the sunlight after a cold day.

"O Staff..... Grant us your light!"

Yumi rises off the ground and her staff suddenly shoots forth a beam of sunlight that expands, becoming a brilliant column of white-gold. "Blessed Shine!"

Where it touches the Ogre light turns to green, purifying flames; where it touches the ground, broken grass and flowers mend and grow and heal. And its gentle force requires Yumi to do her best to hang on.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Yumi Ohzora has used Blessed Shine on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Finisher, Emerald Cyclone: Focused, taking 70 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi fails to brace Eri Shimanouchi's Aerating Edge, taking 45 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi fails to brace Serpentina Ruse's Spinny Kick, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Serpentina Ruse is Psyched!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi braces 50 Fatigue damage from Yumi Ohzora's Finisher, Blessed Shine, taking 33 Fatigue damage! Mikoto Minagi's Block and Parry abilities activate!

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Down comes the club, a gavel of heated judgement -- it crashes THROUGH Yumi's barrier, in an act of brutal violence which staggers reckoning.

He doesn't use fancy words like 'demise', so it's no wonder he's not expecting what happens next.

As that club presses down -- just before it can ask Yumi just how MUCH she's willing to cover her friend -- the Ogre is blown off his feet entirely by the focused gusts of Emerald Cyclone, pulled to-and-fro in the wind. His skin ''bubbles,'' as if those myriad hori-hori cuts had scored his flesh in the manner of cooking, holes all poked by a parasol in order to release what leaks from him. Parts of him slough off in the storm, malleable in the wind. He is still quite solid, when he lands, using the very force of himself to ground himself against the wind. He is still quite solid, but...

Boil, bubble, toil and trouble, it's in his arms, it's on his back, it's across his rolling, rippling belly. He's bubbling up, just like that forgotten hot-pot -- somehow, it hasn't been upended throughout this entire fight.

He can't quite advance on Yumi again, because there's a Miraculous-user twirling down around him. That kick cleaves one of his massive tusks, distended, straight in two; one half lands on the earth, and melts into it, bleeding back to the roots.

"GO 'WAY," he says, as if his voice, too, is becoming a little more slick and brought-together, syllables bleeding over each other. In direct defiance of his order, Eri's whip lashes out in Serpentina's wake -- sharp as a short-sword, faster than a bullet. He howls, and when he takes a step through those horrible, too-long thorns, parts of him ''drag'' along with them, bubble-bubble away from the Ogre and falling back down, down, down.

His dinner has been taken from him. He's having a ''really'' bad day, all a sudden.

Particularly when Yumi lifts the Staff of Lost Ivy.

He can't block the sun itself. It shines more brightly, more fiercely, more WARMLY in the clear winter's day; it shines through the clouds; it shines on the grass. From those runes, light, a matter of the sun itself, focused and shining --

Here, again, is that green flame. It covers him, but it does not CONSUME him -- it is not hungry, the way he is. It burns; it burns away. He is screaming.

He is screaming words. "NO!" The Ogre cries, as those green flames boil-bubble him, and he sinks, seeping green-black smoke, bleeding into the ground. "ME NOT FAIL... CONFLAGRIAAA!" The light consumes him -- the flame flares -- and he's gone.

The purifying light has restored all that broken ground, the playground... and, it seems, Hanae's nap, too. The swimmer grumbles, as she pushes herself up. "Huh... wow, pulling those all-nighters for finals is really doing a number on me, isn't it..?" She rubs her eyes, and yawns, looking up to Yumi. "Oh, geez, did I worry you? Come on! You know you don't have to worry about me! Not even lit is going to defeat me, this time around!" It's a brave boast, considering last semester's results. It's entirely unfitting to what Yumi has just endured, too, but...

"Ah!! The hot pot!" Hanae yelps, as she hurries over to check it. She fiddles with a few knobs, and sinks back, with a triumphant sigh. "Safe..! Okay, everyone! Looks like it's just about done, so gather up!"

Maybe today can still be a good day.

(Mikoto will show back up eventually, a crab still attached to a braid. She's fine, too.)

~*~*~

Atop a broom, a dark witch sails into the afternoon sky. She's above the cloud cover, so it hardly matters that she's out in broad daylight. Her footsoldier has been dismissed, and she is left only with her bitterness.

"Ungrateful girl," mutters Conflagria, of the Hollow Four, untouched by the chill winds. "You don't know how lucky you are..!"

A fleck of flame becomes a burning portal; she sails through it, and away.

2021-07-18 - Let's Plan A Shopping Trip! Television's Influencing The Youth!

2021-07-19T03:21:00Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: mikoto can't tell mai the whole truth because she would immediately march down into the caves and set all of them on fire. every single cave.

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Let's Plan A Shopping Trip! Television's Influencing The Youth!'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto convinces Mai to unwind and watch a cooking show with her, amidst Mai's tireless efforts to study for university entrance exams. But when a drama starts playing, Mikoto finds herself reminded of all the sadness she watched on the screens of the Obsidian Palace. She tells Mai a little, and excuses not telling her a whole lot more.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mai Tokiha]], [[Mikoto Minagi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy - Dormitories
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-07-18 - 2015-12-09
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

There are times in a young girl's life that bear great significance. Harbingers of drastic change, momentous occasions that sit as flagstones on the path to adulthood. Some of these come unexpected; others loom with long shadows to heighten anticipation.

One of the latter has stood before Mai, its shadow growing ever darker with every passing day. She is not alone in fearing it - but many seem to take it lightly and languish in confidence that all will go well, or resign themselves to despair and put off all thought. This is not the path Mai Tokiha has chosen, however - her doom stands before her, but whatever preparation she can make, she will. She must.

Thus is explained the stack of books that has forever darkened a corner of the dining table. Thus is explained inkstains and a wastepaper bin more often filled than not.

Entrance exams are barely a month away, after all.

Tonight, though. Tonight there might have been an intervention. A desperate plea to relax for one night, at least. And so the books have been closed (with bookmarks for later access), and Mai is actually doing something that could, in some loose definitions of the word, be considered as 'relaxing'.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Twelfth grade sure is complicated, huh..? Mikoto has more sympathy for academics than she did a world ago, but much of Mai's frenzied studying is still lost on her. The idea that it's THAT important has instead been papered over with the stopgap measure of understanding that it's that important to MAI.

(This has terrible implications for her own fate, next year, but that's an entire year away.)

What Mikoto knows is that Mai has been working so, ''so'' hard, and when Mai works that hard at ''anything,'' she forgets about herself. Thus has Mikoto been a regular voice of relaxation, even if most of her efforts end up being as simple as an accompanied trip to the grocery store.

Or closing the books to watch a cooking show. Mikoto likes cooking shows! They have good ideas. And Mai has great commentary.

Mikoto might have been sitting on the cushions in front of the television at one point, but she's long since leant over, and bonelessly moved down -- until she's all flopped in Mai's lap, watching the end of the show with big, gold eyes. "Mai!" Mikoto chirps, happily, tilting her head to look up at her too. "Let's make hamburger steaks tomorrow, okay?"

It's true! Media influences the youth!

But now that show is over, and there's an episode of something else starting up...

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

Cooking shows can be...hit or miss with Mai. Some of them - admittedly the more cutthroat-competitive ones - bring back memories of participating in a few culinary challenges. Some of them are just vicious enough to be unsettling, and usually a call to change the channel.

Likewise, Cake Wars has been vetoed.

But others are more relaxing. Some of the competitions are more fascinating than traumatizing, and other more educational programs give all kinds of kitchen ideas. ...admittedly she might have binged a few of those years ago when she was still learning to cook, but not all such shows harken to those memories.

And in other cases, the chefs are getting things wrong that she knows are wrong, and calling them out seems to entertain anyone watching with her. ...so why not dial up the snark a bit.

At the moment, Mai appears to have a cat in her lap. Also at the moment, the mental exertion of a day of studying is catching up with her - she was starting to doze off during final plating, and is still halfway in that state. Abruptly, Mikoto is looking up at her, and even on a good day a request like that would be hard to deny.

So she doesn't bother trying. "Hamburg steak? Sure thing. I think that..." A half of a yawn slips out. "...sale on bread, should be easy..."

The show's over, and the remote is...over there. She should probably turn it off, right?...

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Yup!" Mikoto chirps, almost always an everpresent source of sunshine again, these days. "Let's get bread!" They can go on a trip! The fact that the trip is only to the store is totally inconsequential. ''It's a trip and she's excited.''

At this hour, it seems the next show in the lineup is a Kaiju drama. Apparently, the last episode left on a cliffhanger -- because there's a wail from the television screen, as a woman realises how small her existence is.

Mikoto stiffens, in Mai's lap, eyes shifting back to the screens. That destruction...

A survivor, calling out the name of someone who didn't. Or is that what's going on? That's what it ''sounds'' like. That's the quality of that terror.

... all a sudden the noise isn't ''just'' coming from the television, as Mikoto yawlps and hides her face against Mai's knee.

She's ''almost'' always a source of sunshine. Except for when she wakes up in the middle of the night, to latch onto Mai. (She's been curling up next to her more often than sprawling on top of her, since the anniversary of the invasion; a strange shift which she must be deliberately attempting, but which she nonetheless hasn't managed to ''explain.'') Except for when she practices standing up for herself in the bathroom mirror, quiet enough that she ''thinks'' Mai can't hear her. Except for when...

Mikoto hasn't really talked about it, but she did, apparently, come from Dark Fall, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

Getting bread. Right. Mai will have to...make a note, and fill out the grocery list in the morning, when she's actually awake. Bread, and...meat, and...sauce? Figuring out that recipe is a challenge for Tomorrow's Mai, not today's. She might have been studying a bit too hard this week, if this is how she's feeling tonight...and contrasted with how cheerfully eager Mikoto is, kind of tells Mai that this break was kind of necessary.

And meanwhile, the TV has moved on from some Couples' Cooking Challenge thing to some kind of drama. Starting off with smoke and ash and wails of despair, which -

Mai's come to terms with Kagutsuchi. There's mercifully few things that warrant absolute fiery destruction, and being as diverted as she has been by studying helps further, but reducing everything to cinders and ruin - it's not something she relishes thinking about.

Much. Okay. There are a few situations and a few people who warrant it, but fiery murder would be wrong.

In any event, it's not a relaxing ambience, and so Mai decides she should really just turn off the TV or at least mute it. The remote's handy...ish...so if she can just reach it without disturbing Mikoto, she-

-the sound is in stereo, suddenly, as Mai's dearest partner wails in turn.

Mikoto is already disturbed, but. One hand goes to her back, to hold her close; the other arm lunges for the remote, fumbling a moment to wrestle the TV into silence and darkness. For a moment, there's a glimpse of a fast food advertisement - and then the TV is dark and silent at last.

Mikoto is cheerful and eager, right up until she isn't.

Mai doesn't let the silence linger too long. Long enough to let Mikoto know that it's here, the show is gone, it's safe again - and then, ever so quiet, a voice. "...Mikoto?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

She's trembling, under that hand.

There was a time Mikoto attacked Akihabara for daring to celebrate a dramatic anime, all the anguish on the screens. Her explanation for why it upset her so much was impoverished, at the time, in the way all her explanations were. Really, it's an aspect to the Palace she hasn't spoken of much at all, despite the impact it had. Like so many things, she has approached it sidelong, or not at all.

But screens upset her, when they're showing upsetting things. The world cried out, so often, so rich, and they watched. It made him happy... and, she...

Mikoto doesn't lift her face when the sounds are gone. It's only when ''another'' sound cuts through the darkness of her displeasure that Mikoto makes a little noise of her own, somewhere between a whine and a grumble. She shifts her weight, so she's lying on her other arm, instead; facing Mai, rather than the television.

She's quiet, for a long moment, lips all twisted up like a gnarled tree.

"... when Walpurgisnacht came," Mikoto says, finally, tone so much more muted than her usual cheer, "I was... safe, with my Lord Brother." She hasn't spoken of him, to Mai. But the wound's all raw, and Mai is worried, and for once she does, a little. "I... wanted to... I couldn't go help. But, Lord Brother let me watch. So, I couldn't look away..." There is something there, in the words she uses to describe such gentle brutality -- that ''allowance'' -- seated beside the way she ascribes no actor to the way she was denied permission to go to her friends and protect them, at the end of the world.

Written in the shame and shaking of those words is the truth she cannot speak; it broke her, broke her in. The isolation and control which followed was surely just the re-setting of her shattered bones, to a form which suited him better. Standing aside and witnessing their deaths was just another test.

Mikoto is good at passing tests. Maybe Mai should ask for pointers.

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

The last few years have brought all kinds of memories. Many good, many bad, some whose recollection will crush any hope of a peaceful sleep. Of the latter, Walpurgisnacht is one Mai tries never to think about.

(Because it didn't happen. Whatever miracle sundered that darkness undid it so utterly that it might as well have been less than a nightmare, because Witches- )

...in all honesty, she's happier letting those memories stay hazy. Destruction wrought across Tokyo, desperate flames thrown forth to little avail, up until she'd burnt out every scrap of strength she had and it still wasn't enough-

-and on some level she'd hoped that Mikoto was just...unaware, kept away from it. Or even so immersed in shadow that she couldn't care. But the truth, the truth-

Mai's hand on Mikoto becomes an arm wrapped around her, holding her close, holding her tight. "...I'm sorry. Sorry you had to see all of..." She trails off, because what can she say about that night?

-the truth is that Mikoto's 'Lord Brother' is among that rare breed of people that Mai could turn Kagutsuchi loose on without an ounce of hesitation.

Mai lets the silence breathe for a moment, a few heartbeats, seeking the words to answer. At last: "...I don't blame you. You know that? Knowing you weren't there, that you weren't caught up in that..." She laughs, mirthlessly. "...is kind of a relief? Just...it's okay. And you're here."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

And maybe that's why there's a piece of cardstock which Mikoto has carefully kept out of Mai's sight for a month running, now. She has some sense of how the most important girl in the world feels about the most important man in the world.

Mikoto doesn't want them to fight. Anything but that.

A hand balls in Mai's shirt, as her arm wraps around her. Ashamed as she is, she absorbs that affection like a desert eating rain. It's a relief...

She hums, wordlessly, nodding against her leg. She's here. Her eyes scrunch up, closing for a moment, as she draws a long, shuddery breath.

"I'm not... trying to hide it," Mikoto says, finally, apology joining the shame in her voice. "I'm not. It's just, all twisted up..." And here there may be echoes of Mai's own accusation -- that Mikoto's love was a twisted thing -- and perhaps some clue as to ''why.'' "... complicated." She says, a moment later, and that much must be true, if Mikoto is still speaking of him the way she just did now she's free. "I... don't want Mai to think I'm no good." Stained, rejected, ''broken.'' Mikoto knows no one blames her; she still has to tell herself it's not her fault, sometimes.

She swallows. "'Cause of what happened, I feel different... but I don't want to be too different. I'm a girl, like, everyone else." She might have said 'like Mai', but she remembers how poorly she reacted to that; Mikoto at least ''tries'' to respect the feelings of the people who are so important to her, even if she's still so ignorant so often. "If everyone else thinks I'm weird, that's fine, but... but, Mai..." Mikoto looks up at her poor, tired friend, the girl she loves more than anyone, and the vulnerability in her eyes are open as a wound. "I just want to be here with Mai... that's okay, right..?"

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

Mikoto has been so helpful with the cleaning while Mai's been busy studying. The older girl has hardly had to tidy at all, it seems...and so a card remains unfound.

"It's okay. It's always okay." Looking down, how could Mai answer that vulnerability with anything else?

She keeps Mikoto close, musing on those words. Twisted up and complicated; there are harsher words for Mikoto's familial relationships Mai could use, but those will do for now. The most important thing is that Mikoto isn't there any more, is here with her friends. That's what matters.

...she isn't sure how to answer the guilt, though. Maybe another friend could, but Mai knows just enough about her own handling of guilt to know that she shouldn't be advising anyone.

"...it was a mess. But...things happen. Some things are messy and, well, complicated or twisted up. 'Everyone else' includes friends like Eri, or Takeo, or - " Mai waves with her non-Mikoto-holding hand for a moment. "There are differences. Some people might find them weird. But I think you're fine as you are, Mikoto. Okay?"

There's a warm smile, from Mai, and then a glance toward the kitchen. "...and when you're ready to get up, I think we should make a bit of dessert. Does that sound all right?"

She's been keeping a few ingredients on hand, these past months. Cream for whipping, fruit in the freezer, and every few days a bit of cake that gets chopped and bagged up for later use. Just enough that when the mood strikes, it's easy enough to whip together a quick parfait.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's okay, Mai says, and relief floods Mikoto without reservation. "Okay." For all she isn't telling her, it's not because she doesn't ''trust'' her. Rather, Mikoto trusts, fully and completely, that Mai would come for her if she were in trouble.

(Or if she were trouble. That's not as bad as it sounds.)

When Mikoto first came to the land of Fuuka, in search of her long-lost Lord Brother, when she was assigned to Mai's own dorm...

... she asked Mai, then, if she would be a burden on her, staying there.

For all the stark differences in their lives, there are some things about Mikoto and Mai which are strikingly similar. The guilt, for one. It's not something Mikoto shows often -- but then, Mai doesn't wear it on her sleeve either, does she?

Mikoto doesn't know so much about that, either. But it is, once more, something she has some sense about. A dream conversation she entered too late. All the anger of Obon, rushing past too, too quickly. Dark implications from a friend in the depths.

Speaking of which, she nods against Mai's leg, as she mentions who 'everyone else' is. "That's okay," she says, of people like Eri, and Takeo. The truth is, if they think of her differently because of her family... it's different, to Mai thinking that.

It's different for the same reason she's been trying to be a little more respectful of Mai's space, recently. She's realised how she feels, a bite of the apple of wisdom. But knowing that and expressing it are two very, very different things.

It means her eyes light up with all that love and affection, when Mai says she's fine as she is. "Okay!" Mikoto answers, with that untold relief. Mai thinks that... if Mai thinks that, then..!

She nods, again, and she's smiling, as Mai mentions the idea of ''dessert.'' Mikoto loves parfaits a whole lot; ''Mai's'' parfaits, even moreso. "Yup!" She agrees, and that's the sort of agreement she can only muster when she's happy; a far cry from the formal 'yes' she used, under her Lord Brother's shadow.

Mai's been keeping those ingredients around...

It makes Mikoto happy.

(She makes Mikoto happy.)

2021-07-07 - Implied Distance! The Dignity of Tradition

2021-07-08T12:36:57Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: mikoto, how many times are you planning on making the cat kanji into a cat?

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Implied Distance! The Dignity of Tradition'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''When Takahiro Yamashita leaves his fellow Art Club member to handle his weariness, Yumi shares her artwork with Mikoto, instead. Mikoto finds, and celebrates, the common ground they share.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Yumi Ohzora]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Infinity Institute
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-07-07 - 2015-12-07
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Infinity Institute has many specialised classrooms, and after school, the clubs move in. This, for instance, is its ''art room,'' just as state-of-the-art as the rest of the Institute. There is surely a specialised artist's track in their Gold Crown program, but art is as important as the sciences to any student's life, after all.

Infinity's Art Club is here, currently merrily painting away with acrylics. Well -- ''two'' members of Art Club are here. Well -- two members of Art Club, and...

"He's at window!" Mikoto explains, helpfully, pointing a brush at a bright scene with the kanji for 'cat' front and centre, in a square box. There's sunny yellow inside the box, and cream outside. "And wants to come in!" The last trailing stroke of the kanji has been expanded out into an entire crooked tail; those two vertical strokes up top have been neatly joined with the horizontal stroke about their middle to suggest ears. The closed box of its body is a sunnier orange to the yellow outside. There aren't really any ''figures'' of note, in the painting; it's all straight lines, colours, and kanji.

It's... very metaphorical..?

Then again, the afternoon sun is merrily shining through the windows here, too, a blatant lie about how cold it is out there without state-of-the-art reverse cycle air conditioning. Maybe the metaphor is closer than they think.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi Ohzora, of course, is a fixture in the art club--not the most popular member exactly, but well-known if only for all the paintings of hers that end up on display around--and the occasional Real Display hers are included in. She's one of the points of pride for Infinity's club...

And just now she happens to be walking through the club room on her meandering way towards Mikoto, coming to a stop along the way at the spot of a boy with dark hair, who also happens to be a friend of hers.

"Hi!" Yumi greets cheerfully, "I wanted to show you--" Pause. "Gosh, you look tired."

"...Yeah," Takahiro Yamashita replies, shaking his head. His canvas is... actually just a few lines here and there, the ghost of something that will be a painting later, before he sets down the brush. "...Sorry, Yumi-chan, I'm... pretty tired. I think I'm just going to go sit down for a while."

"Oh, um... Yeah, maybe you should. You okay?"

"Fine. Just can't sleep. Weird dreams. Don't worry about it."

"Oh... okay."

Yumi looks a little disappointed as he leaves, but slouches her way over to Mikoto and her own work.

Yumi's work is less abstract, this time unusually having a couple of figures in it--but it's hard to tell what all it is at the moment, at an early stage. There's a sense of disconnection between the figures already, though, facing away from each other in a dark background.

"...Aww, yeah," Yumi answers, putting on a brighter face for Mikoto despite the moment. "I'd want in too on a day like this..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto's nose all wrinkles up with her frown, as the boy in the club finally speaks up. She's noticed how he ''hasn't,'' but she wasn't paying too much mind to it, not until Yumi actually asks him about it. (Maybe it's awkward for her to talk to a boy when Yumi's just gotten back.) She hums through her lips, and opens them to say something --

And then she realises that her best advice for fixing weird dreams is just to find someone to sleep beside. This is advice which is apparently different for boys. She falls silent, and watches him leave, with faint and faintly complicated concern.

Yumi's coming over, though, so Mikoto smiles for her. "Yeah!" She agrees, with subtle nuance, looking over to the window. "It's cold out there..." She'd know! She got on the train and came out here after school! ''Right'' after school, apparently, judging by the Ohtori uniform she's still in.

Let it not be said that Mikoto doesn't respond enthusiastically to Yumi's suggestions.

She tilts her head, looking over to Yumi's own painting in progress. (Mikoto's seems largely done, in much the way that amateurs rush forward with their ideas before they fade from existence forever. There are several points on the canvas where the pocked white below still shows through, on account of her too-generous strokes.) "... what about Yumi's?" She asks, toned down a little when she looks back to her. She tries not to ''assume;'' regardless, she invites.

Well, Mikoto might know the signs of a complicated painting. She does love painting the concept of cats in any catlike situation, but...

... there are some other ones tucked away in Ohtori's studios, too.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Takahiro notices Mikoto's frown only vaguely, waving her direction as a sort of general reaction on his way out. And then it's just Mikoto and Yumi (and the rest of the room, but there's a little distance there, at least a couple yards). But Yumi picks up on the nuance despite her preoccupation. "...It was nice of you to come over anyway!" she says. "I know it's kind of out of the way..."

But it being that cold out, Yumi going to ''Ohtori'' would be a little more of an ask today anyway, considering how much walking around she'd have to be up to. For her part, she of course is still in her Infinity uniform, jacket still on since even with the AC it's a little chilly for her in here.

Yumi likes Mikoto's style; she finds the abstraction fun, for one thing. But hers? Well...

"...I've just been thinking about Mother," Yumi says a little, looking over to it and shaking her head. "I dunno. I feel like I'm getting somewhere, but..." With the painting, that is. "Mm."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"It's okay!" Mikoto assures Yumi, brightly. She doesn't mind doing more walking to get to Yumi! It's easier for Mikoto to walk than it is for her. Even if Mikoto still hasn't figured out how to climb up Infinity Tower...

(One may imagine, here, a squeegee sound effect as one very offended girl slides d o w n a sleek smooth surface.)

She rocks back on her heels, and puts the brush down, on the lip of the easel which is designed to hold the canvas. (It gets some paint where it's not supposed to, a bit of orange on the cream, but that's fine. Maybe she'll make it into a pawprint later.) "It's complicated, right?" Mikoto asks, filling in the conjunction which Yumi can't quite populate.

"It's like they can't see each other," she theorises, ambling over to the painting with big, gold eyes. Saucerlike they turn to Yumi, blink, blink. "... something like that?" Perhaps walking off to the painting was its own demonstation; Mikoto certainly wasn't looking at Yumi ''then.'' For all her sharp senses, she doesn't have eyes in the back of her head.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi has definitely imagined it. Maybe not just now, but in general. She has a different approach to getting up Infinity from the outside, of course. It wouldn't be the first time if she slipped out a window on her broom...

Yumi doesn't notice the little bit of paint that goes where it shouldn't; she really must be preoccupied at the moment. But it's complicated, Mikoto suggests. "Yeah," Yumi answers, and moves back to sit down on a stool she has out. (She gets to sit down while she works a lot of the time, for reasons.)

But big gold eyes. Mikoto sees it--"Yeah," she says. "It's like that. But I don't know. I was going to show it to him," since she often shows these to her art buddy, "But I dunno... Maybe it's for the best I don't. It might be weird if I put one out that seemed like it implied..." She gestures.

"Anyway I'll probably keep this one for myself, I guess."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto hums consideration through her lips, as she listens to Yumi's story. Weird implications... she looks back to the painting, and considers it. She doesn't really know the extent of Yumi's art accomplishments, but she knows they like displaying her paintings in places where people can see them, which is really the important part of the calculation as far as Mikoto is concerned.

Finally she spins on a heel, and flomps to the floor beside Yumi's stool, as if sitting on the floor is the most natural thing in the world. She could have pulled up a stool of her own; she doesn't bother. "Don't want people to see?" She asks, with a tone of confirmation rather than enquiry.

She nods, looking up at those figures who can't face each other. "There's lots I don't share, too. But finish it, Yumi! Even if it's for yourself." She encourages her so easily, looking up with that big, earnest smile. "Sometimes it's too hard to say things... but, when it's painting, it's not being said. It's something else. But, it's not on the inside any more."

A hand grasps to her heart as Mikoto says: "Keeping stuff like that inside isn't always good." Despite how simple her encouragement is... there's a depth of experience to it Mikoto doesn't quite know how to express.

... she kept her secrets on the inside, too, and it almost doomed her.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi generally clatters about the stool, her shoes hooking into its supports and her shoulders slouching down like she often does when she sits. It makes her closer to Mikoto anyway! But the question, "I don't want to give people the wrong idea about Mother..."

Sitting on the floor is pretty natural, but it's a farther trip for Yumi than Mikoto.

That earnest smile seems to cheer the white-haired girl up a bit though--she smiles back, if briefly. "...Yeah," she says. "You're right. I should finish it. I guess I was just second-guessing a little, since..."

Well, reasons. She waves that off, instead nodding, because she recognizes how deep Mikoto's encouragement goes here. "That's part of what I like about painting anyway. It lets me say things I don't know how to say..."

It almost did. "I'm glad I can share it with you at least. I feel like you... get it."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto does, indeed, have a look of understanding, as Yumi protests about her mother's image. She understands Yumi second-guessing herself, too.

She looks back to the painting, and considers it. Her head tilts back, and she considers it.

"The first time I made something... like that... I got really scared. It looked scary, and big, and it wasn't like I thought it would be when I made it. I didn't want anyone to see. I was all shamed, I guess," she supposes, a hand coming up to scratch sheepishly behind an ear. "But... it was a way I could, umm, express it. I didn't have to say anything... but..."

'Family was secret, for me. No... abuse, was secret.'

Mikoto hums through her lips, looking up at the painting. (It's higher than her, now. Lots of things are.) "I admitted it to myself. And that's important, too." She learned how to speak the secret things from Eri, but what one cannot say to the self, one cannot possibly share with the world.

"Family is complicated," Mikoto says, with a puff of air as her own shoulders slump down a little. "It's hard to know how to feel, when there's so much saying how you gotta feel." She knows Yumi comes from an old-fashioned line, herself; she can only guess that tradition weighs on her just as heavily. "But," she supposes, looking up to Yumi, "it don't just go away. So Yumi should have the right idea, right? Who cares about other people!"

That's easy for Mikoto to say, all sprawled out cheerfully on the floor without a single care for what anyone might think.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"It's not the first time I've made something that's like... emotional," Yumi says, as if she doesn't know exactly what 'like that' Mikoto means, and it isn't just emotional. "But this one... it's definitely.... I mean, I dunno, I kind of ''feel'' that way. Like it's more distant than it used to be." But family--family is complicated.

Most things are lower than Yumi, too. And she is from an old-fashioned line.

"Yeah," she says. "You..." Mikoto gets a lot of it, actually. They have this much in common; an old-fashioned family, even if it obviously can't be the ''same''. "It doesn't just go away," Yumi agrees. That much is obvious, anyway.

"...I mean, I do have the right idea, but it matters what other people say--I have a lot I have to... Keep up with." She pauses, and then, "I mean, a lot of things I have to do. I'm supposed to keep up the family name, and all. ...Maybe I should be doing more of that anyway."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto scooches herself around to face Yumi, and leans over all in a topple to thonk her head against the other girl's far too long and lanky leg. Perhaps it is a fine illustration of the weight pressing down on Yumi's shoulders. Perhaps Mikoto is just, like that, all the time.

"It matters?" Mikoto asks, blinking up at her with those far too gold eyes. "I guess I get it... I was representative, too." What a strange, big word for Mikoto to use. But is it any wonder? Demon Kings don't attend gatherings in Dark Fall, let alone make appearances in Tokyo; they send their Generals to advocate for their interests. As her Lord Brother's right hand, it was up to Mikoto to fight for his suffering. Of course, Mikoto recognises the nuance, head tilting against her. "But it's different when it's just old, huh..."

Not all traditional families are secretly part of the loose affiliation of monsters seeking to destroy or subjugate the world. Some of them are just venerable!

"But if it's for Yumi, it's okay, right?" Mikoto goes on, wide-eyed. "The people who care about 'Ohzora' don't gotta know it's distant. It's not their business." It's a turn of phrase which reflects Mikoto's own thinking about traditional families; she declared her own family's workings to be none of their business so often, up here.

Mikoto hums through her lips, glancing sidelong, before she looks up to Yumi again. "If Yumi hadn't made a picture, would you have known it felt like that? I mean... clearly," she adds, because Mikoto knows what it's like to have a dark cloud of something uncertain hanging over herself. "If you don't know what's wrong, there's no way to fix it. That's what I think."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Maybe it's both!

"Right--a representative. That's a good way to put it." Weird, of course, that it would be the same--but not that weird, is it? It is a big word for Mikoto to use, but it happens to be exactly the right word for Yumi right now so she doesn't think too much of it beyond noting that much. Instead, "We're old but we have to maintain a certain... dignity, I guess. You know how it is; you don't want to air... stuff, around everybody else."

But a traditional family is just a traditional family!

"Hmmm," Yumi says. "Yeah though, that's true. If it's too... personal... to share a lot, then it's still OK if I finish it for myself. It's not their business, like you said."

Would she have known? "Well..." Yumi thinks about it. And then she clarifies about it. "...Maybe not. I knew I kinda felt like that, but it's helping me think of ''how'' I feel, in more... like... detail."

"I dunno if there's anything to..." She pauses. "Well no. I'm sure there's something. ...Yeah."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto nods, against Yumi's leg. She is still all leant over onto her space. This is how a Mikoto does. She hums understanding, as Yumi trails through her thoughts, and doesn't interrupt.

She's 'Mikoto', so she's good at listening, actually.

"You can definitely do something, Yumi," she encourages her, smiling. "Yumi's really strong and smart, so the important bit is just knowing what's wrong! Maybe it's not something Yumi can do right now, but... it's okay to take time to get ready." There's a long blink, and Mikoto's tone falls a shade as she glances aside. "I'm not ready to help my Lord Brother out of the dark, neither... I've still got a lot to work out."

She looks back up to Yumi, smiling again. "But even if family's hard, and there's secrets, we're still here! I like Yumi a lot! And not just me." ''Lots'' of people like Yumi. She's very popular! Maybe even not entirely because of her family. "Family can feel like it's more important than anything else, but if I didn't have so many friends, I would've been..." Mikoto trails off, here, with a grunt to close off the thought.

Her eyes close, for a moment, as she goes from thinking about everyone to thinking about this girl in particular. When her eyelids lift, it is like opening a treasure chest full of glittering gold, brighter and deeper than any hopes or dreams.

"I'm really happy I know Yumi. 'Cause Yumi knows how it is, it's easier for me... we're not all alone out here."

It's cold out there, but it's warm in here.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi doesn't mind this; it's just how a Mikoto does, and it helps with how chilly it still feels anyway. She's 'Mikoto', and she is good at listening.

"...Mikoto-chan..." Strong, and smart. Maybe the important part is just knowing what's wrong. "Time to get ready..."

Yumi reaches down and leans over to give her friend a vague hug, as best she can from this angle.

"I like you, too."

"And I'm glad you're here."

It is ''so'' very brilliant, and Yumi thinks she has a palette to use for something else, one of these days, a little inspiration for something glittering in the dark.

"...Yeah," she says. "I'm... happy too."

Mikoto knows how it is.

2021-06-12 - Black Glass Brothers

2021-06-14T11:35:46Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: take a shot every time i forget to add tags to a log

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Black Glass Brothers'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''This time, when Nori and Mikoto meet at the aquarium, it's a happier affair. But they get to talking about the Cardiax Worm -- and when Mikoto shares what happened when her Lord Brother took her suffering from her, Nori elects to tell the tale of Melancholy's own six brothers, and the fate of the Mother of Sorrow's seven children. It is a story which leads to the Sirens themselves.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Nori Ankou]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Verone Aquarium
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-06-12 - 2015-12-01
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The catfish exhibit is now open to the public again, but that's not where we'll find our heroes (plural, this time). Oh, Mikoto certainly ''did'' invite Nori to the aquarium, but she's got her eye on another type of fish entirely. It just so happens that she's come to rest under a broad display featuring...

The great...

And extremely flat...

MANTA RAY, who is a friend.

This late -- Mikoto didn't ''plan'' on visiting the aquarium insomuch as she drifted inside with the last of her pocket change for the day -- there aren't too many youngsters bounding around pointing at the positively massive sea-creatures flapping about, as if the cape she once shed to come here without causing a fuss decided to take on a life of its own.

She slips her phone back into her pocket, having sent out a missive with the requisite amount of exclamation marks, and turns on a sensible Ohtori heel to look up at the very, very big fish. It's not a message she sent with much thought attached - Mikoto just really wants Nori to see a fish this big and this flat. Her jacket is tied around her waist, because it's surprisingly warm, in the aquarium; there's a pink shirt underneath, with a cute little cyan cat on the breast pocket. She's wearing shorts ''with'' leggings, because Mikoto, apparently, has never heard of 'pants'.

They say you can see your passengers. There's Mikoto, too gold eyes in the glass; there's the black case on her back. One... two.

That's like it ought to be, isn't it?

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Cat. 
Cat. 
CAT.

Ray?

Nori is wearing a red sweater, cable-knit and with a sort of rustlike general hue in the dying, along with a long black skirt (with a silver curlicue around the hem), purple-and-pink striped leggings (because by God, pink is a form of red) and comfortable walking boots. There was also an overcoat, but this she checked...

"Aren't they wonderful?" Nori says, as she gazes at the enormous ray. "Sometimes I wish I was one. I wonder what it is like for them to live with a body like that... just a big, soft sort of disk... that mouth that goes, shloop!"

There is that faint sound, the strange hum in the background of the sea, that sort of standing-wave open-mic intensity.

"I love this place," Nori sighs. "I wish I could live here!"

"Even if I had not yet become a ray," Nori concludes.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Nori!" Comes the chirped greeting, as Mikoto points up, to the glass. "Look, look!"

And so Nori looks, and Mikoto looks, too. "They're very flat," she agrees, reaching up a hand to the glass. "Sometimes cats get that flat, when there's lots of sun. But," she adds an important detail, "not in the water." This is a very important cat fact. What if Nori put a cat in the water and expected them to be flat? That would be a bad day for the cat and also Nori.

"The lady in charge said they're real gentle, even though they're so big..." Mikoto's neck cranes uuup to watch the manta ray's mouth going shloop, just as Nori says. Without biting anyone! Well, except the tiny fish. "Seems like people think they're scary, but they're actually nice."

There is of course the ''smell'' of water, at least, here, to Mikoto; that strange background tickle of sea-creature, even held beyond the glass. Maybe it's the salt from the sea.

"I like this place, now, too," Mikoto agrees, at length, scratching a hand at her ear, with a certain pendulum-swinging weight between the commas. She leaves it unsaid. She wonders whether they ever noticed the fingernail-scratches on the glass.

Mikoto looks up, as the ray passes by, all flappy-flappy wings of the sea. "But, living here would be damp, right..?"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Does the sun do it?" Nori asks. "I don't like being out in the sun, myself. Batiste is often very lazy in the water, but he is not flat, he is..."

Nori tries to find the right word.

"... ''wiggling.''"

She takes a deep breath and lets it out, tilting her head back to watch the manta ray. "Do they? I know some of them have poison... so perhaps that is what makes them scary. But on their own, they're so gentle. I think that there are places on the first basement level where we could even touch some of them, if you would like."

Water ripples.

"I suppose it would be," Nori muses. "But, I don't mind that."

"Do you think that creatures of the sea are scary, Mikoto?" Nori then asks, her attention moving - grudgingly - away from the beautiful vision of the great sea-creature and towards the comparably-beautiful but more-grounded-in-the-everyday form of Mikoto Minagi. "I mean to say, in themselves."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Wriggly!" Mikoto agrees, in enthusiastic echo.

She looks up at the manta rays and doesn't much ''think'' they're poisonous; most things with stings, in her experience, are eager to advertise, and the manta doesn't seem to be advertising much aside from the deeply impressive cloak which is it. But then Nori suggests ''touching a manta ray,'' and Mikoto agrees, with that self-same enthusiasm: "Yup!"

There's a thoughtful noise, at the back of her throat, as Nori cedes she doesn't mind damp; well, she thinks, that is true for Nori, and it's okay if it's not the same.

(Looking directly at that is a little scary, isn't it?)

She blinks, as Nori poses quite that question to her; her hand curls, at the braid by her ear, as she turns to her instead of that big flappy ray. "Scary..?" She repeats, tilting her head. "Mostly, they're dinner... but I was surprised the first time I met a shark."

Mikoto apparently doesn't know the relationship between manta rays and sharks. Sharks are bitey, after all.

"I guess I'm not really scared by animals too much," Mikoto puffs out a breath, a little shrug of her shoulder as her hand comes down. "I've always been scarier, so I never thought I should worry."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Well then, we shall know where to go next," Nori says, smiling again: "But there's no rush, is there?"

In here, there's very little rush.

"Heh," Nori says, about the shark. She smiles again, her hands coming up to fold behind her head, sliding her fingers through her rich, damp-almost black hair as she tilts her head back to gaze upwards. "That's a good attitude to take... other than some of the very big ones, usually they just do not want anything to do with humanity. Or else they only want your snacks, or are curious about what you are doing."

Nori gazes up into the depths, seen in the converse, as another great manta ray crosses between her and the far-off lights of the surface-proper.

"... I want to thank you, for what you did," Nori says, "in Shinjuku. I know you would not have stood by, but... you truly were a pillar of strength... I... mm."

The smile doesn't vanish as such but it does become eclipsed; hidden, from view, still on her eyes, as they turn towards Mikoto again.

"What we fought, you see, was ultimately a sea creature itself."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's hard to rush in the water. Does that mean it's also hard to rush under the water, when they're not in the water? Here is Mikoto's assessment of that: liminal spaces are weird.

"Curious... yeah," Mikoto agrees, head atilt. "When fish is too angry for dinner, it usually gives up after wrestling a little." This is an astounding mental image which she fully fails to further illustrate.

... it really is a strange feeling to be at the bottom of the sea, but the one mercy here is the fact that there ''are'' lights.

What Mikoto did in Shinjuku can at least now be something people are thankful for; still, she looks a little surprised, righting her gaze to blink at the other girl. "Me..?" She asks, a shade puzzled, before her smile returns. "I'm happy!" That she could be a pillar of strength, presumably; she wasn't too pleased at the girl's predicament.

"Worm's a... sea worm?" Mikoto guesses, scratching at her head. She tries to put together what Nori has said with what Nori now says, and comes up with: "So, when it stopped her from feeling... it wasn't on purpose?"

Her hand comes to rest at her neck, as Mikoto admits: "I didn't like that."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

To rush under water takes a different attitude. It's far easier to simply

float

after all.

"... Does it?" Nori says, pausing for a moment as Mikoto so sweetly derails her entire train of thought completely, causing it to take a side branch line for a few moments as she envisions, a shark? or perhaps, a massive tuna, or a mahimahi? being wrestled by Mikoto, and then giving up...

It must have been a shark, Nori thinks. A tuna would have been fighting for its very flesh.

Nori begins to walk down the path, moving away from the little knot of the circling rays. "Yes," she answers, not quickly. "It is an animal. Well, I would not even quite call it an animal... worms are not the sort of creature that you can have sympathy for easily, are they?" Moving past here crosses a few pieces of living rock, great pieces of stone that were presumably imported or chosen for their qualities for reeflike life, even if they are not quite as particular as corals.

This is meaningful because there are a number of strange creatures on the rock. Frondlike worms hanging in the ocean, picking up flecks of fish that the rays did not quite catch. Anemone; clownfish. Nori lingers, gazing at them.

"It just isn't from THESE seas," Nori says. "The Cardiax worm is from my own world, my own home, originally. I don't think it could even really live in the ocean, here."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto once caught a tuna THIIIS big...

Nori begins to move along, and Mikoto follows after. She doesn't mind a slow pace of conversation, really; she's perfectly happy to give Nori the space to compose her thoughts.

(She did tell her, all the way back here, that she didn't always know what to say. Mikoto is beginning to realise that perhaps her vocal mastery is more an impression she leaves than Nori's internal truth.)

Mikoto grunts a wordless 'no', as Nori wonders about the sympathy of worms; certainly Mikoto has never felt much for them, aside from the grim curiosity of a child, perhaps.

To the rocks. Mikoto goes to the edge and looks to them, following Nori's gaze to the anenome. Floaty, floaty... she hums through her lips, as she hears what ocean the Cardiax /did/ come from. "So," she concludes, once she is sure Nori has finished her thought, "it's an outsider..."

That's a particular way to describe them, isn't it?

That's a particular...

Mikoto shakes her head, hand curling at her chest. "Nori... about that worm... can I tell you something? Just..." she trails off, for a moment, gaze drifting to one of those clownfish darting out of the fronds, "it reminded me..."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"It's strange to think of it that way," Nori says, "but that's right, isn't it? It's an outsider. It doesn't live well here, except in places that are rich in, in sorrow. I think there must be tanks, or another world which is like the Sea, where they can thrive, but in this world they live in the heart of those who weep..."

Nori trails off then, looking towards Mikoto. "Ah? Yes, please," she says, her eyes looking curiously bright here underneath the filtered sunlight. "Anything at all, Mikoto."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"I saw her eyes, Nori. The little girl... she was happy, but she was all hollowed out. I didn't realise, at first, but..." Here Mikoto shakes her head, again, amends her statement: "no, maybe I wasn't used to seeing it on someone else."

On someone else..?

A frown creases her brow, all furrowed, leaving tension to her eyes. "When I felt very bad... my Lord Brother felt bad, too. He took my suffering from me... so, I never felt that bad for too long. I just felt love, for him. I thought it was good, 'cause I didn't have to worry or cry, but... I felt bad for a reason, Nori."

There's a moment's pause, as she closes her eyes, takes a breath.

"... when all my bad feelings were taken away, I never got the chance to figure it out. I felt better," here her hand crosses her chest to grasp her opposite arm, "but, it was my Lord Brother's better. 'Cause I couldn't feel my bad feelings, it was hard for me... I could only depend on my Lord Brother." How can anyone be expected to understand their situation if they have no understanding of themselves..?

"I didn't... understand why what was happening to me was bad for a long time. I thought, Dark Fall made people feel bad things, so if I felt ''better,'' it couldn't be bad. But, Nori... if the worms from your world make people ignore their bad feelings, too..." Her teeth worry at her bottom lip, for a moment, before her gaze comes back to the other girl again. "... I'm worried, Nori."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori is quiet.

The live rock moves; the anemones writhe, subtly. A fragment of something, perhaps shrimp? falls inwards; it lands among the anemone, one of them grasping hold of it. A clownfish nibbles, even as the morsel is drawn inwards on the soft-bodied thing.

Nori listens.

"I'm sorry," Nori says, quietly, and she dips her head for long moments.

"I know who is using them," she says then. "There is a story. But it's a little long. Do you want to hear the entire thing, or only the... the outline, the... the important part?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"It's not your fault," Mikoto shakes her head, and in her earnestness perhaps lands slightly east of the point. "It's... complicated."

Part of that of course is not wanting to blame HIM; part of it is realising just how much blame is on the structure of the family that raised them for this task. Part of it is a niggling unsurety in the back of her mind that she really knows where the blame lies, between all the blanks which still remain in her memory. Part of it, again, is not wanting to blame HIM, which bears repeating on account of Mikoto trying quite hard and not always succeeding.

All those parts add up to a whole lot of quiet, teeth pressing in against her lip in a quiet gesture of self-reassurance.

Finally Nori breaks that silence, with the preamble to a tale; Mikoto remembers what she said, in Shinjuku, about the Brothers, always ''Brothers,'' and tellingly there is a moment more of quiet from her. A certain bracing of the shoulders, before she deliberately, carefully releases the tension her body's still holding, arms dropping down to her sides and eyes looking up.

"Sounds like it's important," Mikoto surmises, in the end. "If you wanna tell me, Nori... I'll listen." A brief pause, and she adds: "It's okay if it's long. It's okay to say a lot. I won't be unhappy."

Maybe she feels the need to explain that because she's such a terse speaker, most of the time..?

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOOi9y-1c0g

"Yes," Nori says. She pauses then, for a moment, before turning her head to look to Mikoto. "I don't know if it is the same thing that you have experienced... but I know that sorrow is something beyond us all, and the ways are perhaps similar, even if the roads are different." Not unlike, perhaps, her mirror vs. Miroku.

Then she takes a deep breath...

"Once upon a time, the Mother of Sorrows walked on dark stones beneath a calm gray sky, alone. In time she tired of solitude, and she brought forth her children, seven in number; the only children she would have, in the shape of humans." It does go back a way.

Nori counts off names on her fingers. "She had six sons, who are Gloom, Regret, Desolation, Deject, Dolor, and Misery; and one daughter, who was Melancholy."

"They grew quickly, and not like other children. Melancholy and Desolation learned at the Mother's lap, in tune and serene. Regret undertook many works, but none were finished. Misery was tempestuous, and the storm would seize him. Deject did little; Dolor endured; and Gloom was most expressive of them all."

"It was Desolation who mastered the charm that would let them sail to different shores through the storm. It was Melancholy who brought the first others, though she was not the last, and so the islands and archipelagos were walked by human feet. In time, Melancholy shocked them all when she said that she would take a husband; the Mother of Sorrows approved, and to their great surprise anew, the Mother granted her the queenship of the isles and the stones."

"At first," Nori continues, "their jealousy took the form of competition. There are many ruins there, throughout the Sea of Tears; that are not truly ruins, but rather things-not-finished. There are places and realms and towns that were made by one to another, and great things and constructions wrought to win the Mother's approval. Approval she gave, but she did not move the crown."

"In this time, Melancholy had seven daughters, and they too in time had daughters. Melancholy herself did not grow old as other humans did, none of them did, and five of the brothers were sure among themselves: Once her husband passed on of his age, the crown would surely move along, perhaps until one of them did the same. It was only fair, after all, wasn't it?"

Nori pauses here.

"When that husband died, he had seen his children, his grandchildren, his *great* grandchildren, and even some few *great great* grandchildren, all living in the great city-sculpture of Luxor - a beautiful place, with neighborhoods all carved by sorcery and art, large enough for a hundred times those who lived there as yet, made by the brothers when they paid their visits. But he was mortal, and when he perished, he was laid in his tomb, and Melancholy sat there for seven years, silent and weeping."

"That was when the brothers began to grow impatient," Nori says.

Nori has meandered to the edge of this particular section of tunnels - the exit through which they must pass, to visit those touchable rays - and somehow it seems darker, more of a threshold than it usually does. Is it the clouds gathering? Nori pauses there, and she turns her head, and she extends one pale hand outwards.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

They are both black glass girls, all in all.

Let's call it outsider art.

There is a deep breath, and Mikoto, who is perhaps more tuned than she seems, takes her cue to listen. All the way to once upon a time, her eyes track those fingers counting off Gloom, Regret, Desolation...

Oh, Mikoto thinks. Of course they would not be happy children. She's Sorrows, after all.

She does smile to hear Melancholy and Desolation's part in their growing, and more or less gleams the meaning of their beings from the illustration Nori paints; she, herself, doesn't use most of the words often enough to have a solid picture.

Her head cants, as Nori reveals that the Mother of Sorrows gave the crown to her daughter; it's strange to her to think that the Mother ''herself'' wouldn't be Queen. (But then, she's always organised under a Lord, herself.) As she goes on, it's Mikoto's turn to count on her fingers, seven daughters, their own daughters...

She runs out of fingers pretty quickly, but she thinks maybe that's the point.

She follows along, all wide-eyed to hear the tales of Luxor, and those big gold saucers blink when Nori mentions seven again. Seven, seven...

A brief hum through her lips, as Mikoto tries to remember what's so special about seven. She puts it out of her mind as unimportant a moment later, because Nori's mentioned Melancholy's brothers again.

(Imagine having ''six'' of them. That would be very difficult, Mikoto thinks.)

At the liminal threshold, Mikoto steps out, into the darkness, and reaches out to gesture to Nori. "What'd they do?" She asks, a touch of nervousness to the question, and an entire epic written in the direct way she assumes they are about to ''do'' something.

Mikoto once told Nori, here, that brothers don't ruin lives; that ''girls'' were the ones to cause problems.

Mikoto wasn't only lying to Nori, back then.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Well," Nori says, "Desolation visited. He hoped, perhaps, to become king in turn, but he knew that that was a perhaps, and that his sister was a certainty. The others..."

"Misery drew Regret and Dolor with him," Nori says, "and Desolation faced them at the entrance to the tomb. They argued for days. Some of the arguments were heard - we do not know which of them struck, Regret or Misery, but one of them struck Desolation down with thunder and cast his body down."

"The three of them went into the tomb," Nori says, "and nobody knows, quite, what happened in there, but Melancholy did not pass peacefully. The sorrow burst from her, a storm, a torrent, a cataclysm, a cataract." (These are, perhaps, not cats one wishes to keep in the home.) "The tomb rent asunder. Soon after, Luxor. Those who could make it to ships or boats would flee to other worlds. The storm burst, across the world."

"The Mother punished all five of the brothers for what they did," Nori says. "All of them were separated from the flow of sorrow, the power they had held plucked away. In time they would live hollowly. Regret was cursed to never die. Misery as well, but the Mother told Misery something, in her grief. That one of the other brothers would in time be forgiven, unless he should stop them all from fulfilling their designs."

"All of that happened in the course of an hour or so," Nori says. "The first Siren, Thalatte, was found soon after. The Mother blessed her, with the first Black Mirror, and she gathered others... in time, the Mother told her, more or less, what I have just told you. And Thalatte became the queen, and ever after, a Siren has become queen."

Nori taps her cheek with a finger. "That is why they use the worms," Nori says. "The worms gather sorrow. The brothers, they can't gather it into themselves the way that every heart does. But they can draw it from the worms."

"That is it," Nori says. "It is a means to their end. They do other things, of course, but these are... it is like vampires, or like wolves stalking in the woods. I have tried to stop whatever ones I find. I know there are likely ones that I do not; they do not only walk upon this Earth."

"I do not know much of your brother beyond what he has done," Nori says. "Perhaps he started with kind intentions. I don't know. But character is what you show in the storm."

At this point they reach the stairs down. Down to something different. Perhaps happier? It's hard to say.

Nori smiles wanly. "I am sorry to ramble so much."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

They...

... killed their brother?

At this Mikoto's brow knits in consternation, hand clasping over her mouth, as if she can't quite fathom the idea of fratricide. She feels a little numb, at the edges of herself. Maybe that's just how thunder feels.

Nori doesn't lay blame at one or the other in her tale, but Mikoto thinks of the storm following Misery, and perhaps she does, despite herself. At least she knows better than to follow her first assumption, these days, doesn't she?

And then, there is Melancholy's storm... well, she can hardly blame her, Mikoto thinks. Oh, there seems an awful ''lot'' of grief in the ocean of sorrow. Mikoto thinks of Westar, here, as Nori implicates the miseries Misery may well spread. There's power there, too.

All that, in an hour.

Black Mirrors, and the queenship: perhaps Mikoto understands a little more of the expectations of a Siren, in that moment. She hums though her lips, dips her head in a nod.

So, she thinks, the Cardiax takes the sadness, then the Brothers take the Cardiax. Is it because they were separated from that flow..? Mikoto wonders if they miss it. It must be normal, to them, even if it sounds frightfully alien to her.

What you show in a storm, huh..?

She looks down the stairs, down and down and down, and all a sudden feels a strange hint of vertigo which has her straightening back up, turning back to Nori. "You didn't," she says, and not to spare her feelings. "It was just complicated... that's all. I'm glad Nori could tell me something like that." Here Mikoto smiles, too, perhaps a shade more encouragingly.

"I don't really understand how Nori's world works... it's weird, to me." Terribly alien, more like, but Mikoto doesn't speak with that sort of decoration. "But," she adds, "I think I get it a little more, now. Those worms, they're normal where everywhere is sad, right? So... it's here they're trouble. And the Brothers, they're not normal any more, so they're using those worms... right? For their plans..."

Mikoto's lips scrunch up, before she puffs out a sigh, and shakes her head. "... I don't remember if I heard from them back then," when she was in Dark Fall, presumably, "a lot's all blurry. If I remembered, I'd help," this offered with a shade of hapless frustration, all shaped like an apology, without the words to back it up.

"But," she insists, reaching out a hand to Nori, "I'll still help! If Nori thinks I'm strong, I can really do something! I don't want anyone to be all hollowed out... that's not really happy. We can make it better, Nori! She was really happy, after that." The girl, perhaps. She did seem better, to Mikoto's eyes.

And it's easier to go down together, isn't it?

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori smiles back. Smiling is small, then, but it is authentic, it is real. No false face here. Here in the slightly dim hallways of the aquarium, Mikoto is seeing the true Nori, or as true a Nori as there is.

"It's alright," Nori says. She takes the offered hand, squeezes once, turns it round for a proper handclasping. Her hand is cool as it always is.

"And it is not that I do not think that you are strong," Nori says: "I know it."

Down the stairs. "... Does it sound so weird? One day we can go and visit. It's wet, but I think you'll like it... especially if you enjoy fish, Mikoto. There is so, so much fish to eat."

SOON:

The rays in the touching tank are soft, and smooth, and cool; wet, and oh so friendly. They're used to being stroked. Why, they like it.

"To answer you, though. In the seas, the worms are... mm... I don't know exactly; but they just feed on what's in the water, like humpback whales, or like those anemones we saw, with their little clownfish friends. They like to make little knots. There's a sort of snail with two feet that likes to eat them..."

"It's not safe to eat them yourself, of course. That is no doubt how the child was given it... in a food, in a meal of some kind. A child will put almost anything in their mouth, after all."

"If they are with those people, in Dark Fall... it might only be Misery; they do not look so different from ordinary people, though I suppose 'ordinary' is a difficult thing to say. Dressed in ordinary clothes and walking down the street here in Tokyo, you might think, oh, a foreigner -- but foreigners aren't that rare, are they?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto smiles quite a bit more, to what Nori knows, and she wonders: "Visit..?" It's strange to think they could just go to a place like that, but Nori must know the way, and her braids bob with the motion of her head as she says: "Okay!"

Mikoto does like fish an ''awful'' lot.

And maybe not just for dinner!

FOR INSTANCE:

Leaning over the edge of the touching tank, Mikoto's hand dangles in the water, carefully petting one of those big flappy wings as they pass. She looks positively delighted at this interaction, and one might get the impression that Mikoto is the sort of person who thinks petting zoos are timeless and suitable for any age group at all.

(This is because that is true.)

She looks up to Nori, as she explains the nature of the Cardiax, in the nature of Sorrow; Mikoto can't quite remember the ''words,'' filter feeders, but she knows what Nori is talking about. She hums recognition, with a nod.

When Nori comes to suggest they're not for eating, and goes into the trick, Mikoto pulls the most impressively dismayed face imaginable. "That's not food!"

Mikoto has strong opinions about what food should be. Not spicy, and apparently, not sad, either.

She looks surprised to hear Nori say 'if,' and realises she has assumed that these Brothers are there, too; but really, could anyone blame Mikoto, with the associations she has? "They look the same..." Well, a lot of people from Dark Fall do. Mikoto is right here, isn't she? No wonder, then, that people from another world can blend in just the same.

"Back then, I thought that anyone could be my Lord Brother," Mikoto shares, reaching a little further to stroke the manta ray now passing by. "I'd just know him when I found him... that's what I thought. So... it's not so weird, anyone could be those Brothers, too."

Pet pet pet, "Nori'll know it when you see it, I think."

2021-06-12 - Black Glass Brothers

2021-06-13T07:56:43Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: mikoto would not fight a manta ray. they are friendly cloaks of the ocean and they do not look like food.

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Black Glass Brothers'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''This time, when Nori and Mikoto meet at the aquarium, it's a happier affair. But they get to talking about the Cardiax Worm -- and when Mikoto shares what happened when her Lord Brother took her suffering from her, Nori elects to tell the tale of Melancholy's own six brothers, and the fate of the Mother of Sorrow's seven children. It is a story which leads to the Sirens themselves.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Nori Ankou]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Verone Aquarium
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-06-12 - 2015-12-01
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The catfish exhibit is now open to the public again, but that's not where we'll find our heroes (plural, this time). Oh, Mikoto certainly ''did'' invite Nori to the aquarium, but she's got her eye on another type of fish entirely. It just so happens that she's come to rest under a broad display featuring...

The great...

And extremely flat...

MANTA RAY, who is a friend.

This late -- Mikoto didn't ''plan'' on visiting the aquarium insomuch as she drifted inside with the last of her pocket change for the day -- there aren't too many youngsters bounding around pointing at the positively massive sea-creatures flapping about, as if the cape she once shed to come here without causing a fuss decided to take on a life of its own.

She slips her phone back into her pocket, having sent out a missive with the requisite amount of exclamation marks, and turns on a sensible Ohtori heel to look up at the very, very big fish. It's not a message she sent with much thought attached - Mikoto just really wants Nori to see a fish this big and this flat. Her jacket is tied around her waist, because it's surprisingly warm, in the aquarium; there's a pink shirt underneath, with a cute little cyan cat on the breast pocket. She's wearing shorts ''with'' leggings, because Mikoto, apparently, has never heard of 'pants'.

They say you can see your passengers. There's Mikoto, too gold eyes in the glass; there's the black case on her back. One... two.

That's like it ought to be, isn't it?

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Cat.
Cat.
CAT.

Ray?

Nori is wearing a red sweater, cable-knit and with a sort of rustlike general hue in the dying, along with a long black skirt (with a silver curlicue around the hem), purple-and-pink striped leggings (because by God, pink is a form of red) and comfortable walking boots. There was also an overcoat, but this she checked...

"Aren't they wonderful?" Nori says, as she gazes at the enormous ray. "Sometimes I wish I was one. I wonder what it is like for them to live with a body like that... just a big, soft sort of disk... that mouth that goes, shloop!"

There is that faint sound, the strange hum in the background of the sea, that sort of standing-wave open-mic intensity.

"I love this place," Nori sighs. "I wish I could live here!"

"Even if I had not yet become a ray," Nori concludes.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Nori!" Comes the chirped greeting, as Mikoto points up, to the glass. "Look, look!"

And so Nori looks, and Mikoto looks, too. "They're very flat," she agrees, reaching up a hand to the glass. "Sometimes cats get that flat, when there's lots of sun. But," she adds an important detail, "not in the water." This is a very important cat fact. What if Nori put a cat in the water and expected them to be flat? That would be a bad day for the cat and also Nori.

"The lady in charge said they're real gentle, even though they're so big..." Mikoto's neck cranes uuup to watch the manta ray's mouth going shloop, just as Nori says. Without biting anyone! Well, except the tiny fish. "Seems like people think they're scary, but they're actually nice."

There is of course the ''smell'' of water, at least, here, to Mikoto; that strange background tickle of sea-creature, even held beyond the glass. Maybe it's the salt from the sea.

"I like this place, now, too," Mikoto agrees, at length, scratching a hand at her ear, with a certain pendulum-swinging weight between the commas. She leaves it unsaid. She wonders whether they ever noticed the fingernail-scratches on the glass.

Mikoto looks up, as the ray passes by, all flappy-flappy wings of the sea. "But, living here would be damp, right..?"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Does the sun do it?" Nori asks. "I don't like being out in the sun, myself. Batiste is often very lazy in the water, but he is not flat, he is..."

Nori tries to find the right word.

"... ''wiggling.''"

She takes a deep breath and lets it out, tilting her head back to watch the manta ray. "Do they? I know some of them have poison... so perhaps that is what makes them scary. But on their own, they're so gentle. I think that there are places on the first basement level where we could even touch some of them, if you would like."

Water ripples.

"I suppose it would be," Nori muses. "But, I don't mind that."

"Do you think that creatures of the sea are scary, Mikoto?" Nori then asks, her attention moving - grudgingly - away from the beautiful vision of the great sea-creature and towards the comparably-beautiful but more-grounded-in-the-everyday form of Mikoto Minagi. "I mean to say, in themselves."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Wriggly!" Mikoto agrees, in enthusiastic echo.

She looks up at the manta rays and doesn't much ''think'' they're poisonous; most things with stings, in her experience, are eager to advertise, and the manta doesn't seem to be advertising much aside from the deeply impressive cloak which is it. But then Nori suggests ''touching a manta ray,'' and Mikoto agrees, with that self-same enthusiasm: "Yup!"

There's a thoughtful noise, at the back of her throat, as Nori cedes she doesn't mind damp; well, she thinks, that is true for Nori, and it's okay if it's not the same.

(Looking directly at that is a little scary, isn't it?)

She blinks, as Nori poses quite that question to her; her hand curls, at the braid by her ear, as she turns to her instead of that big flappy ray. "Scary..?" She repeats, tilting her head. "Mostly, they're dinner... but I was surprised the first time I met a shark."

Mikoto apparently doesn't know the relationship between manta rays and sharks. Sharks are bitey, after all.

"I guess I'm not really scared by animals too much," Mikoto puffs out a breath, a little shrug of her shoulder as her hand comes down. "I've always been scarier, so I never thought I should worry."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Well then, we shall know where to go next," Nori says, smiling again: "But there's no rush, is there?"

In here, there's very little rush.

"Heh," Nori says, about the shark. She smiles again, her hands coming up to fold behind her head, sliding her fingers through her rich, damp-almost black hair as she tilts her head back to gaze upwards. "That's a good attitude to take... other than some of the very big ones, usually they just do not want anything to do with humanity. Or else they only want your snacks, or are curious about what you are doing."

Nori gazes up into the depths, seen in the converse, as another great manta ray crosses between her and the far-off lights of the surface-proper.

"... I want to thank you, for what you did," Nori says, "in Shinjuku. I know you would not have stood by, but... you truly were a pillar of strength... I... mm."

The smile doesn't vanish as such but it does become eclipsed; hidden, from view, still on her eyes, as they turn towards Mikoto again.

"What we fought, you see, was ultimately a sea creature itself."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's hard to rush in the water. Does that mean it's also hard to rush under the water, when they're not in the water? Here is Mikoto's assessment of that: liminal spaces are weird.

"Curious... yeah," Mikoto agrees, head atilt. "When fish is too angry for dinner, it usually gives up after wrestling a little." This is an astounding mental image which she fully fails to further illustrate.

... it really is a strange feeling to be at the bottom of the sea, but the one mercy here is the fact that there ''are'' lights.

What Mikoto did in Shinjuku can at least now be something people are thankful for; still, she looks a little surprised, righting her gaze to blink at the other girl. "Me..?" She asks, a shade puzzled, before her smile returns. "I'm happy!" That she could be a pillar of strength, presumably; she wasn't too pleased at the girl's predicament.

"Worm's a... sea worm?" Mikoto guesses, scratching at her head. She tries to put together what Nori has said with what Nori now says, and comes up with: "So, when it stopped her from feeling... it wasn't on purpose?"

Her hand comes to rest at her neck, as Mikoto admits: "I didn't like that."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

To rush under water takes a different attitude. It's far easier to simply

float

after all.

"... Does it?" Nori says, pausing for a moment as Mikoto so sweetly derails her entire train of thought completely, causing it to take a side branch line for a few moments as she envisions, a shark? or perhaps, a massive tuna, or a mahimahi? being wrestled by Mikoto, and then giving up...

It must have been a shark, Nori thinks. A tuna would have been fighting for its very flesh.

Nori begins to walk down the path, moving away from the little knot of the circling rays. "Yes," she answers, not quickly. "It is an animal. Well, I would not even quite call it an animal... worms are not the sort of creature that you can have sympathy for easily, are they?" Moving past here crosses a few pieces of living rock, great pieces of stone that were presumably imported or chosen for their qualities for reeflike life, even if they are not quite as particular as corals.

This is meaningful because there are a number of strange creatures on the rock. Frondlike worms hanging in the ocean, picking up flecks of fish that the rays did not quite catch. Anemone; clownfish. Nori lingers, gazing at them.

"It just isn't from THESE seas," Nori says. "The Cardiax worm is from my own world, my own home, originally. I don't think it could even really live in the ocean, here."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto once caught a tuna THIIIS big...

Nori begins to move along, and Mikoto follows after. She doesn't mind a slow pace of conversation, really; she's perfectly happy to give Nori the space to compose her thoughts.

(She did tell her, all the way back here, that she didn't always know what to say. Mikoto is beginning to realise that perhaps her vocal mastery is more an impression she leaves than Nori's internal truth.)

Mikoto grunts a wordless 'no', as Nori wonders about the sympathy of worms; certainly Mikoto has never felt much for them, aside from the grim curiosity of a child, perhaps.

To the rocks. Mikoto goes to the edge and looks to them, following Nori's gaze to the anenome. Floaty, floaty... she hums through her lips, as she hears what ocean the Cardiax /did/ come from. "So," she concludes, once she is sure Nori has finished her thought, "it's an outsider..."

That's a particular way to describe them, isn't it?

That's a particular...

Mikoto shakes her head, hand curling at her chest. "Nori... about that worm... can I tell you something? Just..." she trails off, for a moment, gaze drifting to one of those clownfish darting out of the fronds, "it reminded me..."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"It's strange to think of it that way," Nori says, "but that's right, isn't it? It's an outsider. It doesn't live well here, except in places that are rich in, in sorrow. I think there must be tanks, or another world which is like the Sea, where they can thrive, but in this world they live in the heart of those who weep..."

Nori trails off then, looking towards Mikoto. "Ah? Yes, please," she says, her eyes looking curiously bright here underneath the filtered sunlight. "Anything at all, Mikoto."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"I saw her eyes, Nori. The little girl... she was happy, but she was all hollowed out. I didn't realise, at first, but..." Here Mikoto shakes her head, again, amends her statement: "no, maybe I wasn't used to seeing it on someone else."

On someone else..?

A frown creases her brow, all furrowed, leaving tension to her eyes. "When I felt very bad... my Lord Brother felt bad, too. He took my suffering from me... so, I never felt that bad for too long. I just felt love, for him. I thought it was good, 'cause I didn't have to worry or cry, but... I felt bad for a reason, Nori."

There's a moment's pause, as she closes her eyes, takes a breath.

"... when all my bad feelings were taken away, I never got the chance to figure it out. I felt better," here her hand crosses her chest to grasp her opposite arm, "but, it was my Lord Brother's better. 'Cause I couldn't feel my bad feelings, it was hard for me... I could only depend on my Lord Brother." How can anyone be expected to understand their situation if they have no understanding of themselves..?

"I didn't... understand why what was happening to me was bad for a long time. I thought, Dark Fall made people feel bad things, so if I felt ''better,'' it couldn't be bad. But, Nori... if the worms from your world make people ignore their bad feelings, too..." Her teeth worry at her bottom lip, for a moment, before her gaze comes back to the other girl again. "... I'm worried, Nori."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori is quiet.

The live rock moves; the anemones writhe, subtly. A fragment of something, perhaps shrimp? falls inwards; it lands among the anemone, one of them grasping hold of it. A clownfish nibbles, even as the morsel is drawn inwards on the soft-bodied thing.

Nori listens.

"I'm sorry," Nori says, quietly, and she dips her head for long moments.

"I know who is using them," she says then. "There is a story. But it's a little long. Do you want to hear the entire thing, or only the... the outline, the... the important part?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"It's not your fault," Mikoto shakes her head, and in her earnestness perhaps lands slightly east of the point. "It's... complicated."

Part of that of course is not wanting to blame HIM; part of it is realising just how much blame is on the structure of the family that raised them for this task. Part of it is a niggling unsurety in the back of her mind that she really knows where the blame lies, between all the blanks which still remain in her memory. Part of it, again, is not wanting to blame HIM, which bears repeating on account of Mikoto trying quite hard and not always succeeding.

All those parts add up to a whole lot of quiet, teeth pressing in against her lip in a quiet gesture of self-reassurance.

Finally Nori breaks that silence, with the preamble to a tale; Mikoto remembers what she said, in Shinjuku, about the Brothers, always ''Brothers,'' and tellingly there is a moment more of quiet from her. A certain bracing of the shoulders, before she deliberately, carefully releases the tension her body's still holding, arms dropping down to her sides and eyes looking up.

"Sounds like it's important," Mikoto surmises, in the end. "If you wanna tell me, Nori... I'll listen." A brief pause, and she adds: "It's okay if it's long. It's okay to say a lot. I won't be unhappy."

Maybe she feels the need to explain that because she's such a terse speaker, most of the time..?

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOOi9y-1c0g

"Yes," Nori says. She pauses then, for a moment, before turning her head to look to Mikoto. "I don't know if it is the same thing that you have experienced... but I know that sorrow is something beyond us all, and the ways are perhaps similar, even if the roads are different." Not unlike, perhaps, her mirror vs. Miroku.

Then she takes a deep breath...

"Once upon a time, the Mother of Sorrows walked on dark stones beneath a calm gray sky, alone. In time she tired of solitude, and she brought forth her children, seven in number; the only children she would have, in the shape of humans." It does go back a way.

Nori counts off names on her fingers. "She had six sons, who are Gloom, Regret, Desolation, Deject, Dolor, and Misery; and one daughter, who was Melancholy."

"They grew quickly, and not like other children. Melancholy and Desolation learned at the Mother's lap, in tune and serene. Regret undertook many works, but none were finished. Misery was tempestuous, and the storm would seize him. Deject did little; Dolor endured; and Gloom was most expressive of them all."

"It was Desolation who mastered the charm that would let them sail to different shores through the storm. It was Melancholy who brought the first others, though she was not the last, and so the islands and archipelagos were walked by human feet. In time, Melancholy shocked them all when she said that she would take a husband; the Mother of Sorrows approved, and to their great surprise anew, the Mother granted her the queenship of the isles and the stones."

"At first," Nori continues, "their jealousy took the form of competition. There are many ruins there, throughout the Sea of Tears; that are not truly ruins, but rather things-not-finished. There are places and realms and towns that were made by one to another, and great things and constructions wrought to win the Mother's approval. Approval she gave, but she did not move the crown."

"In this time, Melancholy had seven daughters, and they too in time had daughters. Melancholy herself did not grow old as other humans did, none of them did, and five of the brothers were sure among themselves: Once her husband passed on of his age, the crown would surely move along, perhaps until one of them did the same. It was only fair, after all, wasn't it?"

Nori pauses here.

"When that husband died, he had seen his children, his grandchildren, his *great* grandchildren, and even some few *great great* grandchildren, all living in the great city-sculpture of Luxor - a beautiful place, with neighborhoods all carved by sorcery and art, large enough for a hundred times those who lived there as yet, made by the brothers when they paid their visits. But he was mortal, and when he perished, he was laid in his tomb, and Melancholy sat there for seven years, silent and weeping."

"That was when the brothers began to grow impatient," Nori says.

Nori has meandered to the edge of this particular section of tunnels - the exit through which they must pass, to visit those touchable rays - and somehow it seems darker, more of a threshold than it usually does. Is it the clouds gathering? Nori pauses there, and she turns her head, and she extends one pale hand outwards.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

They are both black glass girls, all in all.

Let's call it outsider art.

There is a deep breath, and Mikoto, who is perhaps more tuned than she seems, takes her cue to listen. All the way to once upon a time, her eyes track those fingers counting off Gloom, Regret, Desolation...

Oh, Mikoto thinks. Of course they would not be happy children. She's Sorrows, after all.

She does smile to hear Melancholy and Desolation's part in their growing, and more or less gleams the meaning of their beings from the illustration Nori paints; she, herself, doesn't use most of the words often enough to have a solid picture.

Her head cants, as Nori reveals that the Mother of Sorrows gave the crown to her daughter; it's strange to her to think that the Mother ''herself'' wouldn't be Queen. (But then, she's always organised under a Lord, herself.) As she goes on, it's Mikoto's turn to count on her fingers, seven daughters, their own daughters...

She runs out of fingers pretty quickly, but she thinks maybe that's the point.

She follows along, all wide-eyed to hear the tales of Luxor, and those big gold saucers blink when Nori mentions seven again. Seven, seven...

A brief hum through her lips, as Mikoto tries to remember what's so special about seven. She puts it out of her mind as unimportant a moment later, because Nori's mentioned Melancholy's brothers again.

(Imagine having ''six'' of them. That would be very difficult, Mikoto thinks.)

At the liminal threshold, Mikoto steps out, into the darkness, and reaches out to gesture to Nori. "What'd they do?" She asks, a touch of nervousness to the question, and an entire epic written in the direct way she assumes they are about to ''do'' something.

Mikoto once told Nori, here, that brothers don't ruin lives; that ''girls'' were the ones to cause problems.

Mikoto wasn't only lying to Nori, back then.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Well," Nori says, "Desolation visited. He hoped, perhaps, to become king in turn, but he knew that that was a perhaps, and that his sister was a certainty. The others..."

"Misery drew Regret and Dolor with him," Nori says, "and Desolation faced them at the entrance to the tomb. They argued for days. Some of the arguments were heard - we do not know which of them struck, Regret or Misery, but one of them struck Desolation down with thunder and cast his body down."

"The three of them went into the tomb," Nori says, "and nobody knows, quite, what happened in there, but Melancholy did not pass peacefully. The sorrow burst from her, a storm, a torrent, a cataclysm, a cataract." (These are, perhaps, not cats one wishes to keep in the home.) "The tomb rent asunder. Soon after, Luxor. Those who could make it to ships or boats would flee to other worlds. The storm burst, across the world."

"The Mother punished all five of the brothers for what they did," Nori says. "All of them were separated from the flow of sorrow, the power they had held plucked away. In time they would live hollowly. Regret was cursed to never die. Misery as well, but the Mother told Misery something, in her grief. That one of the other brothers would in time be forgiven, unless he should stop them all from fulfilling their designs."

"All of that happened in the course of an hour or so," Nori says. "The first Siren, Thalatte, was found soon after. The Mother blessed her, with the first Black Mirror, and she gathered others... in time, the Mother told her, more or less, what I have just told you. And Thalatte became the queen, and ever after, a Siren has become queen."

Nori taps her cheek with a finger. "That is why they use the worms," Nori says. "The worms gather sorrow. The brothers, they can't gather it into themselves the way that every heart does. But they can draw it from the worms."

"That is it," Nori says. "It is a means to their end. They do other things, of course, but these are... it is like vampires, or like wolves stalking in the woods. I have tried to stop whatever ones I find. I know there are likely ones that I do not; they do not only walk upon this Earth."

"I do not know much of your brother beyond what he has done," Nori says. "Perhaps he started with kind intentions. I don't know. But character is what you show in the storm."

At this point they reach the stairs down. Down to something different. Perhaps happier? It's hard to say.

Nori smiles wanly. "I am sorry to ramble so much."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

They...

... killed their brother?

At this Mikoto's brow knits in consternation, hand clasping over her mouth, as if she can't quite fathom the idea of fratricide. She feels a little numb, at the edges of herself. Maybe that's just how thunder feels.

Nori doesn't lay blame at one or the other in her tale, but Mikoto thinks of the storm following Misery, and perhaps she does, despite herself. At least she knows better than to follow her first assumption, these days, doesn't she?

And then, there is Melancholy's storm... well, she can hardly blame her, Mikoto thinks. Oh, there seems an awful ''lot'' of grief in the ocean of sorrow. Mikoto thinks of Westar, here, as Nori implicates the miseries Misery may well spread. There's power there, too.

All that, in an hour.

Black Mirrors, and the queenship: perhaps Mikoto understands a little more of the expectations of a Siren, in that moment. She hums though her lips, dips her head in a nod.

So, she thinks, the Cardiax takes the sadness, then the Brothers take the Cardiax. Is it because they were separated from that flow..? Mikoto wonders if they miss it. It must be normal, to them, even if it sounds frightfully alien to her.

What you show in a storm, huh..?

She looks down the stairs, down and down and down, and all a sudden feels a strange hint of vertigo which has her straightening back up, turning back to Nori. "You didn't," she says, and not to spare her feelings. "It was just complicated... that's all. I'm glad Nori could tell me something like that." Here Mikoto smiles, too, perhaps a shade more encouragingly.

"I don't really understand how Nori's world works... it's weird, to me." Terribly alien, more like, but Mikoto doesn't speak with that sort of decoration. "But," she adds, "I think I get it a little more, now. Those worms, they're normal where everywhere is sad, right? So... it's here they're trouble. And the Brothers, they're not normal any more, so they're using those worms... right? For their plans..."

Mikoto's lips scrunch up, before she puffs out a sigh, and shakes her head. "... I don't remember if I heard from them back then," when she was in Dark Fall, presumably, "a lot's all blurry. If I remembered, I'd help," this offered with a shade of hapless frustration, all shaped like an apology, without the words to back it up.

"But," she insists, reaching out a hand to Nori, "I'll still help! If Nori thinks I'm strong, I can really do something! I don't want anyone to be all hollowed out... that's not really happy. We can make it better, Nori! She was really happy, after that." The girl, perhaps. She did seem better, to Mikoto's eyes.

And it's easier to go down together, isn't it?

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori smiles back. Smiling is small, then, but it is authentic, it is real. No false face here. Here in the slightly dim hallways of the aquarium, Mikoto is seeing the true Nori, or as true a Nori as there is.

"It's alright," Nori says. She takes the offered hand, squeezes once, turns it round for a proper handclasping. Her hand is cool as it always is.

"And it is not that I do not think that you are strong," Nori says: "I know it."

Down the stairs. "... Does it sound so weird? One day we can go and visit. It's wet, but I think you'll like it... especially if you enjoy fish, Mikoto. There is so, so much fish to eat."

SOON:

The rays in the touching tank are soft, and smooth, and cool; wet, and oh so friendly. They're used to being stroked. Why, they like it.

"To answer you, though. In the seas, the worms are... mm... I don't know exactly; but they just feed on what's in the water, like humpback whales, or like those anemones we saw, with their little clownfish friends. They like to make little knots. There's a sort of snail with two feet that likes to eat them..."

"It's not safe to eat them yourself, of course. That is no doubt how the child was given it... in a food, in a meal of some kind. A child will put almost anything in their mouth, after all."

"If they are with those people, in Dark Fall... it might only be Misery; they do not look so different from ordinary people, though I suppose 'ordinary' is a difficult thing to say. Dressed in ordinary clothes and walking down the street here in Tokyo, you might think, oh, a foreigner -- but foreigners aren't that rare, are they?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto smiles quite a bit more, to what Nori knows, and she wonders: "Visit..?" It's strange to think they could just go to a place like that, but Nori must know the way, and her braids bob with the motion of her head as she says: "Okay!"

Mikoto does like fish an ''awful'' lot.

And maybe not just for dinner!

FOR INSTANCE:

Leaning over the edge of the touching tank, Mikoto's hand dangles in the water, carefully petting one of those big flappy wings as they pass. She looks positively delighted at this interaction, and one might get the impression that Mikoto is the sort of person who thinks petting zoos are timeless and suitable for any age group at all.

(This is because that is true.)

She looks up to Nori, as she explains the nature of the Cardiax, in the nature of Sorrow; Mikoto can't quite remember the ''words,'' filter feeders, but she knows what Nori is talking about. She hums recognition, with a nod.

When Nori comes to suggest they're not for eating, and goes into the trick, Mikoto pulls the most impressively dismayed face imaginable. "That's not food!"

Mikoto has strong opinions about what food should be. Not spicy, and apparently, not sad, either.

She looks surprised to hear Nori say 'if,' and realises she has assumed that these Brothers are there, too; but really, could anyone blame Mikoto, with the associations she has? "They look the same..." Well, a lot of people from Dark Fall do. Mikoto is right here, isn't she? No wonder, then, that people from another world can blend in just the same.

"Back then, I thought that anyone could be my Lord Brother," Mikoto shares, reaching a little further to stroke the manta ray now passing by. "I'd just know him when I found him... that's what I thought. So... it's not so weird, anyone could be those Brothers, too."

Pet pet pet, "Nori'll know it when you see it, I think."

2021-05-10 - Delicate Dark (Don't Fight Boars)

2021-05-15T12:39:21Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: when will the tyranny of single-line breaks cease?

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Delicate Dark (Don't Fight Boars)'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto and Nori go hiking, and Mikoto cheerfully tells Nori stories from the woods - but when the conversation turns to the past, Nori finds herself navigating a delicate situation. After some evasiveness, Mikoto tells her why the Orphans attacked them -- and, she fears, Kozue and Tsuru, too. With more understanding of the foe she's up against, Nori makes a promise.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Nori Ankou]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Nishitama
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-05-11 - 2015-11-22
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto, since her recovery, has been chasing moments. Hungrily, with vigour, she's had moment after moment - special little snapshots in time - with so many of her friends. Sharing snacks, or going out, or celebrating festivals...

Living. It's called living. For herself, not for the search, not for the Lord Brother it led to.

Mikoto has gotten very good at capitalising on these moments... or perhaps she always was, that freespirited part of her which existed outside of her obligations. She has, at least, gotten a little better at planning ahead, now her future is hers to consider. Like so:

"Let's go hiking!"

That's what Mikoto proposed to Nori, a few days ago after school, bringing them to this present moment.

Nishitama, Sunday afternoon.

Once upon a time Mikoto was accessory to its curse; but that was a world away, and the little girl called 'Shigeko' is doing well, this time around. Mikoto's affection for the region dates back further than her misdeeds, because she has always been a rural child, and the wilds beyond Tokyo are so obviously where she thrives. She may spring down from rooftops, or balance tightrope walking along a handrail - but they are skills she learned from arboreal inclinations.

Which might be why she's waiting for Nori in a tree.

This close to the train station, nature is still tamed; the trees are behind borders, the paths are paved and lit. There are no stray branches dangling down to catch unwary travellers, and so it may not be immediately obvious how she got ''up'' there. Or, perhaps, obvious she is there at all - but there's a black case leaning against the tree-trunk, her characteristic calling card, and it's a blatant hint to look up.

At first glance, Mikoto might blend in with the leaves, too; her polo shirt is a rustic yellow, all striped with green on one side. There's a faded patch over the breast pocket declaring it to be the uniform of the Chofu Chancers rugby team. It has not been the uniform for some years, and Mikoto doesn't play team sports, but she thought it was very fashionable, so it's hers now. It joins a cream skirt down almost to her knees, and green tights to ward against the cold.

(She has a sweater, delightfully pink, but it's tied about her waist. Apparently climbing around is hot work.)

Mikoto at least hasn't invited Nori to the furthest reaches of Nishitama; not yet knowing her personal capacity to handle nature, she's selected a walk more easily made, with an actual path all the way through... albiet, mostly dirt. It may still be a little challenging - Mikoto's idea of an easy walk may not quite agree with reality - she made some effort, at least, to consider Nori in picking her location.

Well, it's a lie to say she wasn't biased when she suggested this afternoon out, but she wants to see how Nori enjoys it, too.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

> Certainly

Nori Ankou has gone hiking in the past. Rarely. Not a key pastime for her. But she can walk! She has good legs and enjoys wearing boots. And she enjoys, of course, Mikoto.

(Batiste immediately died at the prospect of a completely unneccessary hike not even near the water, twice, requiring an emergency application of a shrimp to revive him from death's door.)

Nori thus emerges from the train station. She can easily be spotted by the preposterous coat she has on. It is a vivid scarlet and seems to be made out of velvet - this is an illusion from rich and well-dyed wool cloth. Strips of rich-cut embroided fabric with silver and spider-lily decorate the front of the captain's coat over button and button-hoe alike, with a long tail line coming to her thighs in front and down past her knees in back. Her hair is worn loose.

The rest is relatively subdued: there's a cable-knit sweater on underneath the jacket, currently visible from the sleeves and the collar as well as the front. She is also wearing warm-looking leggings, and seems to have foregone a bag. Presumably the captain's coat has pockets sufficient to fulfill her needs.

The wind stirs Nori's hair as she reaches the appointed time and glances left and right. With a motion that would suit a sextant, she reaches into the coat, although she brings out instead her phone. A glance, perhaps, in case of a notification. And then she stops, and gradually raises her eyes upwards towards the tree, her usual hesitance in smile alchemizing into a shared secret as her eyes reach upwards.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

If these trees could talk, they'd say: "Nori, Nori, Nori!"

Wait, hang on.

Certainly the voice comes ''from'' the boughs, but with a rustle of leaves, something suddenly CRASHES down --

-- and swings --

-- and there's Mikoto, dangling by legs hooked over a branch, with all the alarming acrobatics one might expect from the girl who somehow STILL isn't in gymnastics club. "Nori!" Mikoto chirps greeting a fourth time, as a twig falls from her scruffy-short hair down to the path.

And then, almost in the selfsame moment, she straightens her legs.

Down Mikoto crashes, only for those legs to cartwheel out as her hands impact the ground, and like a whirling Ferris wheel she goes from upside-down to rightside-up in a flurry of motion. Her knees bend, a bounce at her heels, as she straightens up on her feet again. She does not say, 'ta-daa!', but the beaming smile on her face might as well.

"Hi!" Mikoto chirps, heedless of the scene she's made.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori smiles again, wider, more softly at the same time, and she steps forwards to clasp her hand together with a faint jingle of silver buttons and bow deep at the waist. "It is wonderful to see you again, Minagi-nyan," Nori says, straightening back upwards after the toned and postured dip.

Her hands slide back into the outer pockets of the coat, probably because it's chilly. "Hi," she concludes. Looking upwards, she says, "You were up quite high... I'm surprised you got through it. Did you get poked any?" She draws out one hand, fingers curling experimentally, seeing the lingering twig.

Nori does not seem to care about the opinion of passerby, at least not right now.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Which is convenient, because Mikoto also doesn't care about the opinions of passers-by, right now or at any other time in her life.

Her head goes all atilt at that mimicry of cats, loosing another leaf from her hair, where it had stuck halfway in her left braid. (They are astoundingly resilient braids; no matter what Mikoto puts them through, they keep framing her face, just the way they were.) "I'm okay!" She announces, entirely pleased with herself, on the heels of Nori's query. "I'm good at climbing."

Well, never mind that she just demonstrated being good at ''falling,'' but maybe the climbing is just kind of implied in how she got up there.

"These trees are gardened, so it's easy to get down," Mikoto goes on to explain, turning to point upwards at the way the branches have been pruned around the walking area. "Just drop! And the bits they cut off make it easy to get up, too." Here she points to a alarmingly slight protusion of something which used to be a branch before the whole thing was sawn off, some decades prior.

It DEFINITELY doesn't look climbable, but then again, Mikoto is perfectly comfortable scaling sandstone walls whose handholds would better suit a mouse. (Or, perhaps, an otter, if otters were not allergic to physical exertion.)

She shakes herself out, and loosens her sweater from where it had tied her shirt in place about her waist, shrugging it over her head. (It is VERY pink.) Thus warmed, Mikoto bounces over to grab her sword-case and shrug it onto her shoulder, in a motion which leaves her facing Nori again.

"Nori, hike much?" Mikoto asks, bustling back over to her, all motion, all smiling.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori reaches over to touch the stump that was once the branch. She runs her fingers up and down along it.

"Huh," she says.

Her head turns to look back towards Mikoto as her lower lip purses out in thought and perhaps approval, as she says, "It's a good skill to have." Nori can, at least, see inwardly... well, that WOULD make it easier than just shimmying up a pole, wouldn't it?

"Not lately," Nori says. "I used to go skiing when I was younger, but for the last while I have mostly been in the city! So nothing out like this. It's funny, I really have never gone into the woods here on the main islands."

"But!" Nori suddenly hikes up one leg and rests a booted sole against the side of the tree. These are not AoAka shoes! They are Doc Bartens, suitable shoes for all terrains! Oil and slip resistant! Also, she has black ribbon-looking shoe laces. "I think I can handle anything, with these."

Boot goes back down. "They're a little clunky but very comfortable."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Yup!" Mikoto agrees, shamelessly, when Nori supposes climbing is a handy skill.

(Humility has never particularly been one of her virtues.)

"Skiing..." She proceeds to echo, before she hums affirmation, a bounce-bounce of her braids as she nods. (This is the sound effect of Mikoto remembering that skiing is the one with ''two'' boards.) She proceeds to BEHOLD NORI'S MAGNIFICENT BOOTS, leaning in a little to stare, wide-eyed. "Wow!"

Mikoto is wearing her sensible Ohtori flats, as always. Let us not dwell here, now, on the trials and tribulations Mai went through convincing Mikoto that in Tokyo, shoes were an all-the-time clothing when she was outside. Maybe that's why she always wears the same type of shoes..?

Oh, she's been seen in zorii sometimes, but they're not attending a festival, after all. And would Mikoto dare to climb a tree in such high sandals?

(Obviously yes.)

"They look heavy," Mikoto says, with a note of scepticism, before it occurs to her: "Oh, but that means Nori won't feel anything neither! It's feet armour!" Mikoto is an expert in armour now, for reasons we will not expound on in this particular text, so she sounds entirely confident in her assessment.

Mikoto starts bouncing off down the path, though she at least makes ''some'' effort to set a pace Nori seems comfortable with. "There's good woods here," she goes on, with enthusiasm, pointing up to a bird which was quietly dwelling up on one of those too-high branches. "It's not quite like I grew up, 'cause there's more stuff around, but if you go real far out it's kinda the same!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Oh yes. It's been a while, though... It doesn't snow so much down here, after all. At least not... AS much."

"Oh thank you! If you'd like a pair I can tell you where I got them later," Nori tells Mikoto. "They're imported!"

"Yes," she says. "They were originally supposed to be for working men. They were actually made by a ..." Nori trails off because she realizes abruptly that she did not actually learn this particular factoid, and aims to segue into moving after Mikoto, striding deliberately. She is, it seems, OK with a brisk pace - she is fit enough that she isn't huffing and puffing to walk vigorously, at least. A bird is indicated to her: Nori looks at it, heedlessly, and nods once, firmly.

"The depths of the forest... do you like to go out that far? It seems like such a hassle but it must be *so* peaceful. Though this time of year, I suppose it's a little quieter than it might be. Or less..." Nori reaches for a word and settles on:

"Green?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"New shoes..?" Mikoto wonders, head canting the other way. She wonders what Natsuki would think.

She doesn't wonder for long, though, because she is shortly thereafter occupied by wandering instead. Down the path! It's an easy enough path to amble along, and Mikoto, for one, doesn't point out the way Nori trails to nothing; she's comfortable bouncing along in silence, it seems.

She's walking around with one of her friends! It's a good time! This is the wisdom of Mikoto.

"Yup!" She interrupts her silence to agree, cheerfully, when Nori thinks of another question to grasp. "But, it's noisier when the leaves drop off. Gets quiet when there's snow. Peaceful..." Mikoto repeats the phrasing, looping her hands about the back of her head as she looks up, still walking.

"Kinda," she settles on, a moment later. "There's lots going on, but it's different to the lots in Tokyo. I like it better, 'cause I'm not so good at city stuff. If there's deer rubbing their heads on trees, or squirrels finding stuff to eat, that's just normal."

She hums though her lips, tilting her head back. "Okay," she cedes, looking over to Nori, "Tokyo stuff's normal to Tokyo too. Just feels like too much to me 'cause it's not my normal."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Do you ever go out when it rains?" Nori asks. "That's one of the things that I kind of like out here. I've heard people remark on it, too. It rains so rarely here... relatively speaking."

She takes a deep breath and lets it out, walking in relative silence. Relative because she's moving - there is a faint whisper of the coat against her leggings, the occasinal subtle sound of a rubber sole against stone.

Or dirt as the case may be.

"Have you ever run into a monkey?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"When it rains..."

Mikoto puffs out a sigh, stretching her arms over her head. A grand yawn stretches her jaws in the motion, taking in the air she just let out. At the end of that grand motion, her hands drop down to grasp lightly behind her, turning to Nori: "... I stay inside where it's warm!"

That release of tension might seem entirely innocent, one and another lesson from her feline tutors, but the silence she falls into afterwards has a thoughtful tone to it.

(Because silences have inflections, you see.)

Cheerfully, though, she answers again: "Yup! There's monkeys here!" She uses the word ''saru,'' but there's only one monkey she could mean, with such a broad term: even rural girls would recognise the standard monkey as their very own macaques. "And there's salmon, and foxes, and habu! And boars!"

Mikoto pauses, and looks over to Nori, and says with a completely straight face, "Don't fight boars."

One might get the terrible impression Mikoto is speaking from experience.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Ohhhh," Nori answers Mikoto, tilting her head to the side, even rolling it lightly so her hair falls loose and she looks at Mikoto from a slightly-upside-down position. "You see some interesting things when it's raining. One day we should try it."

She breathes in and lets it out.

Monkeys, Nori thinks. When Mikoto mentions their presence, she immediately reaches into her coat as if to check that something (money? probably) is still there. "Oh, I didn't know salmon came up this far, that's actually quite something.. or are we nearer to the sea than I thought?"

("What's a habu?")

Nori then opens her mouth and closes it for a moment.

Her eyes go towards the sword case that Mikoto is rarely seen without. Then back to Mikoto. In the hall of mirrors that lurks behind the eyes of Nori Ankou, in that darkling tower's cobwebs and dusty veils, there is a truth there. An image. A mentality; an awareness.

"... Really? ... I'll be sure not to, then. But..."

"Have you...??"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Together," Mikoto can agree to, in any case.

"I caught one this big!" She declares, but surely Mikoto is exaggerating, because she throws her hands out so broadly that she couldn't possibly be talking about salmon. Perhaps a middling-sized dolphin.

This may cast aspirations on Mikoto's animal identification skills, particularly as she goes on to aside: "Hime, but snakes! Oh," finger tapping to her lip, "or were they on another island..?" One might wonder whether snakes can, in fact, be HiME, but Mikoto knows the truth: there are plenty of snakes with justice in their hearts.

(She has even fought some of them.)

Speaking of animals Mikoto has fought and lost against:

"Mmmm-hm," she nods, humming overlong through her lips, a little drum of her tongue to her palate to really drop the point of Mikoto's truth. "I said, I can catch it! And then it chased me all the way up a tree..."

She rubs at the back of her head, a rueful grin over her face. "My Lord Brother had to carry me home after that. I learned not to hunt things bigger than me... they're tough!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori has seen salmon in all kinds of situations. Pates... filets... sashimi... grilled... even smoked, a few times!

"Wow," Nori says, accepting Mikoto's estimate completely. She has no idea how big salmon actually are.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out. "So you've gone walking a long ways, eh! All up and down Japan? If you could take the mountain routes, you really could go in a lot of neat directions," Nori says, folding her hands behind her back.

And then the boar comes up. Boring it is not. Nor is it something for swine. The story is not long, as it concludes in a chase up a tree, and...

The mention of Lord Brother.

Inwardly Nori contemplates this matter. There is a silent pause, which perhaps is not that anomalous in the context of this walk. But it is a pregnant sort of pause, one that seems to present the question of what will emerge, rather than simply being a companionable sharing of space and time and nature. Nori's fingers curl together.

It is a sensitive matter, Nori knows. And like gems, moments like this can be delicate. In a very real sense, you are making a first impression, and Nori knows that much. You can overcome errors here. But it isn't easy - and the marks may never go away.

"Did he fend it off for you, then? I don't think you've said much about him," Nori says, with a sort of breezy curiosity. "I hope you weren't... hurt."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Salmon aren't usually that big, but the mention of the size does seem to invalidate Mikoto's later point about not hunting things larger than her.

(The difference, of course, is that isn't HUNTING. It's FISHING.)

"Yup," Mikoto agrees, when Nori supposes she's walked all around Japan. This, too, may not be ''literally'' true, but perhaps it is more the feeling of the thing.

Silences have accents, and Mikoto can hear that one, as she lowers her hand down and keeps walking. She doesn't regret speaking honestly, but she can at least suppose someone who thought about their words might have told the story differently.

She thinks her friends don't like him terribly much, and that's a little sad, but she can't exactly blame them.

Still, when Nori speaks up it's with curiosity, so Mikoto tries to take her at that, instead. She hums hesitancy through her lips, looking up at the canopy, speckled yellow-green. The sun's up out there, somewhere. "When I couldn't defeat it, my Lord Brother stepped in and cut it down. He's really strong... I learned it all from him." Evident in her voice, she admires him; there's a strange sort of fondness in her voice to relate the adventure, too. But when she laughs - and she does laugh - there's a shade of nervousness to it. "I guess if I'd used Miroku it'd been easier, huh? But that's no fair! They're just animals!"

Conspicuously, she doesn't answer the query about whether she was hurt.

(She also doesn't address why it was fair for ''him'' to use a blade on an animal, in much the same way it was difficult for her to reconcile her distaste for harming unpowered civilians with the demands of his orders.)

"Even when I couldn't fight, Lord Brother still figured out a way forward... they said I shouldn't've let that happen, but..." Mikoto scratches at an ear, head canting as her pace slows. "... I guess it makes sense now, too. 'Cause they'd say I shouldn't've run away now, neither, but... still..."

Her gaze tilts diagonal, too, tracking down to a path now made from packed dirt. "Hey, Nori. Kozue and Tsuru... are they okay?"

What a strange shift.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Fishing... is good.

It is, after all, how you get fish. Nori Ankou's family made its money from freezing fish and fish-related foods for resale. It's true! look it up

She learned it all from him, Nori thinks. That means he's dreadfully strong, as well as his other various traits thus developed. Great, Nori also thinks, though it's sort of in the back row of les Theatres des Norittes. Her hands slide back into her pockets.

"If you had to hunt for your dinner, I would say all is fair... but yes; if you were just poking around, or practicing your stalking..." Nori says, not quite finishing the contrariwise thought. No need, she thinks.

When she couldn't fight, Lord Brother figured out a 'way forwards'. Towards what? Nori doesn't know. She does not know if Mikoto knows, either, or at least not exactly. She could just ask, but-- this is another place, she thinks, where the gem could break. And there's a vaguely dirty feeling to the thought at all.

The school colors shine through, Nori thinks, breathing out -- and that much is clear, though she closes her eyes for a step or two afterwards, sweeping back a long lank handful of glisteningly moisturized hair.

"Tsuru is being her usual darling and enigmatic self... and Kozue... remains Kozue, as hard as she possibly can," Nori says, "so I would say, yes. I don't visit with Kozue as much as I did lately, but I do see her around, of course, here and there."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"We were having fun..."

Which says many things, really.

1) For all the trials which came and went, as hard as Mikoto herself has admitted her life was, there were still things she thought of as 'fun', 
2) Fun, for rural siblings, apparently involved harrassing the local wildlife, much like a cat playing with a mouse, 
3) 'We,' inclusive, invokes a shared experience with that man who is hurting her so much,

And, unlucky four, even when Mikoto is recounting a fond memory, there's still a lag of hesitation to the words, alongside a certain shroud of defensiveness.

Mikoto brings her hand up to her heart, as Nori relates their conditions, and she says: "... okay."

This time, the tone of the silence is anxious; it must be, because Mikoto is painfully aware of the sound of her sensible Ohtori flats hitting the dirt. (And a bird calling out in the bushes, and a rustling of some ground-dwellers in the leaf litter, and...)

"It wasn't my fault," Mikoto says, apropos of nothing, "but... I think those Orphans attacked 'cause I was there. Or, maybe that gave him the idea... I don't know. I guess Kozue would say, 'don't you dare blame yourself!'... something like that," Mikoto hesitates, appends: "only, more, of that. But it looked hard for Tsuru... she had to jump into a car." The way Mikoto relates the tale, she probably doesn't mean 'jumping into a car' the way ''most'' people use that turn of phrase.

Her hand reaches up, nervously curling a braid about her fingers. "I'm HiME, so Orphans will fight me... we're destined enemies. Alyssa figured it out, and used them to attack us, last year. Now... now my Lord Brother is..." She bites at the inside of her cheek, a little inward wince. "I didn't know," she defends herself, instead. "I really didn't know. But, I found a note after my birthday... in the Orphan's box. It..."

That trails off, too.

"'Cause I'm not fighting for him, I guess Lord Brother took advantage of Orphans to attack me," there's something flat to the explanation, ringing hollow, even as her finger draws that braid tense. "Lots of people could get hurt... I'm worried." Mikoto says it and says more than she means, in the saying; surely she would be worried about collateral damage, but that can't be the extent of her worries, in the face of him.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Four things. That's never good, is it?

Of course, four doesn't always mean death. There's always four winds and there's often four heavenly kings.

"... Tsuru is tough; she is strong. If she were truly in peril I think she would simply spread her wings and fly away, even if she's not quite as much of a bluff old captain such as myself," Nori says, self consciously fastening a button on her coat as she says this. "I would not worry about her."

Kozue is of course a wild animal in her own right, and must be considered separately.

The facts of Mikoto's life echo past what Nori knows. The echo gets deeper, richer. Perhaps she understands, even if she doesn't Understand. "Well," Nori says, "in that case I will not tell you that, except that I will say that I agree with Kozue!"

Her head turns to gaze at Mikoto. The shorter girl. Was she always taller than her? Nori thinks - she thinks so. I wonder if I will just become thirty yards high and stretch across the sky one day, she thinks irrelevantly. "So you feel guilty, from what you're saying. Your heart's in turmoil, because of what it is that you think that he is doing. It feels as though, it is really your doing."

"Is that right?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto smiles a small smile, to hear of Tsuru's hidden talents. "Okay," she says, again, and in Mikoto's hands the word is an honest acceptance of Nori's tale.

''Mikoto'' was not always this tall. She scarcely measured over four-feet-nine, when she came to Tokyo; a few years of Mai's food, and she's managed to grow into a respectable 4'11". She will likely never breach five feet. Perhaps she simply grew too much in the shadow of something.

Which is to say, she's used to looking up.

Nori echoes her worries back at her, and Mikoto stops, turning to her. "Um... yeah," she says, a slight pause as her hand tucks her braid behind an ear, and certainly there's guilt in her eyes. "I - I know it's what my Lord Brother chose to do. But if I hadn't left, he'd still have someone to fight for him... he wouldn't have had to figure something else out."

Her lips form a thin line; shortly all her efforts to categorise her braid are for naught, as she shakes her head vigorously back and forth, and they whip at her cheeks. "It's not just that!" She declares, fiercely. "I - I ''wanted'' my Lord Brother to come to my party, I ''said'' so, and, he sent something, and, I should've known he'd send something to hurt me, but I said that anyway! And when I saw the nice things he said, I was really happy, Nori! It took me ages to figure out it was still mean! But even though I know that, I still..."

Mikoto's movement slows to a dead stop, hands pulling up to grasp each other at her chest. "I'm happy I... matter, to him. It's all twisted up, but, my Lord Brother still..." She swallows down the thought, can't quite figure out how to say it with honesty, and settles on: "... that's why I feel bad."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori also stops. She gazes at Mikoto.

Nori is now five feet and eight inches. She is still moving up in the world. Will she end up passing the tallest person she knows socially, Setsuna Meioh? Maybe. She might. It's impossible to say. She does, of course, not expect to actually become thirty meters high.

But three? No, probably not. She has grown up on the waters of Earth.

"Yes," Nori says. "I cannot know his mind. But it was cruel of him to do that. Cruel enough to direct the Orphans, and I don't want to excuse that. But it was cruelty on top of cruelty to do what he did, that you have said. But..."

"I understand too what you mean," Nori says, glancing towards the forest. "That he cares enough to be cruel."

Nori takes in a huge breath; lets it out in a sigh. She tilts her head down to look at the forest floor.

"... This kind of pain... that turbulence..." Nori says, the sentences not quite forming right. Then she opts to take one half-step forwards and sweep up her arms to abruptly embrace Mikoto, gathering her close for a warm hug, the damp fragrance of the glycerine-rich shampoo she slathers her locks with momentarily overwhelming the scent of the cooling season.

It is brief; she loosens afterwards; but she does not pull back as far as she was.

"You do not deserve to be put in this place. To have the goodness, the sweetness inside of you used like that. *He* should be apologizing to *you* and here you are, like the Kozue in our heads said, saying 'don't you dare blame yourself'. Because you knew that that is what she would see, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen, right?" Nori continues, a certain city-lightness in her tone mixed with a focused, almost absorbed depth.

"It's awful... I know what you mean and - I wish - I wish I could just say -" Nori breathes out again.

"I promise you that if he does this again, I --" Nori wants to hedge somehow but she doesn't: "I will make sure everything is alright. Alright? I can't promise perfect. But alright; alright I think I can pledge. As long as it takes."

A leaf falls from a tree, perhaps a little early; it lands, after some time, on Nori's shoulder. She smiles.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Cruelty on top of cruelty; Mikoto dips her head in a nod, and thus recognised, she's able to share a little more. "He said, I was his adorable little sister... he always said things like that when he was happy with me," and there is a strange lilt of longing to her voice, even pained. "... but, he said violence was my precious treasure, and victory, and, that's what my Lord Brother wants from me. So he gave me that... gift."

Perhaps it says something, at least, that Mikoto can trust her own account now, instead of having to get her friends to gauge the message's severity. ... still, those are awfully fancy words, for her.

(They're not her words.)

There's something sickened to that last mora, as if Mikoto is horrified by the idea that a gift can be warped to something which hurts so much. (Despite everything, she can still be horrified.) It is pain, at least, Nori sees, even if it is a horror their tongues cannot speak; more striking, still, to Mikoto, the fact that ''Nori'' cannot speak it. Nori, Mikoto thinks, has always known what to say, in precisely the way Mikoto doesn't.

She blinks in surprise, to see Nori sweeping forward; but she doesn't shy away, and when she ends up cocooned in that big fluffy lie of a coat she sinks in against the other girl, for a moment. Mikoto carries a great weight with her but she, SHE is light, even if what is there of her is quite solid muscle; even so, there simply isn't ''enough'' of her to be heavy.

Mikoto straightens, too, but one hand still grasps at Nori's woollen coat, the one which looked like velvet until she laid hands on it. Her other hand comes up to her chest, grasps to a loose fist there; perhaps her heart hurts.

"Used..." Her lips feel numb, but it's probably her conclusion, not the cold: "... my Lord Brother's still using me." Stranger still is the idea that HE ought apologise to HER, an utterly foreign thought, but that one is too challenging to echo. She can at least notice the struggle.

(She can notice the way Nori understands where she's coming from, and what a horrifying notification that is in her mind.)

Mikoto swallows, with a little tug-tug on that coat, when Nori decides what she can promise. "Are you strong enough to fight Orphans that strong, Nori..? When you stab them, their heart moves somewhere else... when you cut off their legs, they grow right back. Even if you chop them right in half... sometimes, there's nothing we can do but use our Child." She describes the body horror dismally, and one might get the distinct impression she has dealt with all of these trickeries, and more.

"If Nori can handle something like that..." Mikoto swallows, eyes blinking shut in the wince before she looks up to her, eyes wide and too, too gold. "I'm counting on you, okay? My Lord Brother knows me better than anyone... so he can find the Orphans that scare me more than anything. The ones what hurt me like..."

Here her gaze shifts aside, and she says more than she knows, "... like... like he did."

Where is he finding Orphans who can play tricks on her mind, whose venom is heavy as love lies..?

Mikoto, at least, seems convinced he found them.

2021-05-10 - Delicate Dark (Don't Fight Boars)

2021-05-15T12:04:06Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: the subtitle is vital to understanding this log actually

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Delicate Dark (Don't Fight Boars)'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto and Nori go hiking, and Mikoto cheerfully tells Nori stories from the woods - but when the conversation turns to the past, Nori finds herself navigating a delicate situation. After some evasiveness, Mikoto tells her why the Orphans attacked them -- and, she fears, Kozue and Tsuru, too. With more understanding of the foe she's up against, Nori makes a promise.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Nori Ankou]]
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| '''Where:''' 
Nishitama
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-05-11 - 2015-11-22
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto, since her recovery, has been chasing moments. Hungrily, with vigour, she's had moment after moment - special little snapshots in time - with so many of her friends. Sharing snacks, or going out, or celebrating festivals...

Living. It's called living. For herself, not for the search, not for the Lord Brother it led to.

Mikoto has gotten very good at capitalising on these moments... or perhaps she always was, that freespirited part of her which existed outside of her obligations. She has, at least, gotten a little better at planning ahead, now her future is hers to consider. Like so:

"Let's go hiking!"

That's what Mikoto proposed to Nori, a few days ago after school, bringing them to this present moment.

Nishitama, Sunday afternoon.

Once upon a time Mikoto was accessory to its curse; but that was a world away, and the little girl called 'Shigeko' is doing well, this time around. Mikoto's affection for the region dates back further than her misdeeds, because she has always been a rural child, and the wilds beyond Tokyo are so obviously where she thrives. She may spring down from rooftops, or balance tightrope walking along a handrail - but they are skills she learned from arboreal inclinations.

Which might be why she's waiting for Nori in a tree.

This close to the train station, nature is still tamed; the trees are behind borders, the paths are paved and lit. There are no stray branches dangling down to catch unwary travellers, and so it may not be immediately obvious how she got ''up'' there. Or, perhaps, obvious she is there at all - but there's a black case leaning against the tree-trunk, her characteristic calling card, and it's a blatant hint to look up.

At first glance, Mikoto might blend in with the leaves, too; her polo shirt is a rustic yellow, all striped with green on one side. There's a faded patch over the breast pocket declaring it to be the uniform of the Chofu Chancers rugby team. It has not been the uniform for some years, and Mikoto doesn't play team sports, but she thought it was very fashionable, so it's hers now. It joins a cream skirt down almost to her knees, and green tights to ward against the cold.

(She has a sweater, delightfully pink, but it's tied about her waist. Apparently climbing around is hot work.)

Mikoto at least hasn't invited Nori to the furthest reaches of Nishitama; not yet knowing her personal capacity to handle nature, she's selected a walk more easily made, with an actual path all the way through... albiet, mostly dirt. It may still be a little challenging - Mikoto's idea of an easy walk may not quite agree with reality - she made some effort, at least, to consider Nori in picking her location.

Well, it's a lie to say she wasn't biased when she suggested this afternoon out, but she wants to see how Nori enjoys it, too.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

> Certainly

Nori Ankou has gone hiking in the past. Rarely. Not a key pastime for her. But she can walk! She has good legs and enjoys wearing boots. And she enjoys, of course, Mikoto.

(Batiste immediately died at the prospect of a completely unneccessary hike not even near the water, twice, requiring an emergency application of a shrimp to revive him from death's door.)

Nori thus emerges from the train station. She can easily be spotted by the preposterous coat she has on. It is a vivid scarlet and seems to be made out of velvet - this is an illusion from rich and well-dyed wool cloth. Strips of rich-cut embroided fabric with silver and spider-lily decorate the front of the captain's coat over button and button-hoe alike, with a long tail line coming to her thighs in front and down past her knees in back. Her hair is worn loose.

The rest is relatively subdued: there's a cable-knit sweater on underneath the jacket, currently visible from the sleeves and the collar as well as the front. She is also wearing warm-looking leggings, and seems to have foregone a bag. Presumably the captain's coat has pockets sufficient to fulfill her needs.

The wind stirs Nori's hair as she reaches the appointed time and glances left and right. With a motion that would suit a sextant, she reaches into the coat, although she brings out instead her phone. A glance, perhaps, in case of a notification. And then she stops, and gradually raises her eyes upwards towards the tree, her usual hesitance in smile alchemizing into a shared secret as her eyes reach upwards.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

If these trees could talk, they'd say: "Nori, Nori, Nori!"

Wait, hang on.

Certainly the voice comes ''from'' the boughs, but with a rustle of leaves, something suddenly CRASHES down --

-- and swings --

-- and there's Mikoto, dangling by legs hooked over a branch, with all the alarming acrobatics one might expect from the girl who somehow STILL isn't in gymnastics club. "Nori!" Mikoto chirps greeting a fourth time, as a twig falls from her scruffy-short hair down to the path.

And then, almost in the selfsame moment, she straightens her legs.

Down Mikoto crashes, only for those legs to cartwheel out as her hands impact the ground, and like a whirling Ferris wheel she goes from upside-down to rightside-up in a flurry of motion. Her knees bend, a bounce at her heels, as she straightens up on her feet again. She does not say, 'ta-daa!', but the beaming smile on her face might as well.

"Hi!" Mikoto chirps, heedless of the scene she's made.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori smiles again, wider, more softly at the same time, and she steps forwards to clasp her hand together with a faint jingle of silver buttons and bow deep at the waist. "It is wonderful to see you again, Minagi-nyan," Nori says, straightening back upwards after the toned and postured dip.

Her hands slide back into the outer pockets of the coat, probably because it's chilly. "Hi," she concludes. Looking upwards, she says, "You were up quite high... I'm surprised you got through it. Did you get poked any?" She draws out one hand, fingers curling experimentally, seeing the lingering twig.

Nori does not seem to care about the opinion of passerby, at least not right now.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Which is convenient, because Mikoto also doesn't care about the opinions of passers-by, right now or at any other time in her life.

Her head goes all atilt at that mimicry of cats, loosing another leaf from her hair, where it had stuck halfway in her left braid. (They are astoundingly resilient braids; no matter what Mikoto puts them through, they keep framing her face, just the way they were.) "I'm okay!" She announces, entirely pleased with herself, on the heels of Nori's query. "I'm good at climbing."

Well, never mind that she just demonstrated being good at ''falling,'' but maybe the climbing is just kind of implied in how she got up there.

"These trees are gardened, so it's easy to get down," Mikoto goes on to explain, turning to point upwards at the way the branches have been pruned around the walking area. "Just drop! And the bits they cut off make it easy to get up, too." Here she points to a alarmingly slight protusion of something which used to be a branch before the whole thing was sawn off, some decades prior.

It DEFINITELY doesn't look climbable, but then again, Mikoto is perfectly comfortable scaling sandstone walls whose handholds would better suit a mouse. (Or, perhaps, an otter, if otters were not allergic to physical exertion.)

She shakes herself out, and loosens her sweater from where it had tied her shirt in place about her waist, shrugging it over her head. (It is VERY pink.) Thus warmed, Mikoto bounces over to grab her sword-case and shrug it onto her shoulder, in a motion which leaves her facing Nori again.

"Nori, hike much?" Mikoto asks, bustling back over to her, all motion, all smiling.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori reaches over to touch the stump that was once the branch. She runs her fingers up and down along it.

"Huh," she says.

Her head turns to look back towards Mikoto as her lower lip purses out in thought and perhaps approval, as she says, "It's a good skill to have." Nori can, at least, see inwardly... well, that WOULD make it easier than just shimmying up a pole, wouldn't it?

"Not lately," Nori says. "I used to go skiing when I was younger, but for the last while I have mostly been in the city! So nothing out like this. It's funny, I really have never gone into the woods here on the main islands."

"But!" Nori suddenly hikes up one leg and rests a booted sole against the side of the tree. These are not AoAka shoes! They are Doc Bartens, suitable shoes for all terrains! Oil and slip resistant! Also, she has black ribbon-looking shoe laces. "I think I can handle anything, with these."

Boot goes back down. "They're a little clunky but very comfortable."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Yup!" Mikoto agrees, shamelessly, when Nori supposes climbing is a handy skill.

(Humility has never particularly been one of her virtues.)

"Skiing..." She proceeds to echo, before she hums affirmation, a bounce-bounce of her braids as she nods. (This is the sound effect of Mikoto remembering that skiing is the one with ''two'' boards.) She proceeds to BEHOLD NORI'S MAGNIFICENT BOOTS, leaning in a little to stare, wide-eyed. "Wow!"

Mikoto is wearing her sensible Ohtori flats, as always. Let us not dwell here, now, on the trials and tribulations Mai went through convincing Mikoto that in Tokyo, shoes were an all-the-time clothing when she was outside. Maybe that's why she always wears the same type of shoes..?

Oh, she's been seen in zorii sometimes, but they're not attending a festival, after all. And would Mikoto dare to climb a tree in such high sandals?

(Obviously yes.)

"They look heavy," Mikoto says, with a note of scepticism, before it occurs to her: "Oh, but that means Nori won't feel anything neither! It's feet armour!" Mikoto is an expert in armour now, for reasons we will not expound on in this particular text, so she sounds entirely confident in her assessment.

Mikoto starts bouncing off down the path, though she at least makes ''some'' effort to set a pace Nori seems comfortable with. "There's good woods here," she goes on, with enthusiasm, pointing up to a bird which was quietly dwelling up on one of those too-high branches. "It's not quite like I grew up, 'cause there's more stuff around, but if you go real far out it's kinda the same!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Oh yes. It's been a while, though... It doesn't snow so much down here, after all. At least not... AS much."

"Oh thank you! If you'd like a pair I can tell you where I got them later," Nori tells Mikoto. "They're imported!"

"Yes," she says. "They were originally supposed to be for working men. They were actually made by a ..." Nori trails off because she realizes abruptly that she did not actually learn this particular factoid, and aims to segue into moving after Mikoto, striding deliberately. She is, it seems, OK with a brisk pace - she is fit enough that she isn't huffing and puffing to walk vigorously, at least. A bird is indicated to her: Nori looks at it, heedlessly, and nods once, firmly.

"The depths of the forest... do you like to go out that far? It seems like such a hassle but it must be *so* peaceful. Though this time of year, I suppose it's a little quieter than it might be. Or less..." Nori reaches for a word and settles on:

"Green?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"New shoes..?" Mikoto wonders, head canting the other way. She wonders what Natsuki would think.

She doesn't wonder for long, though, because she is shortly thereafter occupied by wandering instead. Down the path! It's an easy enough path to amble along, and Mikoto, for one, doesn't point out the way Nori trails to nothing; she's comfortable bouncing along in silence, it seems.

She's walking around with one of her friends! It's a good time! This is the wisdom of Mikoto.

"Yup!" She interrupts her silence to agree, cheerfully, when Nori thinks of another question to grasp. "But, it's noisier when the leaves drop off. Gets quiet when there's snow. Peaceful..." Mikoto repeats the phrasing, looping her hands about the back of her head as she looks up, still walking.

"Kinda," she settles on, a moment later. "There's lots going on, but it's different to the lots in Tokyo. I like it better, 'cause I'm not so good at city stuff. If there's deer rubbing their heads on trees, or squirrels finding stuff to eat, that's just normal."

She hums though her lips, tilting her head back. "Okay," she cedes, looking over to Nori, "Tokyo stuff's normal to Tokyo too. Just feels like too much to me 'cause it's not my normal."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Do you ever go out when it rains?" Nori asks. "That's one of the things that I kind of like out here. I've heard people remark on it, too. It rains so rarely here... relatively speaking."

She takes a deep breath and lets it out, walking in relative silence. Relative because she's moving - there is a faint whisper of the coat against her leggings, the occasinal subtle sound of a rubber sole against stone.

Or dirt as the case may be.

"Have you ever run into a monkey?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"When it rains..."

Mikoto puffs out a sigh, stretching her arms over her head. A grand yawn stretches her jaws in the motion, taking in the air she just let out. At the end of that grand motion, her hands drop down to grasp lightly behind her, turning to Nori: "... I stay inside where it's warm!"

That release of tension might seem entirely innocent, one and another lesson from her feline tutors, but the silence she falls into afterwards has a thoughtful tone to it.

(Because silences have inflections, you see.)

Cheerfully, though, she answers again: "Yup! There's monkeys here!" She uses the word ''saru,'' but there's only one monkey she could mean, with such a broad term: even rural girls would recognise the standard monkey as their very own macaques. "And there's salmon, and foxes, and habu! And boars!"

Mikoto pauses, and looks over to Nori, and says with a completely straight face, "Don't fight boars."

One might get the terrible impression Mikoto is speaking from experience.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Ohhhh," Nori answers Mikoto, tilting her head to the side, even rolling it lightly so her hair falls loose and she looks at Mikoto from a slightly-upside-down position. "You see some interesting things when it's raining. One day we should try it."

She breathes in and lets it out.

Monkeys, Nori thinks. When Mikoto mentions their presence, she immediately reaches into her coat as if to check that something (money? probably) is still there. "Oh, I didn't know salmon came up this far, that's actually quite something.. or are we nearer to the sea than I thought?"

("What's a habu?")

Nori then opens her mouth and closes it for a moment.

Her eyes go towards the sword case that Mikoto is rarely seen without. Then back to Mikoto. In the hall of mirrors that lurks behind the eyes of Nori Ankou, in that darkling tower's cobwebs and dusty veils, there is a truth there. An image. A mentality; an awareness.

"... Really? ... I'll be sure not to, then. But..."

"Have you...??"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Together," Mikoto can agree to, in any case.

"I caught one this big!" She declares, but surely Mikoto is exaggerating, because she throws her hands out so broadly that she couldn't possibly be talking about salmon. Perhaps a middling-sized dolphin.

This may cast aspirations on Mikoto's animal identification skills, particularly as she goes on to aside: "Hime, but snakes! Oh," finger tapping to her lip, "or were they on another island..?" One might wonder whether snakes can, in fact, be HiME, but Mikoto knows the truth: there are plenty of snakes with justice in their hearts.

(She has even fought some of them.)

Speaking of animals Mikoto has fought and lost against:

"Mmmm-hm," she nods, humming overlong through her lips, a little drum of her tongue to her palate to really drop the point of Mikoto's truth. "I said, I can catch it! And then it chased me all the way up a tree..."

She rubs at the back of her head, a rueful grin over her face. "My Lord Brother had to carry me home after that. I learned not to hunt things bigger than me... they're tough!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori has seen salmon in all kinds of situations. Pates... filets... sashimi... grilled... even smoked, a few times!

"Wow," Nori says, accepting Mikoto's estimate completely. She has no idea how big salmon actually are.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out. "So you've gone walking a long ways, eh! All up and down Japan? If you could take the mountain routes, you really could go in a lot of neat directions," Nori says, folding her hands behind her back.

And then the boar comes up. Boring it is not. Nor is it something for swine. The story is not long, as it concludes in a chase up a tree, and...

The mention of Lord Brother.

Inwardly Nori contemplates this matter. There is a silent pause, which perhaps is not that anomalous in the context of this walk. But it is a pregnant sort of pause, one that seems to present the question of what will emerge, rather than simply being a companionable sharing of space and time and nature. Nori's fingers curl together.

It is a sensitive matter, Nori knows. And like gems, moments like this can be delicate. In a very real sense, you are making a first impression, and Nori knows that much. You can overcome errors here. But it isn't easy - and the marks may never go away.

"Did he fend it off for you, then? I don't think you've said much about him," Nori says, with a sort of breezy curiosity. "I hope you weren't... hurt."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Salmon aren't usually that big, but the mention of the size does seem to invalidate Mikoto's later point about not hunting things larger than her.

(The difference, of course, is that isn't HUNTING. It's FISHING.)

"Yup," Mikoto agrees, when Nori supposes she's walked all around Japan. This, too, may not be ''literally'' true, but perhaps it is more the feeling of the thing.

Silences have accents, and Mikoto can hear that one, as she lowers her hand down and keeps walking. She doesn't regret speaking honestly, but she can at least suppose someone who thought about their words might have told the story differently.

She thinks her friends don't like him terribly much, and that's a little sad, but she can't exactly blame them.

Still, when Nori speaks up it's with curiosity, so Mikoto tries to take her at that, instead. She hums hesitancy through her lips, looking up at the canopy, speckled yellow-green. The sun's up out there, somewhere. "When I couldn't defeat it, my Lord Brother stepped in and cut it down. He's really strong... I learned it all from him." Evident in her voice, she admires him; there's a strange sort of fondness in her voice to relate the adventure, too. But when she laughs - and she does laugh - there's a shade of nervousness to it. "I guess if I'd used Miroku it'd been easier, huh? But that's no fair! They're just animals!"

Conspicuously, she doesn't answer the query about whether she was hurt.

(She also doesn't address why it was fair for ''him'' to use a blade on an animal, in much the same way it was difficult for her to reconcile her distaste for harming unpowered civilians with the demands of his orders.)

"Even when I couldn't fight, Lord Brother still figured out a way forward... they said I shouldn't've let that happen, but..." Mikoto scratches at an ear, head canting as her pace slows. "... I guess it makes sense now, too. 'Cause they'd say I shouldn't've run away now, neither, but... still..."

Her gaze tilts diagonal, too, tracking down to a path now made from packed dirt. "Hey, Nori. Kozue and Tsuru... are they okay?"

What a strange shift.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Fishing... is good.

It is, after all, how you get fish. Nori Ankou's family made its money from freezing fish and fish-related foods for resale. It's true! look it up

She learned it all from him, Nori thinks. That means he's dreadfully strong, as well as his other various traits thus developed. Great, Nori also thinks, though it's sort of in the back row of les Theatres des Norittes. Her hands slide back into her pockets.

"If you had to hunt for your dinner, I would say all is fair... but yes; if you were just poking around, or practicing your stalking..." Nori says, not quite finishing the contrariwise thought. No need, she thinks.

When she couldn't fight, Lord Brother figured out a 'way forwards'. Towards what? Nori doesn't know. She does not know if Mikoto knows, either, or at least not exactly. She could just ask, but-- this is another place, she thinks, where the gem could break. And there's a vaguely dirty feeling to the thought at all.

The school colors shine through, Nori thinks, breathing out -- and that much is clear, though she closes her eyes for a step or two afterwards, sweeping back a long lank handful of glisteningly moisturized hair.

"Tsuru is being her usual darling and enigmatic self... and Kozue... remains Kozue, as hard as she possibly can," Nori says, "so I would say, yes. I don't visit with Kozue as much as I did lately, but I do see her around, of course, here and there."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"We were having fun..."

Which says many things, really.

1) For all the trials which came and went, as hard as Mikoto herself has admitted her life was, there were still things she thought of as 'fun',
2) Fun, for rural siblings, apparently involved harrassing the local wildlife, much like a cat playing with a mouse,
3) 'We,' inclusive, invokes a shared experience with that man who is hurting her so much,

And, unlucky four, even when Mikoto is recounting a fond memory, there's still a lag of hesitation to the words, alongside a certain shroud of defensiveness.

Mikoto brings her hand up to her heart, as Nori relates their conditions, and she says: "... okay."

This time, the tone of the silence is anxious; it must be, because Mikoto is painfully aware of the sound of her sensible Ohtori flats hitting the dirt. (And a bird calling out in the bushes, and a rustling of some ground-dwellers in the leaf litter, and...)

"It wasn't my fault," Mikoto says, apropos of nothing, "but... I think those Orphans attacked 'cause I was there. Or, maybe that gave him the idea... I don't know. I guess Kozue would say, 'don't you dare blame yourself!'... something like that," Mikoto hesitates, appends: "only, more, of that. But it looked hard for Tsuru... she had to jump into a car." The way Mikoto relates the tale, she probably doesn't mean 'jumping into a car' the way ''most'' people use that turn of phrase.

Her hand reaches up, nervously curling a braid about her fingers. "I'm HiME, so Orphans will fight me... we're destined enemies. Alyssa figured it out, and used them to attack us, last year. Now... now my Lord Brother is..." She bites at the inside of her cheek, a little inward wince. "I didn't know," she defends herself, instead. "I really didn't know. But, I found a note after my birthday... in the Orphan's box. It..."

That trails off, too.

"'Cause I'm not fighting for him, I guess Lord Brother took advantage of Orphans to attack me," there's something flat to the explanation, ringing hollow, even as her finger draws that braid tense. "Lots of people could get hurt... I'm worried." Mikoto says it and says more than she means, in the saying; surely she would be worried about collateral damage, but that can't be the extent of her worries, in the face of him.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Four things. That's never good, is it?

Of course, four doesn't always mean death. There's always four winds and there's often four heavenly kings.

"... Tsuru is tough; she is strong. If she were truly in peril I think she would simply spread her wings and fly away, even if she's not quite as much of a bluff old captain such as myself," Nori says, self consciously fastening a button on her coat as she says this. "I would not worry about her."

Kozue is of course a wild animal in her own right, and must be considered separately.

The facts of Mikoto's life echo past what Nori knows. The echo gets deeper, richer. Perhaps she understands, even if she doesn't Understand. "Well," Nori says, "in that case I will not tell you that, except that I will say that I agree with Kozue!"

Her head turns to gaze at Mikoto. The shorter girl. Was she always taller than her? Nori thinks - she thinks so. I wonder if I will just become thirty yards high and stretch across the sky one day, she thinks irrelevantly. "So you feel guilty, from what you're saying. Your heart's in turmoil, because of what it is that you think that he is doing. It feels as though, it is really your doing."

"Is that right?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto smiles a small smile, to hear of Tsuru's hidden talents. "Okay," she says, again, and in Mikoto's hands the word is an honest acceptance of Nori's tale.

''Mikoto'' was not always this tall. She scarcely measured over four-feet-nine, when she came to Tokyo; a few years of Mai's food, and she's managed to grow into a respectable 4'11". She will likely never breach five feet. Perhaps she simply grew too much in the shadow of something.

Which is to say, she's used to looking up.

Nori echoes her worries back at her, and Mikoto stops, turning to her. "Um... yeah," she says, a slight pause as her hand tucks her braid behind an ear, and certainly there's guilt in her eyes. "I - I know it's what my Lord Brother chose to do. But if I hadn't left, he'd still have someone to fight for him... he wouldn't have had to figure something else out."

Her lips form a thin line; shortly all her efforts to categorise her braid are for naught, as she shakes her head vigorously back and forth, and they whip at her cheeks. "It's not just that!" She declares, fiercely. "I - I ''wanted'' my Lord Brother to come to my party, I ''said'' so, and, he sent something, and, I should've known he'd send something to hurt me, but I said that anyway! And when I saw the nice things he said, I was really happy, Nori! It took me ages to figure out it was still mean! But even though I know that, I still..."

Mikoto's movement slows to a dead stop, hands pulling up to grasp each other at her chest. "I'm happy I... matter, to him. It's all twisted up, but, my Lord Brother still..." She swallows down the thought, can't quite figure out how to say it with honesty, and settles on: "... that's why I feel bad."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori also stops. She gazes at Mikoto.

Nori is now five feet and eight inches. She is still moving up in the world. Will she end up passing the tallest person she knows socially, Setsuna Meioh? Maybe. She might. It's impossible to say. She does, of course, not expect to actually become thirty meters high.

But three? No, probably not. She has grown up on the waters of Earth.

"Yes," Nori says. "I cannot know his mind. But it was cruel of him to do that. Cruel enough to direct the Orphans, and I don't want to excuse that. But it was cruelty on top of cruelty to do what he did, that you have said. But..."

"I understand too what you mean," Nori says, glancing towards the forest. "That he cares enough to be cruel."

Nori takes in a huge breath; lets it out in a sigh. She tilts her head down to look at the forest floor.

"... This kind of pain... that turbulence..." Nori says, the sentences not quite forming right. Then she opts to take one half-step forwards and sweep up her arms to abruptly embrace Mikoto, gathering her close for a warm hug, the damp fragrance of the glycerine-rich shampoo she slathers her locks with momentarily overwhelming the scent of the cooling season.

It is brief; she loosens afterwards; but she does not pull back as far as she was.

"You do not deserve to be put in this place. To have the goodness, the sweetness inside of you used like that. *He* should be apologizing to *you* and here you are, like the Kozue in our heads said, saying 'don't you dare blame yourself'. Because you knew that that is what she would see, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen, right?" Nori continues, a certain city-lightness in her tone mixed with a focused, almost absorbed depth.

"It's awful... I know what you mean and - I wish - I wish I could just say -" Nori breathes out again.

"I promise you that if he does this again, I --" Nori wants to hedge somehow but she doesn't: "I will make sure everything is alright. Alright? I can't promise perfect. But alright; alright I think I can pledge. As long as it takes."

A leaf falls from a tree, perhaps a little early; it lands, after some time, on Nori's shoulder. She smiles.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Cruelty on top of cruelty; Mikoto dips her head in a nod, and thus recognised, she's able to share a little more. "He said, I was his adorable little sister... he always said things like that when he was happy with me," and there is a strange lilt of longing to her voice, even pained. "... but, he said violence was my precious treasure, and victory, and, that's what my Lord Brother wants from me. So he gave me that... gift."

Perhaps it says something, at least, that Mikoto can trust her own account now, instead of having to get her friends to gauge the message's severity. ... still, those are awfully fancy words, for her.

(They're not her words.)

There's something sickened to that last mora, as if Mikoto is horrified by the idea that a gift can be warped to something which hurts so much. (Despite everything, she can still be horrified.) It is pain, at least, Nori sees, even if it is a horror their tongues cannot speak; more striking, still, to Mikoto, the fact that ''Nori'' cannot speak it. Nori, Mikoto thinks, has always known what to say, in precisely the way Mikoto doesn't.

She blinks in surprise, to see Nori sweeping forward; but she doesn't shy away, and when she ends up cocooned in that big fluffy lie of a coat she sinks in against the other girl, for a moment. Mikoto carries a great weight with her but she, SHE is light, even if what is there of her is quite solid muscle; even so, there simply isn't ''enough'' of her to be heavy.

Mikoto straightens, too, but one hand still grasps at Nori's woollen coat, the one which looked like velvet until she laid hands on it. Her other hand comes up to her chest, grasps to a loose fist there; perhaps her heart hurts.

"Used..." Her lips feel numb, but it's probably her conclusion, not the cold: "... my Lord Brother's still using me." Stranger still is the idea that HE ought apologise to HER, an utterly foreign thought, but that one is too challenging to echo. She can at least notice the struggle.

(She can notice the way Nori understands where she's coming from, and what a horrifying notification that is in her mind.)

Mikoto swallows, with a little tug-tug on that coat, when Nori decides what she can promise. "Are you strong enough to fight Orphans that strong, Nori..? When you stab them, their heart moves somewhere else... when you cut off their legs, they grow right back. Even if you chop them right in half... sometimes, there's nothing we can do but use our Child." She describes the body horror dismally, and one might get the distinct impression she has dealt with all of these trickeries, and more.

"If Nori can handle something like that..." Mikoto swallows, eyes blinking shut in the wince before she looks up to her, eyes wide and too, too gold. "I'm counting on you, okay? My Lord Brother knows me better than anyone... so he can find the Orphans that scare me more than anything. The ones what hurt me like..."

Here her gaze shifts aside, and she says more than she knows, "... like... like he did."

Where is he finding Orphans who can play tricks on her mind, whose venom is heavy as love lies..?

Mikoto, at least, seems convinced he found them.

2021-05-14 - The Cry-santhemums of Hikawa

2021-05-15T11:22:44Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: rei: ah yes i understand now! bullying my friends because i'm stressed is wrong. also rei: so i bully my family instead, right???

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: The Cry-santhemums of Hikawa'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The Hikawa Shrine has arranged a chysanthemum viewing for November, but Rei is high-strung as always. Yuuichiro seems like he's bearing the brunt of it, but can Usagi and Yumi help him out -- or is Rei just a bad target to admire?''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Rei Hino]], [[Usagi Tsukino]], [[Yumi Ohzora]], Yuuichiro Kumada
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Hikawa Shrine
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-05-14 - 2015-11-24
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The chrysanthemum is a storied flower, in Japan. Symbol of the imperial family, for centuries it has been an icon of nobility and responsibility. Much like the cherry blossoms of spring, autumn is the season of the chrysanthemum, and elaborate flower viewings spread around a month in length. Shinto shrines often showcase these arrangements, in chrysanthemum festivals which celebrate the art of these blossoms.

The Community Festival Promotion Committee began its preparations for the many showings months prior -- assisted, this year, by the helpful Fujino family. That may explain the extra budget many of Tokyo's smaller shrines have had to arrange their flowers; this November has had a glorious backdrop of yellow, even outside of the main events.

Rei, of course, has been a driving force in arranging an excellent celebration -- though some sources close to her, off the record, might describe her more as driving them up the wall. Being charitable, she has gotten better at not taking out her anxieties and frustrations on her friends. But as for her family...

(Well, be fair: Yuuichiro isn't ''technically'' family. He wandered to the shrine steps one day, and they just sort of took him in, in a way Rei would liken to adopting a poor lost puppy.)

All of them at Hikawa shrine, with its own glorious showing of flowers. Climbing up the stone steps to the Torii gate which leads to the shrine, one finds two lattices framing the entrance, chrysanthemums woven through the diagonal wood slats. Around the edges of the left clearing are boxes of imperial yellow, overflowing with fresh, healthy petals.

In the middle of the clearing is an elaborate display. A seven-tailored blossom -- one seedling, pinched and coaxed into growing in seven different ways, each branch of the plant supported by a wheel. There are large chrysanthemum bushes dotted around, arranged artfully like the flowing skirts of Ohtori ball gowns; on decorative pillars lie chysanthemum bonsai, crafted into elegant trees one could hold in a hand.

Attending the celebrations are the priests of the shrine -- the trainee Yuuichiro Kumada, and the Head Priest, Grandpa Hino -- and of course, Hikawa's shrine maiden, Rei Hino. Grandpa may be balding with his age, but Rei and Yuuichiro more than make up for it: his mane of hair is messier than hers, all capped off with a crown of chrysanthemums, but hers is longer, and today adorned with a gathering of flowers behind an ear. They wear the robes of the shrine, of course; that's just good marketing, as far as the boss is concerned.

Speaking of: Grandpa, a necklace of yellow flowers about his neck, waves paper slips about. "Would you like a chrysanthemum blessing? For love, for success? We have them all!"

"Grandpa!" Rei chastises him, wagging a finger. "We're not here to market to these good people!"

"We're here to --" Yuuichiro begins, but does not finish,

"We're here to celebrate the majesty of the chrysanthemum!" Arms all flung out, Rei interrupts, and the sour little look of reprimand on Yuuichiro's face suggests it's not for the first time. She either doesn't notice or doesn't care, as she addresses the crowd. "Japan's imperial flower, with centuries or nobility! We have only the finest arrangements for you today -- made with assistance from the Sister School's very own gardening clubs, and with special input from Ohtori's exclusive Tea Ceremony club!"

"Now who's advertising...?" Grandpa Hino leans over, grumbling to Yuuichiro.

"But you have to admire Rei-san's passion!" Yuuichiro replies, without a shred of irony despite her rude interruption.

"Everyone," Rei claps her hands together, brightly, "welcome to our chysanthemum festival!"

Yuuichiro scratches at the back of his head with a rueful grin, and doesn't point out that they thought it might be time for ''him'' to welcome people to a celebration, especially since the chysanthemums didn't have as much spiritual significance as some of the festivals they've done lately.

But it's fine. Look at all those flowers!

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Rei Hino hears something behind her after she declares the festival has begun. It's... it's...

Clapping!

Usagi Tsukino is present and clapping excitedly her speech, and the open of the festival. "Sugoi Sugoiiii Rei-chan! That was incredible!"

Right now Usagi is wearing an orange coat with a contrasting green collar, a violet top, and a tight fitting black skirt with a matching pair of violet leggings and white sneakers.

"I know I'm sold!"

Wait what?

Usagi turns to Grandpa Hino and holds up a finger, "One chrysanthemum blessing please!"

Usagi jingles a tiny coin purse, before she snaps it open. And empties a few yen coins into her palm. Staring at it for a moment before awkwardly recovering.

"Um... ah... I'm a little... short... s-say do you offer maybe... half strength blessings?"

Usagi considers, as she produces out of her purse a small mostly punched card. "... I have a loyalty card for the shrine, if that makes a difference..."

It is perhaps a fortunate thing that Usagi doesn't realize the Fujino group was involved in this. The fact that she doesn't though has her in a good mood, ready to celebrate the spirit of Chrysanthemums... and consumerism both!

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi finds that Lost Ivy always seems to exude a nice aura among flowers and greenery, and she wouldn't particularly miss this festival--not just because of certain responsibilities, but because... it's an important flower! Granted, she has to concern herself a little with all the Outside involved but it's worth it, and as the festival begins, Yumi Ohzora is there too, gray-haired and casually dressed in pale blues, vivid greens, and soft pinks. Frankly she's dressed for weather a little chillier than this actually is, for reasons.

But she steps up behind Usagi as she snaps her purse open, easily visible behind the much, much shorter girl with an easy smile of her own.

"You should make that two!" she remarks cheerfully, and wave to Yuuchiro as she notices him with that rueful kind of grin. She can guess a little that someone got excited...

"Chrysanthemums just aren't a half-strength kind of flower, so I insist!"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Organising these things is a delicate network of needs and plans, Usagi. Just don't call it 'politics'. But it's entirely correct that Rei hasn't told Usagi ''all'' the details of how the sausage gets made, because that would ''ruin the wonder.''

After all, it's that wonder which has Rei framing her face with a hand as she laughs, in excellent cheer as Usagi cheers her on --

-- to --

Her finger crooks against her cheek with an audible hinge-creaking noise, head half-cocked, as Usagi falls to the prey of all human souls: capitalism.

"Of course, of course!" Grandpa Hino cheerfully turns to Usagi, waving his blessings. "It's important we value the loyal believers of Tokyo!" Believers, really..? "Perhaps a wonderful girl like you could help out --"

But before he can recruit more part-time shrine maidens, here's Yumi!! "Two blessings! Goodness, of course!" He hands out the prayers, with pressed chysanthemum flowers stuck to them. Is this Hikawa innovation..? "I'm sure the two of you will be lucky in love after this!"

Yuuichiro waves back to Yumi, and he seems ''just about'' ready to go over and tell them some cool flower facts, when Rei takes him aside. "I can't believe Grandpa!!" She hisses, to him. "Yuuichiro, go handle the other visitors, I need to keep an eye on him!"

"Eh, everyone else..?" Yuuichiro looks over at the visitors perusing the flowers.

"You'll be fine!" Rei gives his arm a little shove, as she turns and storms over to one Grandpa Hino, abandoning the poor trainee to handle everyone ''else.''

(Does she really say that because she believes in him? Well, Yuuichiro can tell himself she does.)

And so, behind the diminuitive elder Hino, Rei's whole five-feet-three towers. "Grand~pa," she says, a smile through grit teeth, "you've told these girls they're blessed by the flowers just by being here, haven't you..?" Laughing, perhaps a little too sharply, she claps her hands together again, looking to Usagi and Yumi. "I'm glad you came today," she says, with a more genuine smile. "I've really outdone myself, huh?"

Meanwhile, over there: poor Yuuichiro, who also helped, is trying to get a grade schooler not to pick up one of the bonsai and take it home.

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Usagi giggles as he implies that he could have extra hands, as she waves a hand at him in a gesture of faux bashfulness, "Oh! You-! Wellll... I came here today to enjoy the festival butttt..."

The answer to the but... never comes. Because...

A shadow falls over her. Usagi gives it a curious look, then turns her head around, her eyes lighting up, "Oh Yumi-chan! You're here too!"

Before... "Really? You're sure it's okay! W-Well if you insist then I won't turn you down!"

Usagi claps her nearly empty coin purse shut. Before she then whispers her way, "Thank you Yumi-chan. If I find romance this season, it'll all be thanks to you!"

In the aftermath of the blessing being handed over, Usagi trades him and hands him her loyalty card to punch, before breaking down into some giggling anew at the implication that they'll be lucky in love. It's one thing between girls, but when a guy says it... well she looks embarrassed at least!

Usagi doesn't seem to hear the exchange between Rei and Yuuichiro, instead seeing Rei loom over her diminutive grandpa as she hooks the charm into the strap of her bag. "Well of course he told us that-!" Usagi says, missing the context entirely as she smiles brightly at Rei Hino. "And you have! I didn't expect you to organize all of those Ohtori clubs to come decorate the shrine, but I should have because it's you!"

Usagi at least, sees Rei as a hard worker and perhaps a wizard when it comes to getting what she wants for things like this.

Though, after that excited look, she instead looks, faintly abstracted as she looks out to the shrine's tori and the decorative flowers, missing entirely Yuuichiro's exchange with a child... "I don't know why... but when you gave your speech, I felt a little nostalgic..."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

It's very important not to ruin the wonder.

Yumi though has been around Rei's grandfather often enough that she may have an ulterior motive for offering to pay for Usagi's blessing. Or maybe she just feels like being nice! It could be either. Instead though, she smiles politely at Grandpa Hino. "You think?" she asks. "I definitely need a strong blessing for ''that''..."

She laughs a little, smiling Usagi's way. "Let's hope so!"

She does not have a card. This is fine. But she does look to the others, and--well, Rei may indeed be a wizard. She looks around thoughtfully when Rei mentions outdoing herself. ...But the extra blessing can't hurt, right?

"You have!" Yumi agrees. She tiltos her head a little at the nostalgia, but, "I wouldn't miss it either way. ...And even if I wanted to I've got things to bring over!"

Mysteriously her family has a good relationship with a number of shrines. Must just be a thing.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"It certainly is!" Rei crows, a hand to her chest. "They're quite helpful, if you ask nicely. But really, aren't these flowers lovely? Gardeners are something else." A quiet over her, for a moment, as her voice trails: "Honestly, they're more than you'd give them credit for..."

"Our shrine is sure to stand out with this extra help!" Grandpa Hino crows, in a perfect mirror of the Hino Family Attitude, and Rei's fey mood dissipates in a moment as her hand goes to her hip.

"Oh," she replies, "like we needed ''help.'' We're three hundred years strong!"

"And you Ohzoras have always been a great help," Grandpa Hino smiles, sunny, to Yumi.

Meanwhile, Yuuichiro is trying to hold up three bonzai chysanthemums which were freed from their pillars. The sixth-grade girls who wanted a better look at them think this is ''great'' fun. He might disagree. "R...Rei-san..!!" He calls out, a hint of nervousness over his bravado.

"Don't worry about it!" She calls back, without looking over her shoulder.

Grandpa Hino just kind of chuckles, shaking his head.

"-- but you're right," Rei looks to Yumi, instead. "How rude of me! I should have asked you if you wanted to bring your deliveries over first! Usagi, have I told you how helpful Yumi-chan is when all these festivals come around? She's really reliable, too." (Inclusively, because Usagi is ''also'' reliable to Rei, despite appearances.)

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"What?" Usagi looks ''scandalized'' at the idea that Yumi needs a strong blessing, "A tall beauty like you can definitely get by with just a regular strength! A half strength even!"

She enthuses, seeming not to understand at all where that idea would come from. Before she then looks back and forth between Grandpa Hino and Rei as they say that the Ohzoras have always been a great help.

"Really?" Usagi's eyes go wide, "I had no idea!"

Usagi is here all the time, and she really didn't, but that might be because she doesn't typically pay attentiont o such details. It's possibly quite likely that Grandpa Hino had mentioned Ohzora around her twenty times and it just never stuck.

Usagi is about to look at Yuuichiro, when Rei says not to worry about it! So she doesn't, at first.

"Sugoiii... I knew Yumi-chan was a hard worker! I just didn't know she was a hard worker here-!"

And then suddenly she clasps Yumi's hands, "Yumi-chan, let's work hard together for the success of the Hikawa Shrine!"

She says, as if she were here actually working as a part time shrine maiden, and not celebrating. Speaking of which... Usagi suddenly leans to the side to look around Yumi, while still holding onto her hands. "You know... Yuuichiro-san actually looks pretty frazzled...?" Her chin cants upwards as if contemplating it, "Hmmm... I wonder what has him so worked up...?"

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Well if you're going to call me things like ''that'' we should hang out more often!" Yumi laughs at being called a tall beauty. One out of two isn't bad, right?

Yumi, on the other hand, would tend to give gardeners a lot of credit! Not just because one of her good friends is one, of course, though that is a factor. But the shrine standing out... Yumi smiles to watch the family time on display here. It's nice. Very nice.

"I just try to keep up our family's traditions as best I can," Yumi demurs politely on the matter of the Ohzoras helping. She reaches up and puts a hand to the back of her neck at Usagi's widened eyes. "Ah, ha ha..."

But suddenly as she brings down her hand they're both clasped! This distracts her for a moment from the boy's plight as instead she beams Usagi's way, towering over... well, everyone in the immediate area, frankly. Except maybe Yuuichiro himself. Maybe.

"Yeah!" she says. "Not that we have to do much with Rei-chan around..." But--hm. He...

"...I think he's in trouble..."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Could Yumi be strong enough to get by on half a blessing..?!

In fairness, there are many parts of shrine management which Rei doesn't belabour around Usagi; she considers that sort of organisation ''her'' strength, and so, with pride, she takes it on herself. That's the ideal, if one were to ask Rei Hino: handling things with aplomb under one's own power.

(Maybe that's why poor Yuuichiro is trying to balance over there all on his own.)

"I sure am lucky all you astounding young ladies are working hard!" Grandpa Hino encourages Usagi's fighting spirit, as she grasps Yumi's hands in the wake of Yumi's polite acknowledgement.

"Well, I'd be an embarrassment if my friends worked harder than I did," Rei supposes, to Yumi, only for Usagi and Yumi to point out --

"... SAFE!!!" Yuuichiro declares, all stretched out to balance the last bonzai on its pillar, after what must have been a terrible series of antics trying to keep everything together.

Rei presses her fingers to her temple, as she turns over towards him. "Yuuichiro! You're not messing around over there, are you?!"

"Rei-san, it's just -- there are a lot of people here --"

Off she marches, a hand tossing up into the air. "It's easy! We're just encouraging everyone to celebrate the chysanthemum! And what, are carrying these things ''hard'' now? You didn't complain when you were setting them up the past few days!"

Yuuichiro sighs, slumping down. "You're so harsh..."

"Harsh? I'm being realistic! You should be able to handle something like this!" Rei points accusation, and doesn't say a word about how she was only handling ''two'' people.

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Of course we should hang out more! That's a given!" Usagi enthuses for longer, while nodding at Grandpa Hino as she takes position beside her clasping Yumi's hands "You sure are!"

Then Yumi notes it's a family tradition, "Oh I see! I really respect traditional families like that."

In a sense, Usagi puts them on a pedestal in general as she feels like traditional families produce daughters that are closer to some ideal of Japanese beauty.

After all, Rei exists. And so too does Yumi.

Yumi comments however that Yuuichiro is in trouble, "Hmm... you think? Maybe we should..."

Rei though finally turns, "Oh! Rei-chan has it!"

Usagi doesn't think much of Rei chewing into him because Rei chews into her all the time. It's just how Rei deals with other people.

Though... her brow furrows. There's something a bit different about it, because of... the position Yuuichiro is in, but she can't quite put her finger onto it.

So it's not like she decides to intervene, but more like... help in hopes it deescalates. "A-Ah! It's okay! Rei-chan! I'll cover things for him while Yuuichiro-san and you talk!"

-=-=-

Not long after.

"Eh? Some weird guy wouldn't let you see the Bonsai?" Usagi says to some sixth grade girls, not connecting the dots at all on who the 'weird guy' might be. "Don't worry! I'm good friends with the resident shrine maiden and I'm sure she'd be fine with it!"

Usagi, right in Yuuichiro's line of sight but probably not Rei's ends up handing one of them a Bonzai from its perch. "Here you go! Isn't it gorgoeus? The Ohtori Gardening Club really went all out!"

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi actually needs extra blessings because she's so tall. That's definitely how it works.

She smiles a little more at the encouragement to Usagi, though Rei--Ah. Well.

"...Y-yeah, my family's like that," Yumi says, and doesn't get into the details or anything because there's no need to and also she can't be entirely honest right here and now. But--

Rei marches over to Yuuichiro and Yumi winces as she sees him, well familiar with the sort of way a person can be bowled along by a more direct personality. Harsh... And--Well. He was handling...

"She... does have it, kind of," Yumi says, and she is ''not'' used to seeing Rei chew into herself like Usagi is, because why would Rei ever be so mean to helpful Yumi??

"Oh, uh."

-=-=-

"Um, Usagi-chan..." Some weird guy, huh? Yumi opens her mouth and closes it. Oh dear.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Rag'n'Bone Man - Human https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3wKzyIN1yk

Luckily for the Hikawa Shrine, Usagi covers for Yuuichiro and Rei, so they can step aside and not embarrass everyone.

"If you don't think you can handle standing on your own two feet, you should have just told me!" This, for the keen-eared viewer, might have ''begun'' in Rei's mind as a supportive statement, before it was filtered through Rei's mouth and came out as... that.

So is it any wonder Yuuichiro is left a little defensive? He crosses an arm over his chest, grasping his opposite arm, as he points out: "Rei-san, I can handle it fine! But it would be easier if you didn't give me your responsibilities, too..!" It speaks to his mountainlike fortitude that Yuuichiro restrains himself from appending an 'always' in there.

"Are you calling me some kind of hypocrite?!" Rei accuses, despite the word never coming up once, as if her mind simply leapt to the idea.

"I never said that!" Yuuichiro issues back, and maybe he IS a Hino apprentice, because those words manage to be pretty sharp, too. But he sighs, hand to his head for a moment. "Rei-san, I want this to be a success, too, but I need your help."

"I...!" Rei deflates, a little; perhaps she has some awareness of where she stands in the argument, after all. "Fine, fine. I'll take care of the crowds." On a heel, she turns and flounces off, and in that instant of turning the stormy expression on her face morphs back to a welcoming smile.

Yuuichiro, meanwhile... has seen Usagi's efforts. And so--!!

He ambles over, but this time, he doesn't say, 'they belong on the display pillars!', or anything killjoy like that. "I guess it is easier to appreciate them up close, huh?" He says, instead, a hand to the back of his head. He claps his hands together, to the girls in sixth grade. "Sorry about that... I'm still in training, so I was pretty nervous about getting it right."

"You could learn a lot from this girl!" One of them says, as she leans close to examine the flowers. "Wow, they're pretty..."

"Haha... yeah, I could, huh?" He laughs, before he turns to Usagi and Yumi. "Ah, sorry about that," he apologises to them, too, "but thanks for covering for us back there. Rei-san can get pretty intense when she's trying to get things right..." That's ''one'' word for it.

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Hm?" Usagi looks back Yumi's way, while still holding out the bonsai.

Usagi does catch perhaps some of the argument between Yuuichiro and Rei... but mostly is focused on covering for him. As he walks up, Usagi smiles, "It's alright Yuuichiro-san." ...and smells one of the flowers herself. "They really are something else... here! You can hold it if you want..."

And she gives it over to one of them.

Before she then sidles up to Yumi, and nudges her, whispering, "Follow my lead."

She stands back up straight and clears her throat... "Rei-chan just... you know, she gets really passionate and gets caught up in her own sprint about... everything. Sometimes she has trouble seeing things that are just out of her... focus at the moment. Buttt..."

She laces her arms behind her back, perhaps looking a bit sly, "... that doesn't mean she doesn't appreciate them."

Pause. Usagi just has that look on her expression, as she looks at Yuuichiro for many long moments, like she's just about to break down giggling and says...

"You must get really nervous around... Rei-chan right? I almost never see you relaxed when you're working around her..."

Pause, and her expression becomes one of sly delight, "... Yuuichiro-san... you really like Rei-chan don't you?"

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi can sense the tension between Rei and Yuuichiro, and it isn't the fun kind of tension as far as she can tell. Frankly their arguing starts to make her a little uncomfortable, and she is all too glad to escape with Usagi instead of being with 'family' arguing. But Rei is going to handle the crowds, and....

"It tends to be," Yumi says, "Though there's something to be said for appreciating them in the arrangement they were in, too," she allows, maybe to be nice. But Rei getting intense? "Yeah... She's really fired up." Though she does always seem gentler when...

Well.

Follow Usagi's lead? Yumi is the type in general to go along with things, so she does at the moment. Seeing things... ANd--Ah. Oh.

That ''would'' explain an awful lot, wouldn't it?

"...She ''does'' tend to notice the little things."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Rei-san is really something else," Yuuichiro agrees, and despite everything, he really does sound like he thinks that's a good thing. Well, given the way he acts, perhaps it's no wonder...

Well, Usagi issues that query, and he goes all beet red. "Ahahaha!" He laughs, a hand rubbing the back of his neck, and that sort of faux-boisterousness is really just a boy's shorthand for bashfulness. "Is that her superpower?" He asides, to Yumi, and the nice thing about Yuuichiro is that he ''isn't'' a native Hino; when he isn't being riled up, he's not terribly loud at all.

"I -- really admire Rei-san," he admits, after a moment. "I rejected decadence to become a better person," hey, come to think of it, has anyone ever seen Yuuichiro at SCHOOL?, "and when I realised how passionate she was, I just knew that Rei-san could teach me how to take initiative. If I work hard, I really think I can make a breakthrough here!"

He sighs, with a vast, Atlas-worthy shrug. "But, you know... I don't know if Rei-san really..." He looks back towards the shrine, shoulders slumping down. "I like to think I work pretty hard, but sometimes it's like I just get burned down when she gets fired up. Maybe I'm still just entitled... heh," he grins another rueful grin, looking back to them. "I'd better work even harder, huh? If I want Rei-san to notice me, I can't give up now."

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Sailor Moon OST - Comforting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7rs2u7_6CY&list=PL3CRUt-GCCPNCe48XRD1y3VzndmVOEY35

Usagi would take Yuuichiro's blush as confirmation, before nodding along to Yumi and Yuuichiro stating that she notices the little things, "I'm an expert on all matters of romance. Just leave it all to Usagi-sensei!"

What kind of title is that!? Does she think she's a love doctor? Love teacher? It's ambiguous!

Her posture changes though as he says that he really admires Rei. And she just spends her time listening. Her expression showing hints and signs of delight. Then sympathy, as he notes that Rei perhaps...

Usagi considers the matter for a moment, then takes a deep breath, and gives him this slight smile, "Yuuichiro-san. I think your goals are really admirable."

Usagi ''herself'' would never give up decadence but, she can admire those who do.

"It's hard to catch up to Rei-chan. It's hard for me on my best day, and I'm her best friend. I think, that even if you're trying hard to change yourself... that you should maybe take it a bit easier. Relax a bit. If you're all nerves all the time around her, then Rei-chan has no chance to see you for who you are."

She holds up a finger, "And on that day that she does, I'll be cheering you on! So, do your best, Yuuichiro-san."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Something else--yes, that's true. It's also true that Yumi appreciates how not-loud Yuuichiro is at the moment. A superpower? "Maybe," Yumi allows, speaking in that way like she Knows Something that she's actually pretty good at. It makes her more mysterious.

...As does an ambiguous title... for Usagi.

"You admire her, yeah?" Yumi says, and smiles. That's a lot better than some answers he could've given. "She is good at taking initiative..." Yumi wouldn't know much about rejecting decadence, though. Not at all.

"I think Rei-chan..." She considers. She considers more. "Um. Yeah. What Usagi-chan says. Relax a little; if you're tense, she'll be tense. Working hard is good and important, but you've gotta work smart, too!"

"...I mean, that's just what I think offhand. Maybe she's different around boys."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Then I'm in good hands!" Yuuichiro laughs, good-naturedly, at Usagi's glorious title. Neither does he challenge Yumi's vague assurance that she Knows Things. Yuuichiro, it seems, is an easy-going fellow at heart, which might make it even more astounding that he's ended up ''here.''

(Hikawa is, after all, the fire shrine, so no wonder its wardens are fiery.)

It's an interesting way to frame himself -- Yuuichiro seems rather a humble sort of fellow, so why would ''he'' need to turn away from a decadent lifestyle? -- but he doesn't dwell on it. "I should relax, huh..?" He wonders, rubbing his scraggly chin with a hand. "Yeah," he decides, a moment later, "Rei-san is really intuitive, so she's gotta be picking up on my nerves, right?"

Surely Rei is thinking of him!

"Okay!" He pumps a fist, with a broad grin. "I'll get out there, and use my head! Thanks, girls! Looks like Rei-san's really got some good friends out there." And so, Yuuichiro strides out with new confidence...!

But when Rei sees him next, she has that same sharp tongue...

... at least they're not arguing with each other, right? The flower viewing is saved!

2021-04-26 - Remember That It Matters! I Don't Know What I Don't Know, But I Know Parfaits Are Delicious!

2021-05-01T04:25:25Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: mikoto can't get away with nothin' because lera has her master's in detecting dark magical girl thought traps

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Remember That It Matters! I Don't Know What I Don't Know, But I Know Parfaits Are Delicious!'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto invites Lera out for parfaits, and ends up telling her the truth about her Lord Brother's involvement in her party. Thanks to Lera's questioning, she reveals how uncertain she is that it was just that ''one'' time -- and has to confront some more of the cruelties implicit in his message. Lera, after all, has listened to Mikoto for a long time; and Mikoto isn't the only girl from Dark Fall she's helped, either.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Lera Camry]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Yamanote - Linden Baum
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-4-26 - 2015-11-16
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's not ''uncommon'' for Mikoto to summon Lera out after school; so, too, is it habitual for these invitations to by and large involve snacks. Today, the missive implores her to come with Mikoto to Linden Baum, which is apparently trialling a new, even fruitier parfait. How would Mikoto obtain this insider goss..? Three guesses, and the first two don't Mai. Uh, count.

Mai isn't working ''today,'' but news of the new treat has spread amongst the student body - everyone's here, with a particular representation of Ohtori yellow, considering how easy it is to get to this part of the city from Southern Cross Island. (Mikoto has another name for that island, but... perhaps she's just a particularly quirky girl.) In a competitive environment like this, it seems impossible to get a table, but --

Mikoto, who so often gets in the way around here, is well-known around Linden Baum. It doesn't take long for someone to notice ''her,'' and get her situated in a little table in the corner. It just sits two people, but that's enough! Pulling out her phone, Mikoto relates her success. A minute later she pulls it out again as she remembers to relay her ''position.''

Of course, when the waitress comes by, Mikoto asks her to bring them two of those parfaits, because Mikoto ''definitely'' assumes that's what Lera wants to try. They're busy, so it might take a while, but that'll give Lera time to find her!

(She, of course, is one more speck of yellow in that patchwork of students, as she hasn't bothered to change after class. There's her cute little pink backpack on the floor... and there's Miroku's case, tilted to rest against the table beside her.)

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Lera Camry is always happy to take Mikoto up on an offer to meet. For one, Mikoto is a friend; for another, though, there are snacks involved. Mikoto has excellent tastes in snacks. Lera is also familiar with Linden Baum -- and thus she is there, too, walking through the door with a bit of hurry. She wasn't running late, but she came close. A bag is over her shoulder, and flower-rimmed sunglasses are parked on her forehead.

She has her uniform otherwise, though the tie is loosened and the jacket is unbuttoned. She spots Mikoto right away -- and she gets waved over a staff member. Lera isn't such a regular that she gets recognized, but a tall 'American' girl has a way of being recognized quickly.

"Mikoto!" she calls out, as she comes over. She plops down in the seat across from her. Her bag falls down, too, with a rattle; Lera slumps back in her chair, then, and lets out a sigh.

"Aaah, I was almost late," she says. "I'm glad I made it in time, y'know? The trains just weren't cooperating today."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto and Lera can always agree on one thing: snacks. All the time. Snacks!!

She perks up when she spies Lera standing out in the crowd, waving to her. "Lera, Lera!" She chirps, in cheerful greeting, grin slung from one ear to the other not ''unlike'' flower-glasses. That glorious pair of petals earns a long, wide-eyed look from her, as Lera transforms from towering to sitting down.

(Americans are tall. Then again, lots of people are tall compared to Mikoto.)

"Don't worry!" She assures her, with that same cheer. "I got us parfaits!" There's a beat of a pause as she looks over the crowded diner, and she adds: "Might take a while..."

Waitresses work very hard. It is hard to be a waitress, especially when things are this busy. This is the ''deep waitress lore'' Mikoto has absorbed.

"Trains, too?" Mikoto asks, looking back to her, and it might not be immediately obvious if she means 'they're late' or 'they're busy'. Maybe it can mean both of those things! She wrinkles her nose, and says: "It's okay. Trains are hard."

(To Mikoto's sensitive ears, the dozen-dozen conversations going on in the background are a lot of extra noise, but at least they have a table here and aren't squished up next to like six other people, UNLIKE SOME TRAINS MIKOTO COULD MENTION.)

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Lera, of course, isn't an American. But she looks like someone of European descent and faked it well enough. (Arguably.)

"The new parfait?" Lera says, with a grin and a tilt of her head. There isn't any argument from her. "I was meaning to try it, y'know? I heard it's really good..." She glances at the kitchen for a second -- paying attention to how busy it is -- and then she looks back at Mikoto.

She nods her head. "Mm-hm. It took me a long time to figure them out, when I first came here." She grew up in a more rural part of Midchilda; there were buses and regional trains, but not ones connecting different parts of the city.

"How've you been?" she asks.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Hey, Lera's American cover fooled Mikoto!

... Mikoto might not know much about the world outside Japan.

"Yup!" She says, with a bob of her head which sends her braids bouncing uppity-up only to tumble back down. This may be both an agreement that she ordered the new parfait, and an agreement that she's heard it's very good. That's the word economy!

She listens, humming affirmation, as Lera shares the Trials of Trains. "Me too," she agrees, with echoes of past confusion. "I didn't get 'tickets'..." With the emphasis she places on that last word, she's probably saying she didn't understand the concept, but the ''other'' reading - that she didn't buy tickets to the train - is probably just as valid. "... trains are weird." This is Mikoto's summation of the public transport experience.

"Good!" That brief period of rail-based bafflement cedes ground to her everpresent sunniness, though, when Lera asks how she is. "We went swimming! And hiking! And donuts!" Those are probably separate activities. Probably. "And," here there's a brief flicker in that sunlight bulb, "nothing's attacked me again, so that's good."

Sure, Mikoto is carrying her sword around, but that's not because she ''expects'' to be attacked. That's just a thing she always carries with her. Miroku is her plus one. It's totally normal don't worry about it.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Yeah, there's so much around them... lots of little rules. Weird," Lera agrees with a nod of her head. She tilts her head to the side as she thinks about it for a second -- and then she shakes her head once, as if to clear her head of the stray thoughts of the train system.

"That sounds like fun, y'know? I like all of those things." She scratches at the back of her neck -- honestly, 'hiking with swimming and donuts' sounds like a day she might spend with Setsuna. But, really, anything with donuts is the sort of day she might spend with Setsuna. There is an association there.

"...ah, yeah," she says, then. Her expression falls a little. "I'm glad... I was a little worried--I mean... I know we'll handle whatever happens. But still."

She sighs. "The timing is something else, too, y'know?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

There are little rules about ''so many things'' in Tokyo and Mikoto is ''so nettled by them.'' But she's getting better at them!

For instance: using her words. Well, her first response to Lera declaring she likes those things is just to nod and hum agreement, but she used her words to tell her that in the ''first'' place, so it still counts.

(She ''did,'' in fact, eat donuts with Setsuna. Lera was right on the money for one of those activities, at least.)

Mikoto actually looks a little sheepish, though, as Lera goes on to share what she thinks about the timing. "Not really..." She says, and the words trail off into the way her fingers press against each other at the edge of the table.

"Um," she explains, after that moment of silence, "'cause it was my birthday. My Lord Brother told me about it... he said we'd celebrate. And, um..." Mikoto reaches up, with a hand, to scratch at the side of her face, still bizarrely shamefaced about it all. "... I found out after it was my Lord Brother who put that Orphan in a box so it'd attack me... so, it's not really weird."

A crowded diner might seem like a strange place to relay plain details about a Dark Fall plot, but with Mikoto's voice lowering into the gravel of her grumbling tones, and the chatter rising all around them, it would be ''quite difficult'' for anyone to overhear this specific conversation.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Lera has found the rules aren't the ones she knows -- and she isn't the best with rules in the first place. She has always been the type to act first and think about it later. Some of the conventions in Tokyo -- and Japan, and Earth -- are still lost on her. She can fake it, though.

"...a-ah," Lera says, her voice hesitant for a second. Mikoto's Lord Brother -- the one who led her down that path, that she left recently -- and much of what he says. She glances downwrd; she doesn't really fret too much about openly speaking of this. There is a quick glance to see if anyone nearby picked up on it.

But, inhibition recognition, the chatter, and Mikoto's low voice handles it.

"That makes sense," she says. "Well... I'm sorry he did that. Do you think... is it something that he's going to keep doing?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto doesn't seem worried about being overheard at all, but she might be too busy having emotions. She doesn't ''say'' she's feeling things, but that hesitancy in her voice, and the sadness which enters her bright eyes...

She hums consideration, fingers curling at her cheek, not quite meeting Lera's gaze. (It's not difficult; her eyelids hood over her eyes, like pulling the blinds to stop the sunlight getting in.) "Dunno," she says, after a moment. "It's, um..."

Mikoto grunts, again, the corner of her lip scrunching up. "I fought them before. In Shiyuba. Ge... another HiME was there, so she could summon her Child and beat it." Is that why Mikoto summoned Miroku..? "But, that's how I knew how scary they were..."

She presses her lips together, gaze shifting to the other corner of the table. "Maybe Lord Brother was watching that, and saw I didn't like it. If... if it was really a punishment... it'd make sense he'd take advantage of monsters I didn't like." Take advantage, she says, because Mikoto doesn't think he ''controls'' the Orphans.

('If it was really a punishment' is its own story, wrapped into one trailing doubt.)

"Or... maybe my Lord Brother set them free around me then, too... I don't know." With how lost she sounds, she really ''doesn't.'' Mikoto is operating on sheer conjecture, this far away from his standard operating procedure. (''She'' was his standard operating procedure, after all.) "I was having fun with my friends then, too... but, I've had lots of fun since then, and, nothing's attacked."

Which hasn't stopped her looking over her shoulder, now and then.

Maybe that's the point.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Ah..." Lera trails off, she hesitates for a second, and then she nods. "...yeah. If he did something deliberately to upset you. But... he shouldn't be trying to punish you. That's not... it's not right to do that." She runs a hand through her hair, as she looks thoughtful for a moment more.

"He shouldn't try to attack you--whatever the reason is." She does catch the glance over her shoulder. Then, she shakes her head once.

"...Whatever happens, we're all gonna help you, y'know? I know I don't know the full details--" And Mikoto may not be able to say them; because it's too hard, because she doesn't know.

"But we'll all help," she says. "And we'll make sure there's lots of good memories and fun times, even if some of them get interrupted."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Lord Brother said it was a gift," Mikoto tries to explain; and she is hesitant, but she is also trying, very hard. "'Cause, my treasures were violence and victory. He said really nice things... I was happy about that..." Her teeth find her lip, applying pressure to soothe her nerves. "... but, what he did was make a scary Orphan attack. When I was having a good time with everyone. That's why I think he was punishing me. Maybe he thought it was nice... but, maybe he just said nice things to make me more confused. I don't know."

She certainly ''sounds'' confused, made masterpiece, but she does her best to name the horror regardless. Her first instinct may have been to retreat and hold it close to her chest --

-- and, indeed, that note is still close to her chest, but Mikoto remembers Lera struggles with kanji and so has not brought out the evidence --

-- but she managed to tell someone, and then someone ''else,'' and someone else, because just as Lera's said, she has help.

"But I know," she insists, looking to Lera, "I got friends! I feel bad he's sending monsters to attack everyone, but... but Lera's right. No one's blamed me... I'm not alone. It's," here she swallows, "not my fault." Even if he ''is'' trying to do a nice thing for her, he's doing it in the most evil way he possibly could, and that's -- that's not something Mikoto asked for!

It's hard to say, because she doesn't know, but she is still trying very hard.

She nods, with a small smile. "Setsuna said we can keep living," she shares, and perhaps it makes sense she's talked about it with her fellow expatriot. "So, I don't wanna worry about it all the time. Even if it happens again... I like being with everyone! There's parfaits!" That is probably not the only thing which makes for good memories, but, well, Mikoto.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"There's a lot more to you than violence and victory," Lera says, almost immediately.

"I... see why you think he's punishing you. I'm not sure... why he said that or what he did." She hesitates, and then she nods her head. "You're not at fault for what he does. And... I think everyone knows that. I certainly do." She hesitates for a second more, and then she smiles.

"There's parfaits," she agrees. "And lots of great stuff besides, y'know?"

She hesitates for a moment more. Then, she adds: "And... hey. Whatever your Lord Brother thinks, whatever he feels, whatever reason he has--it doesn't matter if you don't like what he does. If it makes you feel bad."

She frowns. "That's the important part about what he's doing, y'know?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto hums affirmation, when Lera jumps in with that; it's the first thing she said, after all, even when her mind was most confused. She has ''lots'' of treasures.

Whether violence is one of them...

Ironically, it's Lera's very uncertainty which seems to put Mikoto at ease; her shoulders lower as tension releases from them, unnoticed and omnipresent. She smiles, because she thinks: if Lera is willing to say what she doesn't know, then Lera's certainty must carry weight, too.

"Yeah," Mikoto agrees, on the topic of parfaits and the world beyond them, and the mora are relieved.

She has to think about her next point, for a moment, before she realises: that's Lera's conjecture on ''his'' mindset. It drops a pit into her stomach, to think her feelings don't matter to him, but...

... didn't Mikoto say it, so often, when she was intimidating Lera and her friends?

Didn't she ''say'' what she thought, what she felt - it didn't matter?

She'd learned those lessons so thoroughly, she didn't even think to recall where she'd learned them.

And so Mikoto's assent is a wobbly little grunt, lips all scrunched up, and she nods but it takes her a moment later to actually ''talk'' about it. "It's about... what my Lord Brother wants," she concludes, because her violence and her victory are the things ''he'' values in her, no matter what ''she'' thinks is important. "And I'm supposed to be, grateful... even though it hurt me... if I wasn't happy, I was just looking at it wrong."

She looks quietly horrified to speak those gruff words; the reason doesn't come for a moment longer. "... it kinda worked, too. My Lord Brother... I guess he really is a leader of Dark Fall..." How is it she is always ''surprised,'' to think of how cunning and cruel he can be?

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"...Yeah. He's doing it because that's what he wants," Lera says, quietly. She hesitates for a second and looks down. She is not, particularly, surprised that he is a leader within Dark Fall. He seems like the type. Her eyes are cast down on the table for a second.

She looks back up at Mikoto.

"It's... it's important. What you want and what you feel," she says. "Don't forget that, y'know? Even when--especially when--he's saying something nice, and hurting at you at the same time."

She runs a finger in a circle around the table, then looks back up at Mikoto.

Her expression is apologetic, even if what she is sorry about is for how the world ended up.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"My Lord Brother wants this..." Mikoto's hand drops to grasp over her heart, and her other joins it, grasping over its knuckles. She sounds so honestly ''upset,'' to confront something so simple; all her confusion, all her fear, all her pain, it's all what he ''wanted'' to happen.

How can someone that cruel occupy her mind in the same space as someone who is flawed but ultimately still ''family''? All a sudden she is painfully aware of the contrast between what she knows and what she ''knows,'' the allowances she has made for him contrasted with the reality of what he inflicts on her.

When she looks back to Lera, she looks ''scared.''

"I... want it to be different," she says, and these words halt, too, like a dodgy train lurching forward on the tracks. When she first rode a train like that, she thought maybe it was falling apart. She's been here long enough now to know she isn't falling apart. "It doesn't have to hurt... that's what I learned, 'cause of everyone. I don't want to question everything... when I don't understand, now, I think of what it was like down there. I couldn't be sure... I don't like that."

... is that why Mikoto has been coping so much more poorly with horrors she can't comprehend, these days? She used to be able to face down Witches without flinching, but...

... now, her mind goes back to reaching for him only for him to be somewhere else, turning and seeing nothing only to find him beside her, the way motions were so easily-mistaken in the darkness. Let alone the questions of what he said - and what he meant. Even the passage of time itself seemed to warp to his whims, down there.

"It makes me feel bad," she says, and 'bad' is a strange way to encapsulate her uncertainty and that constant undercurrent of horror, but Mikoto has never particularly had a broad vocabulary.

"And," she decides, lowering her hands and unfolding herself a little in the statement, "I don't like it, when I'm having fun, and bad things happen. It's mean to do that on purpose! That's what I think. I feel like I shouldn't want to have fun, 'cause bad things will happen, and that's really mean. I won't stop having fun with everyone just 'cause bad things might happen!"

There's something in the way she phrases that, but at the same time, she is ''trying'' to stick up for herself.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Yeah," Lera says, quietly.

Her family was never abusive. She had her problems with her mother -- problems they since resolved -- but they never tried to undermine her like that. She looks down for a moment, then she nods her head.

"You don't have to stop having fun--and I don't think you have to feel bad because he might try to interrupt it, somehow." She hesitates for a moment. That seems easier said than done. "And... they're bad things ''he'' decided to do, not bad things that happen without any other reason."

She smiles, then shakes her head. "So we'll still have fun, and--" Her train of thought comes to a stop, as she catches something: a waitress, carrying a tray with two parfaits.

"Aaaah, look at them!"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Lera espies the way she still distances cause from effect, and Mikoto is a little sheepish, as she dips her head in a nod. "... yeah." Bad things don't just ''happen.'' They happen because someone decided to do something.

(Because her Lord Brother decided to hurt her, she interrupts her train of thought to insist.)

But as if Lera declaring they'll still have fun was a magic spell to summon good things, here approaches ''THE EXTRA-FRUITY PARFAIT.'' Sunlight dawns in Mikoto's eyes are they grow bigger - and bigger - and bigger.

"It's good!" She declares, volume returning to her, and this before she even gets her spoon into it. She will, of course, repeat the statement several times over the course of ''devouring the parfait.''

... but it's not just good because the food is delicious.

2021-03-31 - I'm Scared..!! Setsuna Models Solidarity!

2021-04-07T11:37:23Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: setsuna discovered the mikoto cheat code: hugs make everything better

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: I'm Scared..!! Setsuna Models Solidarity!'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''When Setsuna notices Mikoto's worries, Mikoto shares with her the secret of her birthday attack. Setsuna knows what it's like -- so she's able to give realistic advice, and show Mikoto a path forward. The two of them remember the Kiryuu sisters, and find relief in being able to live their lives, even if Dark Fall won't forget what they've done.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Setsuna Higashi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Yotsuba Clover Town - Park
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-03-31 - 2015-11-13
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto was bountifully joyous, that night at the amusement park; she was so ''happy'' she got to spend time with all her friends. Though, she did happen to mention... with passing malaise... that an Orphan attack interrupted them, in the middle of the party. But it's okay, she told Setsuna; she and Miroku defeated it.

It's not the first time she's included her sword as its own entity, so perhaps it's not so strange she'd give it equal billing.

She moved on from that frown quickly, bouncing back to excitement. It was fine!

And so the days roll by, and it comes to pass that Mikoto invites Setsuna out again; it's hardly ''uncommon,'' because now Mikoto has the power of a phone she can bother people ''without even having to find them first.'' A pleasant afternoon at Clover Town's park; it has the best donuts, after all. She's repaired - or at least ''someone'' has repaired - her yellow COSMIC cardigan, a cheerfully green polo shirt beneath it, knee-length pleated cream skirt with high white socks against the chill. On a scale of one to horrific, today, Mikoto's fashion sense is... not as bad as it could be! (It's still not ''good,'' though.) The most fashionable addition to her wardrobe is perhaps the rainbow beads clipped to her left braid, increasing their fanciness significantly.

No wonder; it's a gift from a model. Not one Setsuna might have seen, yet; Mikoto is proud to be able to show it off to her, finally. And it makes her feel pretty!

Well, it was ''supposed'' to be a pleasant afternoon. But then the late Autumn rainclouds rolled in, without warning or invitation; the outpouring of rain left the park visitors scattering. Mikoto, who has a precious bag of donuts to protect and no home nearby, scrambles instead to the shelter offered by a helpful pavilion. It seems she's the only one who had ''that'' idea - most visitors, on such an outpouring, instead sensibly decided to leave.

Mikoto is a little damp, but the package she protected kept dry. She sighs, finding a more-or-less dry bench to sit on, shrugging off her sword-case and leaning it to the side; the bag of donuts she keeps protectively in her lap.

Getting caught out in rain like this... it's a little sad, but she's grateful, too. Because this time a friend is coming, and she has a warm place to go home, too...

With a gasp, that thought resolves, and quickly she retrieves her phone from a lower pocket.

> Bring umbrella!!!!!!

Phew! If Mikoto didn't give Setsuna any warning, she might have risked being a bad friend!

(Never mind that it might have been far too late a warning.)

Down goes the rain, pat-a-pat-pat, and as Mikoto slips her phone back into one of her many occupied pockets she reflects that it's not just sad for ''her.'' Perhaps many of the park-goers weren't rudely awakened from anxious naps by the downpour, but there were plenty of cries of ruined picnics, good kite days which had to be abandoned, dogs who didn't understand why playtime was cancelled...

Sudden rain puts a damper on everyone in Tokyo.

It means there's a lot of sadnesses to focus on...

Her hand strays to her breast pocket, also occupied, and she wonders. She looks back over her shoulder - and she wonders.

She doesn't wonder for too long, though, because she can smell those delicious donuts. And Mikoto thinks: it wouldn't hurt to just open the bag and take a ''little'' peek, would it..?

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Sometimes bad things happen, but it's important not to let them overshadow good things. Setsuna didn't pry too much that night about what happened at the party... But it stuck in her mind, and she's thought about it. Not that it stopped them from having fun at the amusement park, anyway, especially not late at night with no one there...!

But there's something important to understand about Setsuna Higashi when it comes to the rain. It's not ''just'' storms out of nowhere are especially out of nowhere to her, given that Labyrinth doesn't exactly have a lot of sudden weather. It's not just that she kind of appreciates the rain for that reason. No, it's something altogether different:

The simple fact is that when it comes to remembering an umbrella, Setsuna Higashi can cheat.

> Okay!

So she's only a little damp when she shows up, holding a red umbrella, walking through. The rain sometimes suits her mood. ...It's interesting, that a whole world can seem to change just because of one thign. So while it's sad that peoples' days are ruined...

Isn't it nice the way it doesn't have to go according to plan?

"Mikotooooo," Setsuna complains as she approaches, as if she can read Mikoto's ''very thoughts''.

She remembers to smile as she steps under the little roof and folds her umbrella, waving at her as if she hadn't been considering ''eating the donuts herself''. "Hi!"

But...

Maybe she's trying to look extra at Mikoto's face. But as she does she notices, "Your beads are pretty!"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Maybe Setsuna won't notice if Mikoto juuust eats --

"Nyeep!" Is the exact sound which comes out of her mouth when she hears such a complaint written in her name, closing the bag in a hurry and looking up. ''Caught.''

And there's Setsuna! With umbrella! Mikoto brightens as she waves, lifting a hand to wave back. (The other hand keeps the donuts safe, of course. With the rain coming down like this, they would have had to close their little stand up quick. It makes the donuts ''even more precious.'') "Setsuna!" She chirps in jovial greeting, and she doesn't have to ''remember'' to smile, bright and sunny despite the clouds.

The fundamental impossibility of Mikoto is that the enormity of her joy can always grow ''further;'' when Setsuna notices Nori's gift her eyes shine with all those reflected raindrops, all big, all round, all creased at the edges from a smile too broad for her cheeks. She hums bright affirmation, head bobbing up and down; her braids come up and come down, and on her left side, the beads do, too.

"Nori gave them to me!" She shares, happily. "I got lots of good gifts... I like these! Now I can wear things in my hair, too!" She doesn't quite get to explaining why she ''avoided'' it, before; but then, she doesn't feel like she ''has'' to explain why she would avoid decoration, to someone who has fought just like she has.

The privilege of hair decs is not worrying about how they could be used by one's opponents!

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna knows those donuts like--like something she knows very well! ...Analogies are hard.

Nyeep! Setsuna understands of course keeping the donuts safe--that requires, demands a hand--and she steps the rest of the way over, setting her umbrella down by the edge so that she doesn't get the table here all super wet and everything. It's just the little basic things, turning back to Mikoto and--

"Oh!" Nori has good taste. Setsuna knows this. It makes sense. And of course, she doesn't have to explain why she avoided it--Setsuna understands that well. Not that it ever stopped her much, but it's perhaps ot a coincidence that her hair has grown out some since she's had the chance.

"It's nice to put things in your hair," Setsuna agrees. Then she steps over. "So it looks like it rained after all... But you kept the donuts safe!"

A normal person might start with a little small talk to get the conversation going, but Setsuna goes straight for 'snacks with friend'.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

There's plenty of room for accessories to be leant against things here. Like umbrellas! And Miroku. Who, in its case, is still just sort of chilling out right there, Mikoto's eternal companion.

Mikoto nods, cheerfully, when Setsuna supposes it's nice; her nose wrinkles in distaste at the rain (still going patta-patta-pat, that never stopped being a thing or anything), but her expression bounces back to brightness as soon as Setsuna mentions the donuts.

"Yup!" She says, holding the precious ''bag of donuts'' out for Setsuna, and thanks to her vigilance none of the half-dozen frosted prizes have been nibbled on. (It's easy to say they wouldn't have missed one donut, but Mikoto knows and Setsuna knows it wouldn't have just been one donut.) Once Setsuna has retrieved ''snack,'' so too does Mikoto, and she finds a dry spot on the table to place the bag so she can gnomph into her donut with both hands, as nature intended.

GNOMPH.

Homph nomph nomph nomph... nomph.

Eating these donuts makes her happy..!

But with flecks of strawberry frosting still rimming her lips from the horrific execution of that poor donut, Mikoto becomes aware of her happiness; and so, again, she glances over her shoulder. Just in case.

She thinks she is being subtle. (She rarely is.)

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

For her part, Setsuna is in her usual more fashionable state of course--darker colors mostly, plus a particular shade of red. She happened to pick boots instead of ordinary shoes when she stopped by her house for the umbrella on her way here. Teleportation is nice that way.

Raaain. Mikoto doesn't like it. This is clear. Setsuna has already understood this detail, however. For now, she also takes a donut, and in time with Mikoto, in just the same way--

GNOMPH.

Setsuna is ''also'' happy for eating the donut. She smiles, eyes closed, and is one with the donut force for the next few moments... except--that Setsuna opens her eyes and spots Mikoto looking over her shoulder. She thinks about it...

"Worried?" Setsuna wonders.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Caught! ''Again.'' Mikoto hums affirmation through her lips, but this is more a descending sound than a chirp, tongue down; all those non-verbal sounds have a strange sort of nuance to them, like they're a language all their own. She looks back to Setsuna, shoulders rising and falling in a light shrug.

"Yeah." The word is a little more muted, too, as Mikoto gnaws lightly on the inside of her lip; it still, of course, tastes like delicious donut. "It's not all the time, but sometimes, when I'm having fun... bad things happen. So, it's on my mind..."

But she must have been right. The rain ruined everyone's day, so he has plenty of suffering to watch today. Isn't that logical? She tells herself it is.

Mikoto shakes her head, and reaches for another donut; this one, instead, has ''chocolate'' frosting. "Setsuna, you ever feel like... you're seen?" It is a particular construction, not quite the way the sentence ought to go. "A silly part of me thought, maybe I didn't matter enough, since everyone said my Lord Brother was so big and bad, so maybe I could just leave..."

Nibble, nibble, nibble. "... but that's wrong," she says, all complicated. "We're family... after all." She's not beneath notice. Is that good, or is it bad? It's checking over her shoulder when she's overtaken by the joy of donuts.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

They are a language of their own! Setsuna... understands a little. Not completely. She looks to Mikoto though, watching her quietly as she chews donut. It is indeed delicious. But...

"...Mm," Setsuna answers about bad things. She understands that. She's worried enough about Mikoto that she doesn't finish her donut first; it takes her a couple more bites, after all.

Do you ever feel like...

"Yes," Setsuna answers simply, and she withdraws a little despite herself, becomes quieter. Even her bites are a little softer than before--the effect is immediate.

"...Yes," she says. "I can imagine thinking that..." She nods, then. "But it isn't like that. He still... notices. He's still out there."

For her, of course, it's different--she was nobody, really, except the authority given to her. But for Mikoto...

"But I think I understand."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It takes Mikoto more time to finish off that second donut, but she still puts the effort into enjoying it. It's nice to have nice things, even when...

Well.

"Maybe if I never wished something like that, he wouldn't have noticed... I guess I asked for it," and she is not wearing Ohtori yellow but there is no mistaking the school she comes from, with a statement like that. It is steeped in the ornate halls and history of the Academy, where the girls are responsible for too too much. "I wanted my Lord Brother to be there, and... and..."

She polishes off her donut, and wipes her hands off on her skirt, looking down at them. For a moment her repeating mora trail off into nothing at all as she weighs whether she can bear placing this weight onto Setsuna, even if Setsuna heard her wish, back then.

Is Setsuna the only one listening?

He's still out there.

If this is a test it is not one she thinks she wants to fulfil; she told Eri how scared she was, back then, hidden away in the far-off woods. Perhaps it was that outpouring of her fears which now gives her the strength to edge sidelong to her disclosure, hands balling up in her lap as she looks back up to Setsuna with lips all scrunched up like a zipper which doesn't quite work.

"Um... can I, show Setsuna something?" She ventures, on unsure bearing.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Even then.

Setsuna looks to Mikoto, and she is worried in the moment--she knows what that sound is, though she does not really understand in her bones what Ohtori can be like in that way. Setsuna cannot say for sure it isn't the case, but... "...I don't know..."

But while maybe Setsuna isn't the only one listening, she ''is'' lilstening now, and she finishes her own donut. She'll get another soon--for now she places her hands down, turns to look just at Mikoto. It could be a test. But here...

"Yes," Setsuna answers, nodding her head to emphasize her answer. She waits for Mikoto to show her... whatever it is.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Setsuna isn't sure, and Mikoto isn't, either, if perhaps for different reasons; she still has not reconciled the ''earlier'' Orphan attack with what she now knows. But in the uncertainty is the doubt - and in the doubt, the possibility.

"During my party... there was another present. An Orphan was in it... and then lots more came. They were really scary..." Mikoto's muted explanation says more with the context she does not provide; she was a girl who willingly fought Witches, and yet now she describes these Orphans as ''really scary,'' with quiet dread. What may have changed - if anything has at all - is something she does not explain.

She scrubs her hands on her skirt a second time, and retrieves a piece of cardstock from her breast pocket; it's also dry, which suggests a particular care to its storage. "... I found this in that box, after."

Mikoto swallows, as she passes the cardstock to Setsuna, with fingers which tremble a little on the release. "Don't rip it up... it's all the proof I got."

She didn't explain it to Eri; but Setsuna, she knows, is far more verbal in her understanding than Mikoto is. Even if she can't quite crystallise her impressions of the other girl, she knows she cannot expect Setsuna to read all the nuances in her body language. So she tries to speak the words instead, though they come hushed now she speaks the hidden things.

How valuable is evidence, with regards to a man who makes reality agree with him..?

(And not just reality.)

Setsuna has surely seen Mikoto's handwriting by now; hers is a surprisingly elegant hand for someone so plainspoken, with all the art of an ancient samurai transcribing poetry to the page. The words here have that same bearing, that same timelessness to them: bold strokes and complex characters. It could not be Mikoto's work - only because it is ''more.''

<center>A GIFT FOR MY ADORABLE LITTLE SISTER HER MOST PRECIOUS TREASURES VIOLENCE AND VICTORY</center>

Mikoto is quiet, as she lets Setsuna read; she knows it might be hard to read, so she doesn't interrupt. She cannot quite stop herself from glancing aside in the silence, just... to make... sure.

Theirs is in secrecy; it's not the way of Minagi to share these things. She knows she's transgressing, letting someone else read his words, his handwriting. It's not the first little rebellion she has made, in her heart or someone else's.

But now, she's keen to the consequences.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

An Orphan was in it. That's concerning on its own; particularly scary Orphans even moreso. Setsuna has seen many scary things, herself... And she knows that Mikoto wouldn't use the descriptor unless it were true. But this is one of the ways in which she is observant: she notices the dry state of the card, the way it is not bent or crumpled or worn at the edges but still quite intact.

"I won't," Setsuna assures Mikoto, though she does not entirely understand at first--proof of what? Only after she reads it does it start to make sense. The quiet way Mikoto speaks is striking, too, so different from her usual words. It's true--Setsuna cannot read all the nuances in Mikoto's body language... but there are other things she ''can'' read.

She does not harm the card. She does not clench her fist about it, does not fold it or bend it. She looks at those bold strokes, those complex characters, and does something else--

She frowns. She frowns, reading it over, and then hands it back to Mikoto in both hands.

"...I don't like it."

Bold words, in their way--simple, to the point. There is something intent in her expression as she says it, an intensity that her lack of emotiveness does not conceal. But how can she express that feeling? She looks troubled, briefly ''frustrated'' as she fails at first to think of the words that would explain her feelings to Mikoto.

She tries for a long few moments, her hands folding in distress. It was hard to read, but not for the reason that might have been thought.

"..." She bites her lip, hard. "...He shouldn't... tell you what it is that you want," she says, and she says it as fervently as any oath.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Setsuna hands the card back in both hands; Mikoto receives it in both hands, grasping it by the edges rather than placing her thumbs over the complex kanji. Carefully she hides it away in her pocket again. Does she just carry it with her all the time..?

... Setsuna doesn't like it, either. That intense expression, the frustration...

She is more plain in her objection; this both surprises Mikoto, a widening of her eyes before they blink-blink-blink with all the rapidity of the rain coming down, and doesn't surprise her at all. Setsuna and Mikoto may be almost opposites, in some ways, but in others they are very much alike.

"I... have lots of treasures," she starts, after another lingering moment. "But, he made me question if those were... Lord Brother can make me not sure. Even with four lines... I get pulled one way and pushed another way, he takes advantage of Orphans to attack me and then he praises me, and I don't know how to feel, and I end up... miserable!" It's not ''her'' description; there's too much nuance to the word. Regardless it may fit particularly well, here.

She shakes her head, braids and beads a-flicking; one braid, still a little damp from the shower, ends up stuck to her frosty cheek. "He makes me not sure, then he tells me what I want... I thought I was out, but he still did that! So... so I don't feel so safe right now, Setsuna," Mikoto says, and her eyes are still wide but they are not so much windows to joy right now.

"Lord Brother still loves me... it's complicated, but, I'm scared!" Her lips wobble; she presses them together, with a gulp, before she manages to push her questions from herself, as if Setsuna were the only one who could answer them. "Am - am I gonna keep being punished? What if taking advantage of Orphans like that hurts people? What if using other monsters is too hard and he takes me back? I don't wanna fight like that again..."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna knows how to treat objects that are important. She does not ''like'' this object, but that does not lessen its importance.

In this way they are alike. And after that lingering moment... Yes. It is difficult. It is not her description, but it shows Setsuna that she has talked about it or thought about it before. ...Besides; it is a word Setsuna knows very well, after all. She is quite familiar with misery.

"You can leave," Setsuna says, "...But it doesn't all go away just because you did." Mikoto knows this. Setsuna is just saying it aloud. "But being together with others makes you safer than you would be otherwise."

Not completely safe--Setsuna knows that too well. But safer.

"...It's complicated," Setsuna agrees. "And it's..." She bites her lip again, looking down. "...Being scared... makes sense. It's something that can help keep you safe, too."

"You can choose not to go back," Setsuna says, because she believes it is true and it is for her. "He wouldn't spend all of his time focusing on you--whatever plans he had before, he must still have them. But... People might get hurt. He won't just leave you alone. It isn't as easy as being over."

Setsuna reaches out to Mikoto's hands, and tries to take one of them in hers. "But we won't leave you alone, either. I promise."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Setsuna's intuition is correct; that isn't the first time Mikoto has expressed that particular frustration, which is ''why'' it's now joined with an explanation not entirely her own, more cohesive in its crystallisation of her confused feelings.

She can leave, Setsuna says, but it doesn't go away.

(He's still out there.)

She names strength in numbers; she names strength in fear. It makes sense, to Mikoto, and she hums dull affirmation. Her friends can see what she can't, in those ornate words. And the fear runs distaff to other feelings entirely; the relief that he would still speak kindly to her, happiness to hear his praise. The fear is a reminder of what came before the rebuilding of her perceptions. He sent monsters to hurt her in a way which hurt her so, ''so'' much.

It's mean, she said. It wasn't really nice at all. But she only said that after...

Well, it's still hard for her.

Setsuna believes it is true and Mikoto believes it too, and that is ''why'' she's scared, really; the power of her Lord Brother has always been the power to get her to agree to the choices he poses her. She is both reassured and not at all to think that he is still focused on his machinations, and new nervousness floods her face as Setsuna confirms people may well get hurt.

He still wants her, is what her mind supplies, as she confirms her fears and something which is not quite terror, either. She cannot hide the way her face falls, to hear that it isn't going to be easy; making it over was the hardest thing she's ever ''done.'' There's supposed to be a happily ever after!

(But then, that's only the fairy tale she believes.)

Setsuna reaches out, and these days Mikoto can, too, closing the gap to place her hand in hers. Her gaze drops to the joining, a shadow over her golden gaze. "I was scared... to tell everyone Lord Brother wrote to me. It felt like a secret... I was all shamed. But I tried to figure it out on my own, and... and I realised... it's what he'd want. He didn't like it when I could rely on anyone else..."

Mikoto swallows, her fingers curling in. "But, he's... being mean to me! And, now he's using Orphans, like Alyssa did back then... I shouldn't keep that secret! Even if it's 'cause I left, so he doesn't have anyone left to fight like I did... but... but that's not my fault, right?" Is the mindless destruction of an Orphan herded to a purpose better or worse than the wilful suffering enacted by a girl who attacked civilians in broad daylight? She wonders.

"Setsuna really won't leave me alone, even though all those dangerous things are happening..." It might sound like a question, but it isn't; there's no rising tone, though it does ''wobble,'' a little, the tightness of her throat leaving little room for trembling error. "But... aren't you scared? Setsuna left, too... but, you're still helping me?" Her eyes lift to find Setsuna's, shiny-shiny against the backdrop of the rain.

"Didn't it already happen to Setsuna..?"

Well, perhaps it's no wonder she's preoccupied with consequences, right now.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

There are many ways to find strength. There is the old way, of course, and that works for a while... but not forever. And there are other feelings. Setsuna has those, too--old feelings, newer feelings... some that she can't entirely place.

Like this one, this particular upset. Setsuna isn't sure if it touches on her old fears or if it's all new fears. But what she can't do is be... completely reassuring. Oh, she could lie--theoretically she still has that capability, could simply deceive to try to achieve a certain end.

But she knows fairies' stories and they are not always so nice.

What she can offer is this little comfort, though, even if it is difficult to do. When she feels like this she wants to withdraw, to become smaller, but that isn't what needs to be done right now. So she closes her hands around Mikoto's had, and looks at her instead.

It is difficult.

"What he'd want..." She hadn't thought of that. But it makes sense. "But he is being mean. And no--no that's ''not'' your fault. It's his, for doing it. For making it happen. It isn't yours at all."

Wobble. Yes, and there's the question--Setsuna's deep red eyes are there when Mikoto looks, and they are the color that is why they used to call it the 'wine-dark' sea. Shiny-shiny from Mikoto...

"Mm," Setsuna answers. "I'm..." She hedges, and looks a little pale. "I'm scared," she admits. "...I'm scared a lot of the time. And I'm scared for me, and for you."

"But standing with my friends... is what I chose. And that's important. Because I chose it."

"And your choice matters, too."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> New Model Army - Into The Wind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Zf5WXCT34

Mikoto knows what it's like to withdraw, to cede space. Without speaking, with no complaints; not there to cause trouble. She can easily empathise with how hard it is to reach across the gap.

It's his fault, a step beyond not being ''her'' fault. She doesn't protest. It's the truth, even if it's hard to say.

Red and gold and they are both colours particular to their origins, but there's nothing monstrous about the way Mikoto's other hand reaches out at that pale hedging. She curls it around Setsuna's, and there they are, all locked around the other.

Holding on.

She gives their hands a squeeze, as Setsuna repeats once and once again her fear; the saucers of her eyes blink, and patter-pat the liquid falls from them to the tabletop, rain inside to match the rain outside.

Her choice...

"I... chose to stay here. It was hard, but... hurting everyone to save Japan... I couldn't believe in that. 'Whatever it takes'... every time I acted like that..." Her eyes blink shut, for a moment, as she trails off; perhaps she doesn't need to complete the sentence, when Setsuna saw first-hand the havoc she wrought under that philosophy. Her lips scrunch up - and her fingers tighten, too, for a distressed moment, before the pressure eases and she looks up again. "... I decided I wanted to find another way, too. It doesn't have to hurt, Setsuna!"

It is not, precisely, the same as Setsuna's resolution to stand with her friends; she cannot forget the man she left behind, raised in the same dark crucible.

But perhaps it's close enough.

That better way she can't quite phrase the way she wants...

... it's not something which could come from Dark Fall.

"It's... it's scary," she addresses it, quietly. "I don't like being punished... even more when my Lord Brother makes me wonder if he really thought he was being nice. And sometimes I think about what happens to us..."

Mikoto looks aside, old shame crossing over her eyes, a sense of dread she can't quite shake. "... there's a lot I don't remember, but I never found those sisters in our meetings... the Kiryuus."

... she doesn't remember.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

It's hard to say a lot of things, hard to do a lot of things, but that makes them especially important sometimes. Like with this; their hands fold together and Setsuna nods minutely again, continuing and then... seeing Mikoto start to cry... Well.

"Whatever it takes... usually ends up being 'too much'. It ends up being everything... or someone else paying the price instead." Which is what did a lot of it for Setsuna, anyway. But this...

"Yes," she says. "It doesn't have to."

It is not the same, but that difference is itself a good thing; it can be different for each of them and that in and of itself is precious. For Setsuna, anyway. Something about how to phrase it...

"It's scary," Setsuna agrees. "It hurts. It..." She can't quite find the words to explain it, but Mikoto knows anyway, knows the costs Setsuna herself has paid at least. "I don't think he was being nice. I... really don't."

The Kiryuus. Setsuna opens her mouth and closes it, annd her face falls, before she shakes her head. It is perhaps the most emotion she's shown by some metrics, but she does show it, subtle as it is. "They..."

"You wouldn't have. Back then... Around the time the World Tree was blooming, and the Book of Darkness was filling..."

"They sacrificed themselves for their friends. And that's why..."

She squeezes Mikoto's hand. "That's why you and me have to go on."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Everything...

'Please! I'm begging you! If you do this here - then - then - I DON'T WANT ANOTHER SHINJUKU! PLEASE-!'

Is that how it ends, when he asks? But he loves her. He wouldn't send her to die. Surely he thought... she could do it.

Mikoto told Kintoleski, back then; she doesn't tell Setsuna, now. All the horror in that abyss of gold is silent. Even the most thoughtless girl can recognise how much the difference would cut...

... given why Setsuna knows what it's like to look over her shoulder.

(And is she so sure they're different? Can she really be sure? That numbed feeling...)

Her eyes blink, another patter-pat across her cheeks.

"It's not... really nice," she agrees, after a beat, a particular phrasing. She recognises the acrobatics of the sentence, and shakes her head; in this second gesture now her damp braid unsticks from her cheek. "It's not." A second time, unqualified.

Violence and victory... are what he wants her to value, after all. Trying to give her the qualities he desires from her... it's all centred on what he wants.

But then, the Minagis have always been self-centred.

Back then, Mikoto was self-centred, too.

Focused on why such a confusing thing happened to her; lost for words and lost for explanation, she did not know why the light shone such gentle gold. The yawning darkness, and then --

Here a widening of her eyes, a narrowing all top-to-bottom slit as she recognises ''why.'' With her sharp look aside her pupils round out again; she breathes again. "I went away... so I didn't know." It's a statement which may not at first make sense; Mikoto certainly was ''there,'' when the World Tree bloomed.

Then again, the Dark King woke many darknesses, back then.

Why would she not be roused just the same?

"I... there were enemies to fight... so I never asked. But... that's why it was warm..." And what would have happened, if they did not shine that light down? ... what would she have done to them?

(What would they have had to do to her, transformed out of sight so far down the tower, rampaging up with no hint of girl beneath the black?)

All it is is what and why, and in those moments she falls silent; she wonders, and she regrets, and eyes blinking closed she is thankful, too.

They have to go on...

"Setsuna..." Now it's Mikoto's turn to squeeze at Setsuna's hand, looking back up, and there is a complicated sort of twist to her lip, in trepidation. "... is that what happens to us?"

Mikoto isn't sure she likes that. It's a little scary, too.

... she knows how it feels, to be the person left behind.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Does he, though? But Setsuna can't say that. It's not the kind of thing someone else can think for you, not like this. But Setsuna has her doubts. The results of his actions, after all...

So maybe it's best that Mikoto doesn't voice it. Of course, it would also hurt Setsuna's feelings.

A sentence can do a lot of work. Setsuna focuses on Mikoto through that oen ayway. The why... Yes. Went away... So it was true like that. "I see," Setsuna answers. But then, for a while they all did--just not the same way. "Mm."

Setsuna looks back to Mikoto in the next moment, though. The question... Is it?

Setsuna shakes her head. She is good at it, a little gesture of negation. "...It's..."

It did happen to her--a few times. But that wasn't 'redemption'. It wasn't a necessary following. It wasn't...

Setsuna understands some things better because of her position; because of her persoanlity. Because of just reasons. Or because of her friends. Like this.

Setsuna moves closer and hugs Mikoto, here in the rain, for all that she does not usually reach out to touch people like that, physically.

"No," she insists. "It doesn't have to be. Sometimes, but..."

"You, me, and Fate-chan..."

"What happens to us is that we get to live now. ...And we get to be there when the next girl comes. We get to be with our friends. And no matter how long that lasts... It's precious."

She pulls back. "But for me, I'm... going to make it last as long as I can. We're not... completely different, from the others."

"...They were able to reach us because... we're the same."

She looks down, and then to the rain. "...It's been a lot of near-misses... And sometimes not misses, at all. But just because it could go badly... Doesn't mean it has to."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto wasn't ''expecting'' Setsuna to slide over and hug her; it wasn't so long ago that any contact at all was difficult, and perhaps that's written, in the way they clasp their hands together. But Setsuna closes the space, and after a sharp breath inward Mikoto sinks in against her.

Arms curled around her, Mikoto is just as good at applying pressure on a wide scale as she is when it's focused on a palm. She's not so worried about squeezing the air out of Setsuna. Mikoto knows how tough Setsuna is; she's tried to kill her enough times.

Her heart goes hammer-hammer-beat, and the speed and ferocity of its pace speaks to the anxieties she has trouble putting to ''words;'' it seems Setsuna is not the only one who struggles. But Setsuna is the one talking, now, and Mikoto the one listening, nodding against her shoulder with a muffled little hum.

(The next girl... Mikoto wasn't able to help her, back then, but...)

Mikoto straightens back up, swallowing and scrubbing at her face, to get that dampness off. (And the frosting, which has been there the whole time.) They're not so different...

She follows Setsuna's gaze, to the raindrops, and her head tilts to the side. "Yeah," she decides, after that long moment. "Setsuna's right. I... we can't look over our shoulders all the time, right? If I worry like that... then my Lord Brother doesn't even need to do anything to make things bad." Imagine doing his work for him..?

... Mikoto makes a face, a grimace and a grunt, and cedes the point to herself, even though she's pretty sure that sort of thought comes straight from her conversations with Eri.

"They tried really hard for us... Setsuna tried really hard for me!" Mikoto smiles, turning to her again. "So I'll be okay... even if Dark Fall won't forget! 'Cause I'm here with my friends! If Fate and Setsuna can do it, I can live, too!"

... well, Setsuna's right on the money.

She's able to reach her, because they're the same.

2021-03-07 - Ogres and Onis! When Careful's Full Of Caring, Can We Really Cut Straight To The Point?

2021-03-08T11:17:31Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: the only thing you need to take from this scene is that miroku sleeps in a sword cosy now. swORD PYJAMAS, FOR A SWORD

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Ogres and Onis! When Careful's Full Of Caring, Can We Really Cut Straight To The Point?'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto and Miroku have a special relationship which worries Yumi Ohzora -- because now she knows that the sword is also a massive oni, she can't help but see the similarities between it and the Ogres she's destined to fight. The two of them have very different approaches, but Mikoto wants to set her mind at ease, regardless.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Yumi Ohzora]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy - Dormitories
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-03-07 - 2015-11-07
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

'''THE NIGHT OF THE FOURTH'''

There's a nice red pillow complete with yellow tassels on the ground by the coat-rack, where a black case is still propped; but there's no ''sword'' in that case, right now. This is because of Mikoto, carefully slipping a cotton sleeve over her blade and setting it down horizontal on the pillow. (She has to be careful; Miroku is very sharp.)

It's just like Miroku's bed way back, she thinks, deliberately, patting down a cotton crease. Aren't you happy about that, Miroku? Ren thought of you, too...

And in her '''begrudging''' joy she finds that thread which is not hers, which does not match her effusive experience, and in it finds the pressure Miroku exudes. (She can feel it, when she listens close; it is always there, alongside her.) '''Not entirely unhappy,''' she shakes her head, smiling.

Miroku and my friends both want me to be safe... I'm protected! It's a telling thing to tell herself, even if she's not just telling herself; still, she's happy too, to know that her Child was willing to reveal itself and defend her.

The thread of '''jealousy''' plucked in the wake of it strums through her heart, and she smiles, a quiet hush through her lips. It's okay, Miroku, she thinks her assurance, because that feeling is one she hasn't needed any help to feel, many times. We share the same heart... Miroku's a good Child.

That tense moment of silence may have seemed uncertain on the outside, but Mikoto has no such doubt about its intentions.

She knows Miroku didn't do anything... because it was listening to what she really wanted to do.

Mikoto has a lot of questions, but at least she knows one thing: Miroku is with her.

ON TO THE WEEKEND

And they have, just, ''so much homework.''

Mikoto has henceforth invited Yumi over to their dorm, this Saturday; Mai is out doing something, which leaves the two of them to pour over the couch with all their print-outs. The living space is of course in view of the entryway, with its shoes neatly lined up, its coat rack, its...

... ''deeply'' ominous sword, just sort of lying there in a cotton sleeve, resting on a fancy pillow.

You know. Normal things one has on hand when exiting or entering one's living space.

The shorter of the two grasps a printout of an English poem with one hand, and the side of her head with the other, hair ever-messy beneath her fingers. "I don't get it!" She cries, waving the paper. "What's <killing care>? That don't make sense! And why's <did> in the wrong spot?! They said that's wrong! How's it ''right'' now?!" She throws down the Shakespearian printout, and it flutters down onto her lap, refusing to even give her the satisfaction of being thrown right. "English class is too hard...!"

So much like Orpheus she looks beside her to find Yumi, clearly dismayed. She has been stuck on this reading comprehension test for the past hour. It is ''not going well.''

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi Ohzora had a lot of feelings and thoughts about what happened on Mikoto's birthday. She's glad it all seemed to turn out fine and all, but it was a little weird... A little weird that...

Well. Regardless! Today is today. There is a lot of homework to be doing. And Yumi has had a few things on her mind, one of which comes up again immediately because she sees Miroku just hanging out on a fancy pillow. "Oh!" She pauses. She stops just short of greeting the sword verbally, giving a small smile in that direction, and then sat down, because frankly--wandering around Ohtori's campus is hard work and she is glad to be sitting down for a bit. ...Sitting down with Mikoto! Her friend! As they work on homework. Yumi herself is still in unifom, having come right over from class, so she's got her feet out and a book in her lap and then--

"Hm?" Yumi asks, and then tilts her head at her. "Well..."

Yumi points at the paper and it floats through the air towards her. She takes it in her hand once it's close enough to read and eyes it thoughtfully. She can read it, but it is a little different; she has to think about it...

"It's hard," she agrees. "It's OK for it to be hard!" A beat, "English is kind of a weird language. Like it's got all this specific stuff that you have to keep track of and the rules change..."

She brightens, "But it's okay! It's doing a sort of figurative thing. Like... It seems like it's--" Pause. "OK you know when people say 'oh my god, that's so good, I'm gonna die'. Right? They don't really think they're going to die. But it's like that!"

"And the reason the -did- is OK there is that back when Shakespeare was around English was a little different. ...Either that or they let him break the rules because he's important. But I ''think'' the former one."

"But there's no need to despair ogre it! You're doing good!"

She does not realize that she didn't say 'over it.'

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The sword does not smile back. But then, a sword's face isn't very expressive. (Unless you count the... eyes... but there aren't any sigils on it, right now. It's not in Mikoto's hands! Besides, it's covered in a cotton cosy.)

Ohtori's campus isn't the most accessible place, but Mikoto, at least, accompanied Yumi along the boring normal path instead of climbing up the side of the building and hopping in the window. The window is, of course, open, with respect to all the times Mikoto does that exact thing, but she restrained herself this time. For Yumi's sake!!

Of course, they both have their talents, Mikoto's parkour and Yumi's casual ability to ''make things float that never gets old.'' Mikoto's eyes go real big by that principle as Yumi magics the paper over to her hand, distracted from her pique by the display.

She hums affirmation as Yumi tells her it's okay for it to be hard, head bobbing up and down with an attentive nod. "... changing rules," she echoes, nose scrunching up. Rules, Mikoto thinks, aren't ''supposed'' to change. That's why they're ''rules.''

Luckily, Yumi explains. Mikoto blinks, and after a moment, nods again, humming brightly. Nod, nod -- and then she shakes her head, without missing a beat. Mikoto understands..!!! NOTHING AT ALL, as it turns out.

But Yumi tells her not to despair, and --

All of Mikoto kind of cants to the side, only missing the creak of a door hinge; her head flops to one shoulder, braids bounce-flopping down and collecting there at the white of her uniform sleeve. She fixes Yumi with a quizzical expression, lip all scrunched to one side, brow knit, nostrils pinched.

"... ogre..."

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi would be more concerned if the sword smiled back. Miroku smiling just seems like it implies a lot of violence.

Yumi could've flown in the window!! ...But she doesn't tend to do that in crowded areas during the day. For obvious reasons. But it's less of a problem to do little witchy things alone with Mikoto, like the paper. But she notices Mikoto's nose scrunching, and maybe her explanation will help! ...Ah. No. No it will not. Yumi opens her mouth and closes it, looking at Mikoto after she finishes talking, and then--

Sssssideways look. Braidflop. Scrunch. "Huh? I--Oh."

Pause. Mikoto's body language tells her to go over what she just said and as she does, she recognizes the slip. "Oh, ha ha," Yumi says, letting the paper float vaguely away with whatever air currents come in through the window. "Ha ha. Yes. That's funny! Because why would I say 'ogre' instead of 'over'? Right? Super funny."

Yumi is all gathered up tall-like and not ''tense'' so much as a little twisted up. "Ha... ha."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto doesn't really get how someone would say they're about to die if they're not about to die. That seems like a weird thing to lie about. Dying is a big deal!

She doesn't ''keep'' thinking about that, though, because she's found a new thing to puzzle over. The paper flutters off, but Mikoto doesn't pay much attention to it, because her head just keeps tilting in examination of one Yumi Ohzora. Tilt. Tiiiilt.

Thonk.

That's the sound of gravity playing favourites on Mikoto, and her extreme cant finally leading her to just thud into Yumi's side in a headbutt which is not at all graceful. "Yumiii," Mikoto whines, slightly muffled.

She puts a hand on the couch and straightens up, at least to the point that she's leaning on her ''arm'' instead of unbalancing wildly. "Uh-uh," she shakes her head, still with that concern flavoured by scepticism. She frowns, bottom lip pouting out. "Yumi, I want to know, too!"

It's something of a truncated version of Yumi's more eloquent approach, but there is enough of her desire to know what was bothering Mikoto in the shorter girl's own reference. How Yumi feels... Mikoto cares about that, too.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi doesn't make the joke so much because, like Mikoto, she has actually had to think about it more often than never.

But the puzzlement Mikoto has... Yumi was going to play it off, but she isn't actually very ''good'' at playing that kind of thing off, and Mikoto either doesn't pick up on or ignores (probably doesn't pick up on) the hint that she doesn't want to say the thing. ...And then thud. Yumi shakes a little, tilting to the side slightly too before she evens out, not ''quite'' tipping over like a tree. "Mikotooo..."

Concern. Skepticism. ''Pouting''. All the worst things.

"Oh, okay, okay," Yumi says, lifting a hand as if to give over for the moment. She reaches up and adjusts her glasses, mostly for a moment to think about what she's going to say, and then...

"I was just pretty surprised by how Miroku looks, that's all. But it's just appearances. It's probably a coincidence, you know?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto is very perceptive in some ways, and utterly oblivious in others. She notices something is ''wrong,'' and when someone is trying to hide something wrong, that usually means it's very, very wrong. Like when cats get sick, and go and hide. That's very bad!

She waits for Yumi to gather her thoughts, at least, all leant on her arm as she looks up at her. She blinks, when Yumi finally comes to her words; and here Mikoto straightens up, hands to her knees, leaning back against the couch. Her gaze tilts up to the ceiling, with a thoughtful noise.

"It's okay for it to be scary," she says, in distant echo of Yumi's own reassurance. There's a smile on her face - small, but present - as she looks back to Yumi, hands pulling back to rest on her lap, instead. "... I know I don't look like it no more, but we did come from Dark Fall. So it'd be surprising... that's normal. I'm happy Yumi was surprised! 'Cause it's hard to think of us that way, right?" Her smile broadens, as she connects her points up to a positive outlook.

She blinks, tapping a finger to her lip. "... what's it remind Yumi of?" Because if it's a coincidence... doesn't that mean there's something else?

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

It is ''very'' bad, but Yumi at least doesn't seem sicker than usual at the moment. Well, not just now, she did have a little of a coughing fit earlier before they got on the train, but she was fine after that!

Yumi says her words, though, and Mikoto makes a sound... Hmm. A small smile. Yumi looks a little relieved and then ''surprised'', because, "Oh yeah, I... Didn't even make that connection. Of course he'd look scary, you both came from Dark Fall. You're right, I don't really think of you that way."

Yumi brings up a hand to brush some hair out of her face, slouching a little like she often does. What's it remind her of? Well...

She hedges a moment, but then decides it's fine. "Well," she says, "He kinda looks like an Ogre. Like not exactly, but there's some who sort of resemble him, even if he's bigger. So it was... surprising."

"But they're from Dark Fall too, I think, so... it makes more sense now?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Yumi is always a ''little'' sick, but Mikoto tries not to think about that too much, because it makes her really sad. At least she's not ''really'' sick. Not right now!

She nods, with an affirmative and encouraging noise, as Yumi puts the pieces together. Mikoto looks quite cheerful to hear that Yumi doesn't think of her that way; she was already happy to make the assumption, but she's doubly glad to hear it confirmed.

Mikoto listens, attentive, as Yumi decides to share. Like an Ogre, with that particular enunciation... "Oh!" She realises, all a sudden, remembering back to those frustrating monsters she could never quite manage to stab to death.

"Yumi, it's okay," Mikoto assures her, reaching out to grab one of Yumi's hands in both of hers. "Miroku's a Child, so it's different! 'Sides," she adds, "Miroku's an ''oni'' Child."

Which is, apparently, entirely different to an ogre.

Her fingers curl in over Yumi's hand, in a subtle little indication of her own hedging, as she examines Yumi's face with a level of scrutiny as outrageous as her yobisute address. She was worried, Mikoto thinks. Yumi was worried...

"It's different," she repeats, after that moment of silence, and so is her tone, dropping down a few levels to something more serious. "... Ogres need special magic to defeat them, but if you stabbed Miroku enough times --" here a dip in her speech, like she was just about to say something and thought better of it. "We can be defeated if something's strong enough," she euphemises, instead, and now it's ''Mikoto's'' turn to look a touch uncomfortable.

Mikoto shakes her head, with a long blink. "That's why Miroku stays hidden. Together, we're really, really, really powerful... but it's risky, too. Miroku helps me a lot... but it stays underground, where it's safe." If Miroku were defeated...

Well, Mikoto remembers Kozue dying. She's seen what happens when a Child dies. ... she's quite sure of that.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi is happy to see Mikoto more cheerful. But she does make that particular way of saying Ogre, and she watches Mikoto get it, and... take her hand. Yumi's hand is a little cold, though not that much more than usual. But it's... different, apparently. Well, of course it's different--he couldn't literally be some sealed spirit of the earth animated to the the bidding of a dark monarch. Obviously.

Yumi was worried, though. That much she can't deny. "Yeah," she answers after a moment, "Looking alike doesn't mean they're the same."

It's more serious... and here--Mikoto euphemizes, and Yumi looks carefully at Mikoto as she does, and not in the sense that she is being careful so much as that she is full of care. She does not particularly want to see Mikoto defeated, even if talking death doesn't make her as uncomfortable in the same way.

"...Yeah," Yumi says. "That totally makes sense. It's OK, you're right--it is different. Different magic. It's..."

Hmm. How to put it? "Well, you're doing pretty well so far," she decides instead. "So that's working for you. ...You're my friend, and Miroku keeps you safe. So, it's fine anyway. Not all of my magic is very nice, either. ...You wouldn't expect a sword or a giant to be gentle and cuddly." She uses the different word, 'giant', instead of 'ogre' this time. "...Well, unless the sword is very well-dressed," she says with a little smile at that particular gift.

"Sorry to worry you. I just... Get a lot of time to think, and sometimes it takes me places."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto's hand is warm, but they both know she's an engine of energy, overclocked to constant enthusiasm. That's why she's always so hungry!

(Obviously, that's not what Miroku is, because Miroku is a Child. A Child who came from... well, Mikoto doesn't bring that part up again, right now, when she's trying to ''reassure'' Yumi. The pieces lie uncollected like homework paper on the floor.)

Rather she nods, to Yumi's conclusions. And as much as Mikoto invades Yumi's intimacies there is something just as private to her own shadowed eyes, to speak on Miroku's defeat; a conflict written in the light crease of her brow, the thin line of her lips. It's complicated. She was supposed to keep Miroku safe. She swore...

... but, she swore those promises in the shadow of Dark Fall, where they grew up.

But... but...

Mikoto blinks the depth of her uncertainties away, and smiles, when Yumi decides she's right. A little squeeze of her hand, head tilting as her smile grows bigger. "Right!" She affirms, brightly. "Miroku's mean, but it still cares about me. If it destroys lots... it's just 'cause something was upsetting me lots!"

Here she does not say the ''whole'' truth, does not speak to Miroku's bloodlust or its own violent drive, but Mikoto isn't omitting the truth on purpose. What she said, she thinks, is the best description of Miroku's virtues.

(Miroku is not very virtuous.)

But if it cares about her, it can't very well be a monster, can it?

Mikoto shakes her head, smiling to Yumi. "It's okay," she says, and it is the obvious honesty she always uses at her best. "Thinking too much is hard and scary."

Hard... and scary..?

Rather than explain why quiet reflection has those associations, Mikoto instead releases Yumi's hand and twists herself about to flop against her side. "So let's do stuff instead!"

Mikoto doesn't quite realise she has set herself up for the greatest tragedy: ''doing more homework.''

2021-03-06 - Nightmare School

2021-03-07T06:42:54Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: that gem made entirely of feet is doing her best and i support her.

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Nightmare School'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Juuban Public School always enjoys a good ghost story, and a new one has been going around recently: ghost hands, grasping from the dark. It's a Halloween story which didn't go away after Halloween -- so it's time to stay after school and investigate.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Nori Ankou]], [[Steven Universe]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Yumi Ohzora]], [[Niramo Umokeshi]], [[Fate Testarossa]] GM: Rei Hino
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Juuban Public School - Basement
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-03-06 - 2015-11-06
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The rumours began flying shortly before Halloween -- that's why everyone thought they knew why. A strange pair of hands from the basement, grasping anyone foolish enough to draw the short straw and need to go fetch supplies... the fifth-grader Akito Itoh has become a minor celebrity for being the ''first'' boy who ran into the ghastly hands, though, of course, there have been many claims since.

To hear him tell it, they were different colours -- "Kinda green, and, like, yellow, I think? I didn't see them that well..." -- and this drove the rumour mills of Juuban mad with tales of zombified flesh. The stories were as lurid as schoolchildren cared to make them, which always seemed to mean they were ''especially'' horrifying at lunchtime when their delicate classmates were busy trying to eat.

But then Halloween came, and Halloween went.

And people were still talking about the hands.

One student -- sixth-grader Hinata Nishiyama, miles more mature who is not above using her serious demeanour for a ''devastating'' joke now and then -- even claimed something absurd, in the days following. She says that what she saw was a ''foot,'' dangling from the netting where they kept the spare basketballs.

"What if there are bodies down there?!" The students cried.

"The ghosts are hungry!"

"I don't wanna clean the whiteboard, we're out of spray...!"

After a week of this rising tension, two things are deeply apparent: firstly, someone ''desperately'' needs to sleuth out the truth as to the zombies in the basement. Secondly...

Well, a few students have ''already'' been making excuses to go down there as much as they can, on dares or with a daring spirit.

This is ''disrupting the learning space.''

The Sakurada name is one which has risen to prominence in the news recently, with the news of Natsuna Sakurada -- or, for one tense nail-biting moment, SUPER SAKURADA -- resigning from her position as Superintendent-General. Juuban students, of course, may know the name better on one ''Haruna'' Sakurada, eighth grade homeroom and maths teacher. Sakurada-sensei has done her students many kindnesses -- she's taken them on quite a few class trips! -- but one thing she simply cannot abide is ''slacking off,'' and ''those'' students know how stern she can really be.

All these kids sneaking off to go to the basement...

... Sakurada-sensei isn't about to let a new ghost story interrupt her ''lessons.''

As such, she has put a most grievous BAN on visiting the basement with anything less than a teacher's note, ''plus signature;'' so vast is her wrath that she won't even tolerate them messing about down there ''after school.''

Regardless of that, the stories haven't abated. Isn't it about time someone figured out what was really going on?

Clubs meet after school, of course -- but eventually, even the most diligent club must go home. It wouldn't be difficult to find a place to hide out after club-time, waiting for everyone else to go home for the weekend. Neither would it be terribly difficult for someone from another Sister School to slip in ''with'' those clubs, only to find somewhere to lie low for a while. After closing time, everyone is bound to have gone home, including the brutal Sakurada-sensei, right..?

EXCEPT...

Sakurada-sensei...

... is ''also'' staying after class, because she has an ''awful'' lot of maths tests to grade, and she's experimenting with this new revolutionary technique of 'not bringing so much work home'. (Teachers have an astounding amount of work to bring home, did you know?) If she doesn't get it done, it's going to be hanging over her head ''all weekend,'' and even adults like to relax sometimes.

Grading tests is awfully intensive work, though, so she makes sure to take breaks and walk around the halls every so often. This serves the dual purpose of making sure no students have been caught out so late after school -- because kids here ''this'' late usually don't have a way to get home, and she has a duty of care to get them some help.

If she's making a few more passes by the basement than she normally would, well, it's not because she's worried about children's stories. It's just that she's worried about the children.

Hiding out was only the first challenge -- the second is sneaking past Sakurada-sensei.

And Juuban looks different now they're starting to turn the lights off... it's a little eerie, isn't it?

It's eerie because the ghosts are out to play.

There's a noise, from the basement. It sounds like rattle -- rattle -- crack -- shatter! THUD.

Open the door, and find it dark. Even with the light from the next floor up, it stretches out in a miasma of murkiness. The lightswitch... doesn't work. Shouldn't there be a lightswitch? There's enough light to get down into the basement hall, at least. Enough light to get down here... and hide from the prying eyes of Sakurada-sensei.

OOC: Your first pose should include how you came to be in Juuban so late (sneaking in, staying after club activities, visiting a friend to help them with make-up work, or perhaps you got stuck cleaning the blackboard erasers?), as well as an overview of how you gave Sakurada-sensei the slip to get into the basement. Encountering her isn't a game-over -- but you'll be escorted to the entrance and have to think up a new approach! Please end your poses on arrival to the spooky dark basement, which is spooky, and dark.

<Pose Tracker> Fate Testarossa [Infinity Institute (5)] has posed.

"I don't know how you can say it with such a straight face." Suzuka Tsukimura says to the girl in front of her.

"Say what?" Fate Testarossa says with a look of being at an utter loss.

"Investigate ghosts!" Arisa Bannings interjects, slamming the door of the Juuban Council room behind her to keep those from within for listening. She has a sheaf of papers under her arm, which she's roughly transferring into her bag. As the fifth year representative at Infinity, she's here for a joint project with the Juuban Council.

"Is that not something people do?" Fate says again in bewilderment. "I heard of um-" The girl puts a finger to her chin, "-tests of courage, on the latest Okinawa trip."

"Why yes, but that's just... to see if you have the courage to endure the darkness and the spooky presence of history. You make it sound like-"

"-you intend to fight them!" Arisa interjects again, interrupting her friend.

Fate looks at both of them again, at kind of a loss, before she asks...

"Is that not something people d-?"

"NO!" Both other girls cry out in unison.

-=-=-

Fate leaps off the landing above the stairs to the rooftop, and tries the door. It's locked, but that's expected since she heard someone chaining up. Placing her fingers to the doorway, there's a spark of electricity, and inside the rattle of chains.

Pushing open the bar, she heads inside, and moves down one flight of stairs. Two flights of stairs. Three flights of stairs. Once she's at the first floor, she peeks through the window, making her perception check.

And that's when she hears footsteps nearby.

... coming towards the door to the stairwell, as suddenly Haruna opens the doorway, "Who's hiding out in here? I heard footsteps!"

Game over right? Fate Testarossa has no chance of not being caught.

Save that the girl currently has her feet planted above the doorframe, her hands against the ceiling of the floor above, balancing delicately over Super Sakurada.

Jumping up there is beyond the ability of any fifth grader. She's not tall enough, her legs aren't long enough.

Flying though?

... well she can do that.

The problem is, her flight has a visual effect, so she doesn't... have the spell active anymore, arms and legs straightning as she tries to keep hold while the teacher looks around. "I could have sworn..."

A drop of sweat beads on Fate's forehead, starts rolling down her chin... and starts to fall...

... just as the teacher turns around and closes the door right before the drop patters into the floor. The girl holds herself up there a few seconds longer, then floats down.

"Test of courage. Test of courage." The girl whispers to herself...

... because the idea of getting in trouble with an authority figure makes her ''very'' nervous.

After a few more minutes she's huddled low as she approaches the basement door...

... just as she hears a crash. Eyes narrowing as this is more ''her'' kind of test of courage. Immediately she opens the door and starts heading down into the very dark basement.

<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

At first, Niramo just assumes that the rumors were just part of people having fun with Halloween. But as the spooky day comes and goes, and the gossip continues to grow, Niramo starts to get a little worried. Zombies could be just as real as dark butterflies that possess people, and it's right under Juuban! Something is going have to be done. Now...how should she do it?

The early November light filters in through half-closed window shades, filling the home economics room with the last rays of autmun sunlight. The stoves were spotless, the counters wiped down multiple times and every utensil were free of every possible spec of dust possible. It's not like the cooking club of Juuban is overeager in their cleaning, but one member had gone above and above tonight.

Eyes flicking back to the clock above the chalkboard one last time, Niramo grabs her bookbag and walks towards the door with only a nod to herself. She's been rehersing this plan for a while now, and tonight seems like the best chance to go through with it. Peeking out through a crack in the door and looking both ways several times, the Juuban ravenette sighs softly and glances down at her bag. "Right. You're up, Takk-san."

Phasing through the bookbag and peering outwards, Takk floats down the hall a little and listens intensely before motioning down the hall to Niramo. Taking the cue, Niramo starts to follow after Takk, with the Kwami scouting the way. If anyone WAS watching, they might wonder at first why the student wasn't wearing her shoes, but the lack of any heels tapping against the floor would be the strategy here.

Even if that means that her feet were getting cold.

Once on the ground floor, Takk's aid prove immensely helpful. He's able to spot the patrolling math teacher as she's making her rounds before Niramo could go around a corner and be in plain view, and Niramo ducks inside the girls' bathroom to wait out the patrol.

Moments that feel like hours, hiding inside a pitch dark bathroom and with the only illumination being the light filtering through the crack at the bottom of the door starts to test Niramo's resolve, an anxious mind picturing all sorts of creepy ghosts sneaking up on her. Thankfully, Takk is quick to phase through the door and give the all clear, but...well, Niramo isn't looking forward to being down in the basement for long.

As she reaches the stairs leading down to the basement, Niramo takes this moment to get her shoes out of her bookbag and back on her feet. No way is she going to go basement crawling with only her socks on! But as she just manages to get both of them on, a loud crash could be heard, as well as the sound of a door being pulled open. Sharing a look with Takk, Niramo pulls out her phone and flicks on the light on the back before traversing down the stairs and into the depths of the school. The Kwami takes this chance to land on her shoulder, ears listening for any sounds she might miss.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

When the supply room in the basement is off-limits due to suspected ghosts, there's only one thing to do:

Be *ruthlessly* efficient with the supplies you already have in the classroom. Or in the gym shed, in the case of Juuban's archery club. Fuu Hououji, president of Infinity's archery team, has taken it upon herself to help her peers learn to make the most of the resources on hand - using just the necessary amount of polish or rosin, not overdrawing your bow, handling the arrows with appropriate care, and so forth.

For better or for worse, Fuu spends long enough teaching about efficiency in care-and-tending of archery equipment that by the time she finishes, the sun is going down and the school is being battened down for the night. That doesn't give the team (or Fuu) much time to change back into school uniforms and depart the premises ... although one of those isn't much of an issue for Fuu. Not because she's leaving school grounds in her archery outfit - but because she wants to see what's up with those rumors. All three Sisters Schools see their share of suprenatural activity on the premises, and if this is something that a magical girl needs to look into -

"Who's there?!"

- then she's going to have to outwit Sakurada-sensei first, isn't she. Fuu simply offers her most winning smile and a very polite bow, "Good evening, Sakurada-sensei. I apologize for my late presence here, but I'm on my way home now."

Haruna Sakurada frowns, then lets out a breath. "I'll walk you to the front doors, Hououji, but make sure you head straight home. No detours to investigate rumors, no matter how fond you are of your friends here at Juuban. Understood?"

"Absolutely, sensei," Fuu replies, still smiling. Okay, this is going to take longer than she thought ...

Fortunately, the wall around the Juuban grounds is just a little higher than Fuu's own height, so once she turns to head towards the train station, Fuu can *stop* heading towards the train station, straining her ears so the sound of Sakurada's retreating footsteps can fade away fully. Only then does she poke her head around the edge of the gate ... then stalk, quickly and quietly, towards the front doors. Being escorted out *did* let her confirm where the route to the basement is, so if she times it right while Sakurada-sensei is focused on the next few tests that need grading, the coast should - hopefully - be clear.

(Footnote: Fuu has a really awful track record at Metal Gear Solid.)

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Juuban has been under a straight no-basement policy now for a bit. Which is... not suppressing the youth??? Or whatever teenagers are saying these days. Why kids are up in arms for a ''basement'' ban is above Steven Universe.

HOWEVER.

A mystery is afoot. And ahand. And several other a-body parts. Appendages have been sighted in Juuban, and even some kids have been supposedly accosted by them! This mystery cannot go unsolved! Especially when it is worrying people.

But he cannot do this alone. Only one person had the spooky aura and amazing fashion prowess to tackle this sutation.

Hey Nori! Some crazy stuff is going on in Juuban's basement! I'm gonna check it out! Wanna come? :ghost: :ghost: :scaredface:

Steven likes to use emojis a lot as of late. People should have never shown him they were an option on texts.

The text was sent out earlier in the day, as the boy took a stop by Shibuya. A mysterious investigation ina school basement could be fun, so Steven devised a plan-- bring a friend to Cooking Club at Juuban! If he can get Nori in for the after school activity, they would be able to get to the basement, hopefully unaccosted. A particular teacher as made it their crusade to bar students fro mdescending into the unknown. Mostly to avoid another prank situation. Plus there are harmful things down there, like paint or cleaning supplies. Though who in their right mind would tamper with that?

Once the club has dispersed, Steven cleans up his station and looks to Nori. "It may be time we... get snooping!" the boy says, and takes out what looks like a bubble pipe and a fedora.

He is really feeling the detective thing today. "Oh, I uh, probably should have suggested a cool detective attire thing for you Nori... Sorry. You can have the hat if you want it!" he says, leading the way toward the stairs, and keeping an eye out for the teachers.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

There is, traditionally, a direction that people ''don't'' look in the city. Yumi Ohzora has taken advantage of this many a time. But that's getting ahead of her. Long before ''that'', Yumi has heard of course about these ghost stories, and... Well...

It seems like a lot of fun to investigate a little, especially when Fate expresses interest in it. Ghastly hands! A foot! Hungry ghosts!!

...And a place they aren't supposed to go...

So there is a direction people do not expect someone to approach a basement from, and how does Yumi get around a teacher? That's simple. She waits, and waits, and...

Well she was going to sneak in with Tama's help but Tama refused, so...

Instead Yumi flies through the halls to avoid making any noise, and when she hears Sakurada coming she zooms out of view before she can get to her. Eventually in this way she makes her way down to the basement.

Holding her broom in one hand, the young witch pads down... down...

Into the spooky basement.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori's reply to Steven:

> Ah sorry I was practicing...
> Really?
> Yes
> :ghost:

Nori had come along with a plan and a very generously sized beret hat. That plan was to show people how to make festival bread, a simple and easy-to-make Caribbean treat -- which even Nori can't mess up from inattention, at least too badly. She might have seemed like she had a headache.

And after things are done, and the cleanup is passed...

Nori tilts her head forwards and takes off the beret in a spill of black hair. "Oh, don't worry about it, Steven. I'm just glad to be here."

Batiste hops out of the beret, giving Steven a brief handshake and then scampering off to visit the little otter's room. While Batiste is occupied, Nori whacks the hat back into shape and adjusts a black turtleneck shirt and a low-profile charcoal tulip skirt, leaving the apron up on its peg as it was a loaner.

"Please lead on - Detective Universe!"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Haruna Sakurada, in her patrols, finds a lot of things which don't totally add up; a stairwell which had footsteps but no students, a strange gust of breeze like something just flew past. (Of course, she can't spy the clever little scout Niramo employs.) She finds ''Fuu,'' at least, and escorts her out, so perhaps she can put her mind at ease about the students she could hear and not see. Back to grading...!

Luckily, Steven, a student of the noble institution of Juuban, knows Sakurada-sensei well enough to be able to sneak past her mid-grading. Nori benefits from this vast wisdom, too.

Meanwhile: the test of courage these children call the basement. It's dark, but not ''pitch'' black; if anything this makes the indistinct shapes of the basement hall more creepy, not less. The mind has a habit of completing incomplete images, after all. Is there something behind that ajar door? Did it move? Did they just see HER face, the one they mustn't look upon?

There's a sound like a slide on a violin, all out-of-place and at the back of the neck. Or -- no, perhaps -- perhaps the word for this is less a slide and more a SKITTER, scramble-bramble along the floor. The light from Niramo's phone catches the shards of glass, illuminating the ground. It's just a lightbulb. It used to be a lightbulb. Nothing there, on the floor, but those pieces of a lightbulb. One two three four five ten twenty-six pieces and they used to be a lightbulb.

Look up, up, up there, and the light fixture is still swinging, as if something was hanging from it. Swaying hither and dither, slowing, slowing... still. There was a teacher, once... just like that...

Everyone is safe from Sakurada-sensei. But are they safe from the ghosts? The zombies? The zombies who are ghosts. Juuban has so ''many'' stories, so enthusiastically adding onto each other, layering over each other. Here they've added another, to scare each other in the playgrounds and after school, but how much power do these stories... really... really have?

A noise follows from the chair storage, a toppling down. An even bigger crash! (Did Sakurada-sensei hear that...?)

This is a room all full with chairs and tables, the spares, the just-in-cases; the light seems dodgy in ''here,'' too, but Niramo's brought a solution, light in a beam to cut through the dark. Juuban is after all a Sister School; there are times it entertains more students than are contained in its classes. And sometimes classes are bigger than they expect, even regardless of visitors. And sometimes, a chair breaks! That happens, leaning back too far on two legs, knees all jammed against the desk, invincible until that exact moment one leans back a fraction too much. The teachers always say not to, but they can't keep an eye on the student body at all times. Like this time --

One of the chairs is back to the floor, two legs in the air, as if a student had that same balancing idea. But it was on the top of a pile too high for most students to think of climbing; now the pile is all askew, chairs jutting out this way and that, and one all sadly laying on the ground.

There's a dragging sound, moving away from it. Look. It's not too far away.

It can't get too far. It doesn't have legs.

Even if these feet were made for walking.

OST: Aivi & Surasshu - Gem Shards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGOJIl2lx0M

One is light pink, the colour of blushing roses; the other a delicate-spun lavender, soft as a summer's day. At each ankle they become each other, purple to pink, pink to purple. Two ankles. No legs. Two feet, crawling-dragging themselves by their toes, and finally pink rises over purple, a heft of weight worthy of any junior physicist. Now they can thud-thud-thud, as the purple foot hops up and down, journeying back to the darkness.

Before one can worry too much on THEM, though --

The hand --

Akito-kun said it was all yellow and green, and it is. THEY are; like hand is to foot they are joined wrist to wrist, sunflower-yellow and grass-green, and where one palm faces the ground the other faces the sky, all in reverse, all twisted up. It skitters across the ceiling and drops, like a creepy-crawly which lost its grip, right -- onto -- Steven. It grasps at his shoulder, tight and tightening, as its fingers reach out for his face. It can't quite get there. Its hands are put together wrong.

It is smooth and cool, in just the way a hand shouldn't be.

<Pose Tracker> Fate Testarossa [Infinity Institute (5)] has posed.

Fate is halfway down the stairs, when she looks back, and double takes. "Oh! Yumi. You came too." Before she then looks to the others, "A lot of people came..." She marvels.

She's not certain if tests of courage are supposed to be one people, or two, or many. Either way, she's learned she doesn't know very much about tests of courage. In the end, she's here to investigate the ghostly rumors.

"Let's stay together. In case the ghosts show up. Then they'll be scared of us."

Fate says that with a sort of confidence that feels incongruent with her age. Or perhaps she's just not seen too many horror movies...

... or perhaps horror is something that she's simply learned to live with.

She doesn't lead the way down or anything though, just walks with the rest. And then there's a noise like...

... she doesn't know what it is. Something in her eyes sharpens. And she holds up a hand, like she's trying to stop and look before continuing. Watching the phone beam illuminate the glass. A few seconds pass and... "It must have broken recently... or else... The Juuban students would have cleaned that up." Fate says, voice taut, "... they take pride in their school."

A topple, and Fate spins around, gesturing Yumi's way to point...

As they head towards... the room with the chairs.

Fate looks at the chair on the floor as if it's not unusual, walking up to it. She too has taken part in stacking chairs for storage, as has every student who spends time cleaning up their classrooms. And then she looks.

At the creature, multi-colored. It's limbs just like the rumors. Yet it feels more solid than a ghost.

Much more solid than a ghost. "Is that... a ghost?" The girl gapes for a moment, before another movement comes behind them and she whirls around. "Steven!" Perhaps she feels transforming might take too long. So she doesn't. Instead, she quickly grasps the only thing in arm's length. The legs of one chair that's fallen from the sad pile...

... and pivots around, yanking it up as she goes and stepping up to him, swinging it like an overlarge baseball bat to try and smash it right into his assailant.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Now, one might think that Yumi, being a real witch and a magical girl both, would be especially unconcerned with dark basements and mysterious noises. However, there is definitely one major snag with this idea:

She knows even more spooky things than most people!!

"There ''probably'' aren't ghosts down here," Yumi says as she steps up to Fate, and smiles at her. "I mean, what would happen to cause someone to haunt a school basement?"

Pause. Various scenes of terrible death and curses flit through her mind.

"...Nevermind."

The room with the chairs, and a creature--ah--

"Um????"

Yumi sort of stares for a ew at the shapes, at the limbs and feet and creepy crawlies that go there--"

"That's not a--Aaa Steven!"

She does not try to swing at it! Instead she says, "There wasn't supposed to actually be anything down here!!"

<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Niramo's tiny beam of light seems to be the best source of light in the underground of Juuban. There's light fixtures, of course, but some of them are flickering with no set pathern. Others produce more sound than light as electricity struggles to flow through the bulbs, and others are completely dark. All in all, the lack of proper illumination is enough for Niramo's shoulders to tighten up, her body instictively shrinking down on itself a little more. There doesn't seem to be signs of zombies, but the tricks of the light is enough to make the ravenette feel like ghosts are hounding her every step.

A sudden sound has the hairs on Niramo's neck stand up on end and she twists around, a sharp cry squeaking out of her throat from how sudden it was. There's no mutanted ghost zombie right behind her, but the light reflecting off the shards of glass and the creeking of the hanging fixture only a few feet away from her is clear. There is something here, and it's not afraid to show its' presense.

Breathing rapidly, Niramo looks around her wildly for any sign of movement, the small beam of light from her flashlight barely making a dent in the vast darkness.

Letting out a shallow smile, she nods her head towards the others, an uneasy smile on her lips. "S-sorry, was just spooked by that. I don't think we have any violins down here." The fact that she seems to be trying to ignore the fact that someone had to play it is clear.

Niramo takes after Fate's lead, holding her phone up slightly in order to help everyone see better, casting a light on the chair pyramid. "Okay, I know we stack better than...this?"

The light is enough to illuminate the conjoined hands, the multihewed appendages conjoined together. And it's not just the hands, there's also feet matched together as well! Flicking her light back to the hands with growing apprehension, she aims the light upwards--

--just in time to see the hands land clearly on Steven's shoulder! It's solid, far too solid to be a ghost, and the realization that there must be a mad scientist making zombie experiments down here has Niramo freezes up solid. Niramo turns a solid shade of white and stiffens up, her mind picturing all sorts of bizarre horrors that could roam in the abbandoned halls. She's no help, but she doesn't have to be when Fate is swinging to the rescue...!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Steven of course is always happy to see Batiste, AKA Mr. Otter! It is good to see him still out and about.

Getting to the stairs isnt so difficult-- Steven has walked past them numerous times. Just today there is intent to go down them. "You have a way cooler hat anyway I would say!" the boy adds, donning the fedora, a checker-plaid gray affair. Normally he would get a more festive color, but all the cool guys who wear it are on the silver screen, and lacked color.

With pipe held to mouth, Steven stalked toward the stairs, navigating around Sakurada's proximity well, though has their own hurdle to cross. Around a corner by the stairs, he stops. "Someone else is there... they might tattle on us!" he whispers to Nori. "Oh wait. Hey guys!" Steven says, heading toward the stairs, seeing other folks gathering and heading downward.

"We better hurry!" Steven adds to Nori.

The basement is as one would expect, perhaps a little damp, darker than comforably allowed, and always appears as though something is moving just out of sight. "Okay! Hang on, I got a cellphone light." The boy fuddles around his pockets, though Fate gets his attention. "Hey Fate! Yeah, had a club here today. Nori and me were gonna check otu the rumors. Glad to see a familiar face! I was--"

Crash.

"Eep! More students?" Steven says, suddenly turning into a nervous wreck at the, well, drop of a hat. He has to pick up the fedora as it slid off his poofy hair. "Okay, that can't be good. Should we invesigate?" he asks. Others are already on it, looking and reacting to something, though they crowd the form out.

But that is the least of his concern.

A cool hand grabs his shoulder. A little firm, but a familiar temperature sensation. It feels like when he held Lapis Lazuli's hand. A sensation of flesh with the wrong temperature. "Did the Gems-- UH."

As it grips harder, he can see it.

BGM:Loop Hero - Cosmic Temperance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnQwcZHgcLM

"What is that?! OH NO!" The boy exclaims as the not-so-being decides to clamp down. Whatever Steven is, it must have it. "FATE OH--"

The boy barely sees the bat coming in time as he is reaching for it, and tries to dive to the right to keep his head out of the way, so the bat can clobber it, and not the small child.

"I knwo what these are, I think! We gotta take them out, be careful...!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori smoothly slides past the view of Sakurada-sensei. (Batiste, obviously, has his own routes.) As they rendezvous with others nearer to the basement, there is a sense of something there. Motion. The skittering gives Nori a thought - perhaps an outsized crab or two has come up a drain during a recent spat of heavy weather, or perhaps it came a few months ago, and now, fattened on scraps and abandoned bento boxes -- or a carcinophilic schoolchild - it looms large.

"I trust you in these matters, do not fear that I will second guess you," Nori asides to Steven, before they move further. Nori does not get her cell phone light on, which may mean there's a slightly eerie manifestation behind Steven, enough to be spooky -- if it wasn't for Batiste scrambling up to get on her shoulders and wave wordlessly but merrily at people.

And as they move...

Something comes, with tropical-fish brightness in its colors. Bright colors that, in this place, suggest warning - poison - and something beyond the range of nature.

And then it moves and strikes towards Steven and Nori feels her entire spinal muscle set contract and a giant scream seems to be rising in her throat like an ascending whale but THANK GOODNESS there is Fate, the avenger of time, wielder of a bat; Nori cringes backwards, saying through tight teeth, "gahhh crush iiit what IS it aaangh" to avoid desperately the urge to SHRIEK.

That would definitely alert Sakurada.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Having fared less than superbly on her first attempt to sneak down to the basement, it takes a little while for Fuu to catch up with the others - they might not even realize that anyone else is down there until one of two things draws attention behind them: the light from her phone's flashlight mode, or ...

"What on Earth - ?"

... the sound of a voice that wasn't already known to be with them, if Fuu gets that close without drawing friendly (or unfriendly) attention. She quickly turns off her phone's light upon sight of the mismatched parts of what could be bodies, and pockets her phone in favor of her glove-jewel. She's not transforming yet, but if the mobile parts are due to a monster's action, she'll need the glove-jewel anyway.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Fate equips a chair, and strikes--!!

Steven dives out of the way, and the hand -- hand''s'' -- go along for the ride, but their grip loosens and they tumble-scatter-turn across the ground, too physical, too solid, too REAL to be a ghost. The stories weren't supposed to be real. The fun thing about ghost stories, Juuban surely knows, is the ''possibility.'' There's nothing ''possible'' about those limbs all mashed together, no what-if, no wondering.

They ARE.

Steven says he knows but they offer no explanation, no noise, but for the drawing across themselves which is so discordant and out of tune. The hands curl in on themselves, less like flinching and more like a spider in its death-throes; but then they uncurl, and the soft pink hand lifts itself on its fingers, skitter-scatter away.

The chair impacted with a stack of tables, instead. CRACK!

Yes, Sakurada-sensei heard all that.

She hears so much ''banging,'' and the hairs on the back of her neck prickle up. "Oh, those kids..." She grouses, on her way to the basement. The light clicks. There is no light. She sighs, and heads down anyway, standing in the doorway to the chair storage room, all hands on her hips.

"Hold it! I thought I told you all to stay ''out'' of the basement -- look, the lights aren't even working right now, you'll get --"

Her ire clips off in the middle, because another noise joins it. It's like the rising tone of a brass instrument out of tune, or played by an inexperienced student. But it could have been made by a throat, passed through vocal chords, and the keening shatters after a moment. A voice feminine and put through a paper shredder, all ground down, all torn up.

Again, a ''thud,'' coming from down the hall. The cleaning cupboard had a secret, after all.

It's not... quite... a foot.

The knee is a complicated instrument, all hinges and moving parts. It shouldn't be at the end of a leg which bends -- that's simply not how legs work. One does not have ''two'' sets of knees. And yet here it is, bending and bending again, and impacting on the cold concrete of the ground. Thud. Thud.

Scrape.

It's dragging with it an arm, but not quite an arm; it's too thick, as if two of them have been superimposed over each other. It ends in something not immediately recognisable as a shoulder bone, and that's the point when it becomes obvious it's bending the ''wrong'' way, as if its trunk begins where it ought to end. Fingers grasp at the place where its limb meets its body, all melded in, all fused together.

One foot works, but the toes are all curled the wrong way up.

One hand works, but the area between the middle and ring fingers is grotesquely split, like some mockery of a Vulcan salute.

It does not... appear... to have a head at all.

Most striking is its ''colours:'' it is not white or brown or any shade between but yellow, and green, and pink, and blue, and purple and orange and red and -- one foot one colour, one hand one colour, two tones for that arm which oughtn't, two different shades for each of those knees.

It makes another noise - or are they two, woven together, discordant in their message? Two, three, four, five. Groaning, bemoaning... ''bellowing,'' as Sakurada-sensei turns to the shady hall, seen by the students in profile as she calls out to the indistinct shape in the darkness.

"If you think you're the first student who's put on a bedsheet and tried--!"

Something so lumbersome ''shouldn't'' be fast; it simply isn't fair. Nevertheless it charges, and all a sudden Sakurada-sensei isn't in the doorway because she has been knocked all the way to the other wall. She thuds down, and does not finish her statement, too sceptical, too devoid of horror to have possibly seen the truth.

This almagation leaves no room to question. It seems Fuu was right to grasp her glove-jewel; this isn't a ghost story any more. It's a MONSTER story.

Haruna won't realise anything ever again -- no more class trips, no more lectures over missed homework, no more ''Sakurada-sensei'' -- if that thing is allowed to charge a second time.

<Pose Tracker> Fate Testarossa [Infinity Institute (5)] has posed.

"Nevermind?" Fate echoed Yumi's statement with a question.

The girl hasn't heard enough ghost stories to have those images move through her head.

Whereas Niramo's statement gets a resolved nod.

That was then though. And this is now.

The chair impacts with the stack of tables. And Fate feels it jarred out of her small hands. It's not that she can't keep a grip, she just didn't expect what it impacted and the recoil jammed upright.

"Oh!" Surprised by the crash she just created, she looks around suddenly, this way and that... "I didn't get it..." She apologizes to Steven, but as he said that what they need to do... "But... we'll definitely take them out."

And then, the voice of the teacher at the doorway to the room causes her to freeze with more horror than the hands. "Ah... sensei... um..."

She stammers, now all nerves...

Scrape. And Fate stands up straight and whirls towards the sight... the distorted keening... the thud. And the teacher's... misunderstanding. "Sensei! No! It's!" But... she's too slow. And that thing is big... and far too fast.

Far too fast to prevent what happens next.

A jewel finds its way into her hands. "Bardiche Impulse! Set Up!" <Get Set. Drive Impulse.>

The flash of light is like a strobe in the awful dark of the room. Just a brief flash, and then the girl is right in front of that far too lumbersome monster. <Defenser Plus>

A concentric flash of circular runes strobes in the dark as she actually... rams up into the creature trying to keep it charging again. Trying to hold it back at bay for a moment against the solid barrier field. "Yumi! Can you bind it?!"

She may be instantly in trouble. The field is... not meant to be used in this way, as if to preemptively pin the thing in and hold it back. It's meant to be a reaction to an attack.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa transforms into Barrier Jacket Impulse!

<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Hands go flying off into the dark with a strong swing from Fate and Steven is saved from the mutlicolored threat. The others are even speaking, and a disconnected part of Niramo's mind notices that Sakurada-sensei is staring at them all with a rather impressive frown, but everything everyone is staying seems to be swallowed up by the powerful roar of jet engines.

Sure, she's fought against monsters of all shapes and sizes before, giant scorpions to moisture-devouring cloud demons. The realization that the dead can come back and strike agains the living, tearing past the veil of death and drag others into the abyss is something completely different. It's real, it's here under Juuban and Tokyo could be swallowed up by an technocolor zombie outbreak! This fear is crippling, and it seems like Niramo is completely paralyzed by her own fear.

That is, until the most bizarre creation yet, a lengthy abomination that which *should not be*, hits the poor teacher with such force that she is sent flying through the air and against the wall, sliding down and not moving.

Sound suddendly starts to make sense again and Niramo can feel like she can breath for the first time in ages. Sakurada-sensei is in danger, an innocent woman is hurt and might possibly die, and will die if she doesn't act! Breaking herself free of her mental chains, Niramo tosses her phone onto the ground (gently, it's too expensive to replace) so that there can still be a source of light before she starts running for cover. She needs to get the math teacher to safety, but Niramo can't do much to safe her. But Sourisi can. "Tail, sprout!"

A burst of light from behind some fallen chairs as the magic of the Miraculous is tapped into, and Sourisi leaps over to get directly towards the collapsed Juuban teacher. Taking note of the strange field that has appeared around Fate and her headlong rush to pin the creature down, Sourisi picks up Sakurada-sensei as gently as she can. The best thing to do right now is to make sure Sakurada-sensei doesn't get attacked again. "I'll make sure it doesn't get near the teacher!"

COMBAT: Niramo Umokeshi transforms into Sourisi!

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"...You do??" Steven apparently knows what these are. That's helpful, in theory. But 'be careful' is not exactly encouraging.

She feels Nori's cringe though. She's definitely also there. But soon, the noise comes, and Yumi winces as much from it as the fact that Sakurada is sure to be here any moment. With... these things. The foot.

Yumi looks a little green (moreso than usual) at the various limbs and colors of the creature. Noises, bellowing...

"Oh--"

"Staff of Lost Ivy!" Yumi is suddenly holding her staff and invokes it, gleaming green before she stands in her witch's garb instead of ordinary clothes. Fate calls to her, and--

""I can try!"

Yumi chants strange words of power and carves a rune through the air. "Stop moving!" It's not the best magic chant, but the rune will do.

Since Niramo has her protected, then Yumi can focus on the monster...

COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora transforms into Witch Ivy!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Technically, Sakurada having 'found' the students might mean they no longer have to worry about drawing attention with loud noises of their own ... but Fuu still doesn't shout anything, willing her transformation rather than calling out her invocation. The appearance of the Wind Knight's bow and quiver are similarly willed rather than shouted - and of course, like any good archer, she doesn't need to speak, or even whisper, as she lines up her shot, her glasses not even slightly blunting the intense focus in her emerald gaze.

And then the arrow flies - and hits with far greater force than you'd expect a slim wooden shaft and a metal arrowhead to carry; the impact on the mannequin-esque monster is more like a bullet train than even a bullet, as if carrying the full weight of the Wind Knight's will with it. If adapted into words, that will might be conveyed simply as 'Get Away From Sakurada-Sensei,' whether spoken strongly or printed in bold text.

Fuu Hououji may be a student of Infinity rather than Juuban, but she still looks up to teachers - and she still protects innocents, whatever their age or job may be.

And she's already nocking another arrow, ready to keep driving the monsters back while her faster allies get Sakurada to safety.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nori suppressed her screaming for nothing. Sakurada is here again! And that thing is moving too quickly and ''Nori Ankou, giant fool, did not bring her magic lantern!'' (It is a little hard to just hang around with if you're not already wearing a big purse, and she thought this was going to be a crab at worst. She had a plan for the crab.)

But in this cold squirt of fear - Nori is the one who is protected. The one whose friends will stand up. The one who sees the knights and protectors from the view of the field. It brings her heart strength.

Maybe not a lot of strength, though, because she has no weapon with her. The glow of the boundary field and the swift and glamorous motions of the others does not change the unfortunate and deep-set truth of that looming, lumbersome THING.

But there is one clear thing she can do -

"Aaah!! Look at me look at me look at me look at me!!!" Nori shouts at the monster. (Batiste looks at her from his current perch with total jaw-dropping astonishment.) As she does this, she crouches slightly, pops back up to spread out her arms, and then starts to backpedal quickly, hopefully not into anything that she can stumble over.

"If it looks my way it won't look at them and they can beat it," Nori says aloud, sweat running in cold trickles down the small of her back. "They can - I know it! And if I can just do this little part to help - them out --!!"

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

BGM: Loop Hero - Cosmic Temperance (With correct link!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvnxWqYzF1E

Unnatural, even moreso than what was previously known by Earth standards. If someone told you that body parts could be randomly stitched together and made t omove, would you believe them, or think they were talking about a horror flick?

Sometimes in the world of the magical, the line can blur, often to unthinkable degrees.

Steven can still feel it touching him, even it being long off his neck. "These are Gems! Well, sorta?! Its a complicated story-- we don't know all the details!" Steven calls above the dischordant echo of ruckus in the basement. A wink of pink light bades everything for a second in the dim light as he summons his shield. "I'll try to find that small one! We can't let any of them get awa-- teacher?!"

Busted...

"Miss, those aren'tt kids in sheets! They are--!" A sudden surge of movement and a thud indicates the teacher has been disposed of, though alive still. "Gonna have to pull otu the big guns for that one! How did they even get down here? The last time we saw them was..." Is there anything further below the school, he wonders.

"Thanks for the help by the way Fate!" the boy says, giving chase to the multi-handed one.

A call over to Yumi and Niramo. "I don't know what they want with people though!"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

An arrow glances off this thing which is so many and so much all at once. They don't have a head, but they still NOTICE the way that magic grazes across the fingers which are their shoulder, crashing across with her passion and the force of her will. The fingers do not bleed. They split, bloodless, and do not knit again.

The collection turns. Clomp, thud, scrape, they enter the room. There is again that ''noise'' from it, like a roar or a wail, nails down a chalkboard for how clashing it is, how suddenly it adjourns. Perhaps it is not a noise Earth was meant to hear, the way it sounds at once like a mistuned brass instrument, static-crackle, a creaky-creaky door hinge, a woman's ''scream.'' Maybe that's just the only way their ears can process what they're hearing, like something they were never meant to listen to, from somewhere far away.

Sourisi -- who appears just in the nick of time! -- leaps to Sakurada-sensei, and strangely, she will find that the woman doesn't seem terribly injured despite the horrific creature which ran into her. It's as if she's fainted from her fall; she's still ''breathing,'' and looks whole. Getting her out of here is nonetheless an ''excellent'' plan.

Fate rams into the creature-or-perhaps-''creatures'' with Defenser Plus; they grind back, against the wall. The reason Sakurada-sensei is all right might be made clear, in this strike which was not designed for offence, either. The almagation of parts pushes its battering-ram of an arm at her barrier, and it pushes -- and pushes -- and yet there is no sense here that they are trying to ''strike'' her, ''trying'' to batter her with the shoulder which is their fingers.

There's no hand on the end of that knob of a shoulder, but it's like... it's like...

... they want to grasp her, through the field.

... like they're reaching out.

But she meets them with force and there is force to them, too, matching the pressure that field exerts, reaching, reaching, reaching. If they truly to grasp her perhaps they do not REALISE their strength, because if the field falters, with this level of pressure --

The Staff of Lost Ivy is remembered, and more runes join the fray; vines entangle them and they will find so ''many'' paths through something too hard to be flesh, gaps between their arm, through their fingers, through the gaps in their knees. The gaps, as if they were imperfectly knit together.

That scream gains a woodwind-reedy quality, a deep PULSE of noise, garuu-''UUUUU;'' it's precisely the sound the monster under your bed makes, when you're just about to drift off to sleep. They have no face to register displeasure, but the way they writhe makes two things clear: for one, Fate's luck is about to run out if she doesn't get out of the way, and for two, they ''deeply'' dislike the binding. Nori's voice calls it towards her, like a siren; their vast limbs flail, as they stomp forward. STRIKE, comes their battering-ram of an arm, back and forth, and a set of chairs go sailing like bowling pins to a ball.

... but Nori may well find, in invoking that thing's attention...

... there's more than one of them, here.

There's a ''grip,'' at her ankle, cold and smooth. Creepy-creepy-crawly the hand which is two hands crawls up her leg, and that is where Steven will find it; he may well find Nori has ''bigger'' problems, with that vast creature advancing. Nori might be able to struggle with that double-handed almagation -- it is small, and its grasp not so vicelike that she might not be able to struggle it away, with effort. But without her lantern...

(There is also a foot. It shoves itself against Nori's foot. This does not do quite as much as the hand, with its grip, grasping tightly to her. Be kind. It is trying its best.)

<Pose Tracker> Fate Testarossa [Infinity Institute (5)] has posed.

"You're... welcome..." Fate strains out her response to Steven's thank... as if the engagement is pressing her a great deal. Fate despite her magic, is not exactly an individual of raw, brute strength in this form. The barrier is meant to stop ranged attacks - stop up close combat attacks even for long. Yet, it's not trying to attack her is it?

She pushes, and her metallic boots GRIND against the floor, raising sparks as she tries to dig her foot in to no avail. Because the pressure... is starting, to cause that field, to crack. Fortunately, that's when Yumi acts to bind it. "Good one - Yumi!"

Fate glances over her shoulder given that she's been bought time as she looks Niramo's way, "Alright! Keep her safe!" Before Nori actually draws her eye, 'Aaah!! Look at me look at me look at me look at me!!'

The child, caught in her desire to please even in the midst of the battle, obliges. Nori explains though, "Oh! That's what you're doing!"

Yet the scream causes her to pause, just as her shield finishes the job of cracking...

<Sonic Move.>

As it's writhings shatter her shield to smash into the chairs like bolwing pins, it passes through an after-image of the child who seems to be strobing around the room now, flickering in just brief glimpses of her position. Unfortunately, she doesn't see the grip of the wrist at Nori's foot.

Unfortunately she's tunnel visioned partially on her target, so when she reappears behind it, Bardiche on the backswing and ready to attack it... one of the hurtling chairs ricochets right towards her, sending her sprawling against the wall from the sheer force of the thing's strength.

She doesn't scream. Once upon a time, not so long ago, she was taught that screaming only increases one's punishment.

So she doesn't scream.

She does slump though, momentarily stunned.

That's something she's always been allowed to do.

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

Sourisi pauses for a split second to look over Sakurada-sensei and feels her heart eases as there doesn't seem to be any obviously broken bones or blood. With how hard she was hit, the Miraculous User was sure there was going to be something broken, but there seems to be a little luck for them there.

But that luck seems to be turning against them as well. Fate and her barrier seems to be being pushed back, and the Lost Witch's vines are strong but not doing enough to keep it in place. The screams coming from it is almost maddening, an unholy barrage that threatens the mind as much as the ears, and it urges towards Nori despite the binds.

And then the hands and feet make their return, threatening Nori! Nori doesn't have a way to defend herself, and the others are starting to lose ground.

But all isn't lost as Steven relays what he knows about these bizarre beings. "Wait, they're Gems? That means...we can beat them down and try to secure them better!" Not only does that means that these are not undead creations (therefore much less scary), they can be beaten into submission! But first things first. The well-meaning sensei needs to get to safety. All the stories have been about the basement, no hands or feet barging into class rooms and attacking students, so upstairs is still likely safe.

Bracing her feet, Sourisi kicks off the basement floor and leaps over the bizarre collection of limbs towards the open door. "I'll be right back, hold them off as best as you can!" And without looking back, Sourisi starts sprinting as fast as she can down the nearly pitch black hallway and towards the stairs.

It's amazing how quickly a person can move through terrain that once terrifies them once you know the full extend of the horrors that lie in wait, and Sourisi runs up the stairs and back into the main part of Juuban. It's not too far to Sakurada's classroom from the basement, and the Miraculous User kicks open the door with her right leg. Lowering the teacher down in her chair at her desk, Sourisi only hopes that she assumes she saw a rather bizarre dream once she wakes before she rushes back to give aid to her friends.

The return trip is like a paradox, impossibly long and incredibly short all at the same time. Boots pound down the stairs and on cement floor, and tonfa are pulled free of their clasps. Twirling the weapons in her hands, they start to pick up speed and fill the dark hallways with a wail as the air whistles from the movements. But it's not the Gem-like hands making the sounds this time, and Sourisi enters the chair storage room at full speed, rushing the abomination from behind with her weapons. With just how fast they're going, it's going to hurt whatever it hits!

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi has it easy when it comes to her transformation item, to a point; she keeps it in her phone! That makes that part simpler, but the rest of this is far from. She is kind of alarmed that Nori is trying to get its attention, is definitely alarmed by Steven saying they're Gems and they don't ''know'' the details, and she is also alarmed by the way they react to her bindings--but then, of course they wouldn't like it. Yumi focuses more on it for a moment, and that's when she realizes there are others. "Thanks!" she says to Fate, and then suddenly--

"Fate!"

Fate is knocked aside, stunned, and Yumi rushes, getting on the broom she was still carrying and flying across the room faster than she could run to get in front of Fate and between her and the creatures.

"Get BACK!" she shouts at the Gems(?) and lifts up her staff. She traces more runes, but these are of destruction, and each one shakes in the air as she does; when she slams her staff through the shape they make together, each bursts into a cascading beam of green-black energy.

This is about the time that she notices that Sourisi ran Sakurada out and came back. Wow.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Arrows aren't going to be enough, are they? The Wind Knight's lips tighten, and she exchanges bow for sword, her quiver vanishing in nearly the same flash of light that swaps ranged weapon for melee implement. She realizes almost immediately, though, that she isn't going to have enough room for most of her swings ... the sword may be more useful defensively than offensively, even if she does have *some* experience in this kind of confined space.

Never mind that for now. The Wind Knight finally raises her voice, her gaze flitting from one mismatched monster to another, taking stock of where they all are, and preparing a spell - one that most of the group, if not all of it, will recognize: "Winds of Admonishment!" She *did* notice how these monsters didn't like being held back with Fate's barrier; what about a spell that's designed and intended to restrain an enemy's movement?

She might not get all of them, though, considering how spread out they are ...

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

When you mix colors, do they blend well? Foods, make a cuisine together? Everything can combine into something greater than the sum of its parts. In some way or another. In the case of Gems, a beauteous form of Fusion represents this motion. However, something has gone afoul.

These Gems are wrong. And not in the 'you tried your best' wrong. Something has happened to the conglomerates of these poor souls. Steven doesn't know everything yet, Why did this happen? Was this some kind of horrible event? And experiment? A Gem power from someone on the mysterious Homeworld?

Chasing the small fry is annoying, but it eventually finds its way to over at Nori, grasping at her for reasons unknown. "Hang on! I'm coming!" Steven shouts. As flip-flips patter on the floor, Steven finds her being accosting from another side as well. Even as she tangles with the small one. "Hold up!" he says, sliding in, and losing his at in the process (It really doesn't cooperate with his hair).

He deploys a Bubble Shield aroudn the both of them for a moment to keep the larger one at bay. "Do you need help? He says from inside the bubble. From otuside the large corrupted Gem approaches, and the shield should hold long enough. "Yeah!" he calls out to Niramo, a slight inside-a-plastic-playground echo attached to it. "Beat them up enough and they will poof to a Gem!" From there he should be able to contain them.

From there he will ready to brace for impact from the big one coming. "Once you deal with that small one, let me know when, and ill pop the bubble."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

It screams, it screams, it S C R E A M S like an instrument being tormented, and Nori can feel a sensation like when she has hit a really powerful note when playing the bassoon - she stares towards the being, the entity, as legs flail. Arms come towards her, throw things, and she is quick enough to move out of the way

AND HAVE HER LEG GRIPPED.

As she feels that same hot''cold shuddering terror-chill run up and down her spine she bites her lower lip hard enough to taste a prick of blood, wondering if she can stomp or if she can kick, wondering just how strong these grips are and whether or not this is going to go like the legend of the red paper or if it's something worse, something like when you get a whole roast chicken and decide you want a leg and -

AND STEVEN.

The young lad comes in and speaks and Nori looks at him with eyes that are as wide as an owl's. In a sense what he says seems to be giving her permission, and she reaches down to suddenly grasp at the thing as if she were tearing apart a lobster. There is a moment of grim, weirdly silent wrestling followed by a snapping crack and a thrashing, smashing throw away.

Nori pants for breath and Batiste speaks up, his voice low and intense but coherent. "Give her a moment," he tells Steven - as he curls tighter round her neck, "but I think this is just surprise...! I knew the hat idea was awful, if we'd done the bag trick then - be that as it may, Steven, when you are ready!"

Batiste continues as Nori's eyes come back into focus and she breaks out into cold sweat. "They are Gems, like the others...? But they look like invertebrates made from..."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Aivi & Surasshu - Nothing Like You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5RZgpTDAzs

Steven's intuition is correct. Despite the legacy of Gems, the actions of this collective are less than the sum of their parts. How can that be? Gems are ''better,'' together. But this -- this is a sick mirror of unity, together, a union which reacts so much to the binding. Gems aren't ''like'' this, when they're together.

This isn't how it's supposed to be.

In their flailing they send Fate crashing away; do they mean to lash out at her with such power? Would they follow through with such a devastating attack? Questions left unanswered with the swiftness of Lost Ivy's broom -- as beams of dark destruction crash into them, send them staggering to the side.

The Winds of Admonishment pick up, around them. There is that unearthly SCREAM, again. The foot which is two feet are picked up and flung against their big sister; there's a sound like a bag of flour falling open to the ground, but it's hard to see, with the wind whipping about.

The larger creature isn't so easily toppled. Their arms SWING, in the wind, and that force which dazed Fate is coming down -- and now they are not only rushing for the nearest visible life but ''angry,'' will Nori fare as well as Sakurada-sensei did..? They're not just reaching for her, now. With great effort, she will manage to fling the hand which is two hands at her assailant's lack of a face; it does not seem to dissuade either of them, though shortly the hands are caught in the Wind Knight's whirlwind, just as the foot was.

Luckily, she never has to find out what happens, when a hand does not reach out but instead crushes down. Blooming in roseate pink is a bubble, that thing which is so many and so much on the outside, them inside.

There is a reverberating THUD, as the creature -- the Gem? -- throws themselves -- herselves? -- against Steven's bubble, once, twice, three times. That ROAR, that SCREAM, that...

This is the precise moment Sourisi's tonfa strike at her back.

She only has one shoulderblade, but that's only natural, isn't it? The second one is at the end of her arm, like a fist eternally clenched.

One shoulderblade, and two impacts, because at ''that'' speed blunt instruments hit just like bullets. Beleagured by the wind, scoured by elemental magic, again there is a POP -- an unbecoming of the light -- and something falls to the ground.

There, on the ground, in the patchy illumination...

It's a gem in a gem in a gem. No -- a Gem, in a Gem, in a Gem. Three of them, all crushed and fit together at discordant angles, a handful of different shards pushed into the core of a brand-new star, the heart of a brand-new monster. Gentle lavender and shy pink, jutting out of each other at sick angles; jolly yellow and cheerful green, one stabbing into the next. A handful of shades, all forced into a ball with too many spikes.

They intrude on each other, too close, too close, too close. There is something wrong here which sits entirely aside from its unearthly origins. What happens when you mix paint without care for colour theory? What happens when you mix ingredients with no attention paid to taste...?

When Sakurada-sensei wakes she will find herself with a terrible headache and some bizarre memories; she concludes at once that she has been working too long, today, and she had better take these tests home before she falls asleep again. That was a ''weird'' dream.

She, at least, can dismiss it as a dream.

But those Gems were too solid, too extant, too MUCH to be a ghost story.

... at least there won't be any new sightings in the basement, except those the students' minds supply for them in the dark.

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

Whirling tonfa strike solid flesh, shattering from the immense force being wielded against them. The full out assault while it was distracted on Steven's shield overwhelms the bizarre Gem creature, and it appears to reverts back to it's Gem form. Not seeing any more movement, Sourisi lets out a sigh and stands up straight. "Is everyone okay?" The feral Gem was pushing everyone to its' limits, but doesn't seem like anyone is too hurt-wait, Fate looks a bit dazed...

Looking around, Sourisi spots the Gem on the ground and feels like there's a sudden pressure on her heart. She hasn't really looked at the Gems of the Crystal Gems (it seems like it would be rude to stare at something like that), but this Gem on the ground isn't like theirs. It's a bizarre fusion of other Gems, seemingly smashed together without rhyme or reason. If each color is a Gem...

With dawning horror, Sourisi leans back slightly. "...it was groaning in pain the entire time." Steven would be the Gem expert here, but this...this doesn't seem natural.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

The corrupted Gem comes for the shield. It rallies against it, but only impact ripples on the surface come, accompanied by a sound similar to a dodgeball hitting a gymnasium wall. He looks back to the others in the bubble, after hearing a scuffle, as the pair turn against the small fragment of what once was. "It hurts them, but they can die unless their Gem is hurt... but that thing has to be in a lot of pain..."

Once the signal is given, Steven pops the bubble, a violent report shoving the large one back, and together, they join the fray.

In the end, all were dismissed back to their true forms-- or what can stand as true form, this monstrosity they have been made to be. Gem clusters that have little rhyme or reason. It forces a frown on Steven's face. A rare sight.

Dispatched and on the ground, the boy hustles over to each, quickly scooping them up, and forming a bubble around them. They float in suspension within, and Steven breathes easy. "I didn't think I would see some so close to home here. How did they get here?" he questions.

A quick glance around. "...Is she okay?" he asks, about Sakurada. "How about everyone else?"

"I'll need to get these home and put them in the heart chamber."

Guess we all got to the bottoms of this. Thanks for coming guys," he says, and turns toward Nori/La Sirene. "Especially you, I didn't mean to drag you into this. Figured it was just some ruffians causing trouble."

A look toward SOurisi. "Yeah, Garnet thinks they have to at least be in soem discomfort, if not sheer pain. Or some kind of wrongness."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"No, no - no apologies," says Nori to Steven, having found a heavy seat on one of the desks and having gotten out her phone for the sake of light and company. (Batiste did too. He is very clever)

"Sourisi, all of you... thank you." Back to Steven, Nori says soberly, "I thought it would be an escaped crab or something. Or a ghost."

"Like du Grand Banks," Batiste says, which makes him and Nori nod at each other sveral times in bobbing synchronicity.

"Not this," Nori finishes. "Not... a REAL hand, like... THAT. Brrh!!"

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

Sourisi nods her head and sighs softly as Steven bubbles the multi-Gem. "Yeah...i'll leave it to you, Steven-san. You have the Gems, i'll have the butterflies. Oh, and Sensei will be fine! Just...her back is going to be sore, I imagine."

Nori is given a thumbs up, but she motions to Steven, Fuu and Fate. "I just kinda ran around for a while, everyone else did the most work here. I'm just kinda came in at the last second there."

2021-03-03 - Sweet Temptation ~ A Gift

2021-03-04T03:25:40Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: be careful what you wish for, mikoto!!

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Sweet Temptation ~ A Gift'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto wished her Lord Brother would attend her birthday party. He sent her a gift, instead. His well-wishes are a complicated thing, for her; their implications even moreso. How does her Lord Brother intend on harvesting the suffering of Tokyo, now Mikoto is gone..?''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Tokyo Tower
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-03-03 - 2015-11-07
|-
|}
[[Category:Cutscenes]]

<center>A GIFT FOR MY ADORABLE LITTLE SISTER HER MOST PRECIOUS TREASURES VIOLENCE AND VICTORY</center>

<center>... they're scary!! They found me again... I don't want this..!</center>

OST: Yuki Kajiura - Obsidian Lord ~ Sweet Temptation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtgdbO-1nrs

Atop Tokyo Tower, on those rungs too high for the viewing-platforms to reach, a girl takes a piece of cardstock from her pocket. A finger trails its edge, as if she dare not touch the bold strokes of those intricate words. She has not brought them out for a few days now; she knows they'll bring down her sunny mood. They waited, patient: she knows equally she can't avoid them forever. Her brow knits, a hesitant beginning, unsure. "I..."

The box was opened from the inside. The box with the spider. The spider's leg, all bound like a pinky in fate-red string. A gift.

A gift which made her whimper, which made her scream, which abjured all her lesser efforts. A gift which pressed her to summon Miroku, to follow the path prescribed the HiME. Defeating Orphans with her Child... so, why did it feel so different when she did it, compared to Georgia and Tithonus? Her friends were so worried...

But she did it. She ''did it.'' She won, with Miroku, the power her Lord Brother gave her.

Perhaps that triumph really ''is'' his conceptualisation of kindness; the kindness they were shaped in. Not a cruel trick... not a lie. His own type of effort. Is it possible? Mikoto has to wonder. He didn't have the help she did, and they grew up on the same mountain... wasn't she that twisted up, when she first came here?

(Oh, she wants it so ''badly,'' some reason for this offering which is not cruelty layered over cruelty, a twist of the knife hid behind a warm smile. The simple explanation is written in her screams, and she cannot stand to think it, the idea that this demon who is her dear Lord Brother ''only'' wants to hear her wail. She still wants to believe... she can save him.)

The reason why she would afford him such charity is writ plain, on the card.

She was so afraid he was angry. She was so afraid, and paradoxically she is ''more,'' not less, to read such a warm message. It means she is not beneath his notice. He still thinks of her. He still loves her..? Some part of her is relieved and she knows it is the sick part, the part too wounded, but it tightens her throat and it tightens her chest. A glance over her shoulder, before her eyes return to the card. She is afraid of him.

She is not ''just'' afraid of him.

His adorable little sister... oh, it's a familiar construction. She heard words in that fashion so ''often'' when he was pleased with her, warm and affectionate and gentle. She reads it and can hear it in his dulcet voice, and it ''aches.'' It is an audible pain, whimper hummed through her lips. It hurts because she knows he was not ''truly'' gentle, not then and not now - but still she thinks the thought, even as she remembers the terrible feeling of too-cold legs on her skin, all over her, too many and too much. She knows he hurts her, again and again; still she loves him, inexorable. Still that warmth in their heart, to read his praise. Still.

Still, she knows to be wary of his soft words. He can so effortlessly invite her to violence, in much the way she invited violence in her friends and enemies in the world prior, long before she knew ''why.'' The manner of Minagi is temptation, sweet and disarming. She knows, she ''knows,'' how easily his well-wishes could be another deception, redirection, annihilation.

But, "... it's precious..."

A hand presses flat on her undecorated chest as she looks away, as she thinks: is it forgiveness? To name these precious treasures, after they shattered the pendant he gave her. All these things of hers are precious, under his gaze. All these things...

Her stomach knots, to read the words, again. Violence. Victory. Her lip twists in anger, made complex by grief. That's what she ''is'' to him, isn't it? Someone who grasps triumph with bloody hands, the ultimate expression of his strength, delivering scream-bathed success to ''him.''

It's all twisted up and wrong.

"It's not!" She yells, denies - even though she likes to win, even though she is so ''good'' at fighting - oh, her shoulders sag with the volume of her voice as she adds, concedes, "... it's not ''just'' that." She has so many treasures. She loves her friends, and she can make people smile, and she makes friends with every cat she meets, and she can crack an egg to two perfect halves, and she catches fish with her bare hands, and... and... and she is so violent, and in her violence, victory.

She hums through her lips, and shakes her head, because she told Natsuki, didn't she? She doesn't want to do whatever it takes. She doesn't have to, any more. She doesn't have to, so why?

But she keeps coming back to those words, that phrasing. A ''gift.'' Gifts are wonderful things; gifts are the beads at her left braid, the singing fish proudly mounted in the kitchen; a sword-cosy for Miroku at night, a phone-cosy to make it easier to find it in her bag by the texture feel; freshly-grown catnip to make sure all her friends visited, help to look her best. Gifts are delicious food like strawberry-steak daifuku or tuna-filled crepes or a parfait cake. They're a special day, and artwork hung on the wall with all the happinesses she never truly wished to shatter. Nimagai!

But that's what gifts are like in Tokyo. There's... another kind of gift.

She knows the difference, of course. Her friends have helped her too much for her ''not'' to know. The very first gift her Lord Brother gave her, the gift she claimed was so precious for so long, it didn't just lead her to him. Her terrible pendant, a choke-chain about her neck... it bound her to him, so tightly she could not think to disobey. That is ''his'' idea of a gift; that is where she started. Gifts which hurt to receive, which innervate horror... old, old gifts.

That Orphan which terrified her so effortlessly, which made her second-guess what was real, which made her feel so helpless, which drove her to such desperation that she invoked her ever-hidden Child...

... he gave that battle to her. A gift, just for her. Violence... and through Miroku, victory.

It all came from him, alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.

Mikoto pales; at once the artful hand swims in her vision, for a dazed moment, before she shakes her head. "Uh-uuuh," she whines, verbally, to the sword-case beside her. Her eyes scrunch shut, in a blink which lasts too long. "... Nagi told us. People controlling Orphans... turning them to their own purposes. Using them to attack." She gulps, audibly. "... anyone can do that." 'Anyone,' in her metric, only really encompasses Alyssa Searrs; but if it were possible for Alyssa to do that, would it not be ''theoretically'' possible for anyone else?

Her face is quite white, perfectly horrified, as she looks down at the card. "... I left... and Lord Brother didn't have anyone left to fight for him... so now he feels like he's gotta take advantage of Orphans..?"

A hundred fins like a millipede and a face all jaws, and it would have eaten her whole, had Ai not exploded it inside to out. A vast leviathan, fishing-line tongues which morphed so easily to crossbar pincers in the wounding, requiring not only help but the old habits of use and utility. A hundred-hundred things like spiders, ten legs and one eye and a barbless stinger whose burning venom gave way to such nostalgic weariness.

All those recent Orphan attacks... it's her fault...?

... that's the conclusion her guilty mind reaches, immediately, heedless of Kozue's warnings. Their power structure was unusual in Dark Fall, after all; she was the prime executor of his executions. Just her... and Miroku. They didn't have monsters to harvest suffering for them. And he didn't have any other Generals to help him. Did he? ... she can't entirely remember. But she feels sure enough. She doesn't remember any help at all.

(She fails to wonder what he did ''before'' he retrieved her.)

She left, she concludes, and he still needs to torment Tokyo... so he's riled up the Orphans, just like SEARRS did, back then.

"I gotta tell them..." Mikoto says, but the words come hesitant, thumb pressing against her fingers at the edge of the cardstock. She knows her friends need to know what he's resorted to, now she's gone; she can't possibly guess what he's planning, but she remembers the way he smiled, the glowing words he used to describe their pain. They're on different sides, and he believes he's right, too. And with his attitude towards enemies, they might even end up...

Mai was there with her, when they asked Nagi about the Orphans, so long ago. She has the same information about what HiME ought to do to people who exploit their fatebound foes - and Mai couldn't ignore it, back then. The thought of Mai fighting ''him...'' it's too much to bear. '''''No matter WHO won that fight--!!'''''

Mikoto cries out, and fiercely shakes her head, whip-whippy-whip her braids against her cheeks. She reads the words again, as she thinks: maybe she's wrong. Maybe there's some other explanation. There must be some other explanation. Some strange coincidence, or... or...

No, it couldn't be. She can't let herself believe that this was mere ''coincidence.'' His actions are deliberate. She has to believe they're deliberate, not some trick played by her mind, associations drawn where there ought to be none. He meant to do what he did!

But she isn't smart like he is, was never ''raised'' to be smart like he is; this is what she thinks, eyes trailing over those complex kanji written with such a sure hand. So... maybe she's missed something.

Maybe if she just... reads it again...

2021-02-11 - A Day Just For Me

2021-02-14T05:32:18Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: br br brrr, this edit was made for me.................

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: A Day Just For Me'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto shares her excitement about her upcoming birthday with Setsuna -- and when Setsuna notices something else beneath the surface, she asks after Mikoto's feelings, only to find a lingering regret. Demon Lords can be so stubborn, huh?''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Setsuna Higashi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Juuban Public School - Rooftop
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-02-11 - 2015-11-02
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"You've all gathered here to improve your scientific knowledge," says one Terada-sensei, adjusting the cuffs of a very nice suit. "This is an extracurricular activity, but your results will of course be communicated to the appropriate teachers in your schools, so please do your very best. And remember to have fun!"

One Mikoto Minagi, who could ''really use help'' with her science grades, wrinkles her nose as she leans down to examine the beaker. She's not the only one in an Ohtori uniform, though it's a fairly small crowd here today; some Juuban science enthusiasts, and a handful of Sister Schools students who were kindly (or otherwise) directed by their teachers towards something which could help them catch up.

It's not so long ago that Mikoto wouldn't have bothered with optional cross-school activities to try and get some extra credit; she simply wouldn't have seen the point at all. Her future of battle was prescribed to her. But now it's so much more like it ''matters,'' like one day she will have to think about what happens, when she gets older. Like she'll have to think about who she wants to be!

And so, she carefully reaches out to the apparatus... and...

-=-=-

Here are three facts about that grades-bolstering activity:

1) Nothing exploded. (Although Setsuna had to stop Mikoto from making a terrible mistake at one point.) 
2) No one got hurt. (Although Mikoto did spend a little too long being fascinated by the changing colours of a bunsen burner's flame.) 
3) Everything went better than expected. (Although Mikoto definitely didn't rank highest in that activity, or even towards the middle.)

Afterwards she escaped upwards, because she has learned the value of high places from cats; and Juuban's rooftop is more easily-accessible, than Ohtori's. (Which is not to say that Ohtori's rooftops are INACCESSIBLE, at least when one is willing to climb out the window and find footholds in the intricate detailing.) She leans against the chain-link fence, with only an idle thought about how easy it would be to scale it; it's a one-shouldered affair, given the case slung over one shoulder, but Mikoto is used to managing that extra cumbersome weight.

"... we did it!" Is her cheerful summation, to Setsuna, and really it's the most talkative she's ''been'' this afternoon; much of her time in the science lab was spent in ''deep concentration,'' which meant she communicated more in grunts than anything else.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Mm!"

Setsuna Higashi is primarily here to help her friend, though she also has some enthusiasm for the scienec in and of itself. She's one of those awful people who are actually pretty good at school, in part because of her willingness to work at it and in part because she comes from an 'advanced' society. Of course, a lot of things she knows are things that Earth calls different things than what she's used to, so it's not like she can just coast...

But here and now, she is looking to the teacher and then to the beaker, and when Mikoto reaches out she smiles encouragingly and--

-=-=-

Setsuna, too, knows the value of high places, because a dark general is a lot ''like'' a cat. Also because Mikoto is here and went first. Regardless...

Setsuna is not leaning on the fence at the moment but instead taking a seat nearby, setting down her things and turning to look at Mikoto because she remembers at the moment that it's nice to look at people when you're talking to them, she's pretty sure.

"We did," Setsuna answers. She's been mostly quiet herself except when needing to explain something, but she is usually quiet. And here...

"Good work," she says to Mikoto. "I knew that you could."

That she could goes without saying. This time.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Dark Generals ''are'' a lot like cats. Especially the ones under her Lord Brother. (Well, the one. It was just Mikoto fighting out there, right?)

"Thanks," Mikoto chirps, bouncing back against the chain fence, using its innate sproinginess to sway herself back and forth. It's like moving around, but she's staying still! A genius invention. "Setsuna's real good at this! I didn't know half that stuff!"

One notes at this point that Mikoto Minagi is, in fact, in the grade above Setsuna Higashi, and really ought to know half that stuff by now.

But then, that's what activities like this are for!

Bounce, bounce, and that's when TRAGEDY STRIKES: one of Mikoto's braids bounces back a little too much, and gets caught in an errant bit of chain. She squeaks as her movement is interrupted, stilling for a moment as she frees herself from where it's tangled itself up, one eye closing and all the tension of her face pulling to one side like a bed in the middle of being made. But she untangles herself, and cants her head back the other way, cheer returning to her face. "... I'm okay!"

She seems pretty chipper today.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Probably.

"Mm!" Setsuna answers, noticing how much Mikoto is moving around today but not finding that strange, just notable. "And now you do!" she answers brightly, spending little time on her own expertise because--well. She does know this stuff, and even she's not as good at it as some of her friends are. Ami or Honoka, for instance...

But they aren't here! And... Well. Mikoto maybe should know it but she can learn at her own pace! Part of the nice part of Earth schools is that it's okay to have some differences here and there, too.

Bounce bounce--Mikoto squeaks and Setsuna tilts her head, watching her free herself. She... doesn't move much, this is not a terrible crisis. Instead she waits, and then smiles when Mikoto is free. "Great," she answers.

Setsuna looks up to the sky for a moment. She has friend. She has open sky. It is... a nice day so far.

"I like Juuban's roof," she comments, after a little while. It doesn't appear she's going anywhere with that though.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Now she does..! She hums cheerful affirmation, at that. Mikoto might be playing catch-up, but that's okay, because it's not like the fate of the world or her wellbeing is hanging on her ability to distinguish covalent and ionic bonds.

At least she's pretty good at the health questions in physical education. Mikoto know an awful lot about how the human body can be damaged. Little-known fact: she's ''also'' good at massages.

One might think that Mikoto, having learned that playing with the chain-link fence results in injury, would stop messing with the fence. This is incorrect. Mikoto turns and laces her fingers into it, leaning back and regarding Setsuna and her world all upside-down as her neck exposes itself to the sky and her braids dangle down to earth. "Yup!" She declares, smiling. "This place is great!"

''Hup'' she pulls herself upright again, and looks up, up, up. Her fingers tighten in the chain-link, and loosen, experimentally. Her head cants just ''so.'' She shrugs at the weight on her shoulders, letting Miroku's case drop to the ground and rest against the fence, and her hands settle a little higher.

All a sudden, Mikoto springs upwards, hefting herself up from link to link, the toes of her sensible Ohtori flats seeking those little ridges in the chain as her arms handle the heavy lifting. Up she goes, until she's three metres in the air; she swings herself around, and perches precariously on the top of the fence, legs swinging against it.

She looks ''terribly'' pleased with herself.

She doesn't actually say anything about it for a while, though; having found a perch, it seems Mikoto is happy to look up to the sky, just like Setsuna. Eventually, though, her attention comes back down to earth, and for once she's looking down rather than up at her friend.

"Hey, Setsuna," Mikoto wonders, all out of the blue, "birthdays are weird, right..?"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

She has time to catch up! It's fine. And she has the chance!

Setsuna does not really expect Mikoto to stop playing with the fence by any particular means. It's just a thing that is going to happen, and Setsuna keeps watching the sky for a little longer as her friend climbs up and around the chain-links. The roof...

"Mm!" Setsuna acknowledges Mikoto's declaration, and then glances at her once she springs up, tilting her head to consider her for a moment. It's a precarious perch indeed, but...

Well, she's fine. It's just what she does. Setsuna goes back to watching the sky for a while. Until...

"?" Setsuna reacts at first, tilting her head at the question and remembering again to look at her when she considers an answer. 'Up' is a different direction for her, but at least she's not looking into the sun to see her. Instead...

"Mm," the girl from Labyrinth answers, and considers. "Mm," she agrees. "Not ''bad'' weird, I don't think. But a little weird. Or maybe we're weird..." 'We', of course. "Well they're nice, I guess."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The fence rattles, each time Mikoto's heels impact it, like chimes or bells or chains. Her fingers have locked around the upper limits of the fence to keep her up there and not falling down the other side; luckily, she's too light to send it all crashing down, even if she's heavier than one might initially give her credit for. No doubt this fence was built to withstand all the ravages of teenagers, after all.

(Even if most students know better than to pull something like that. Luckily, they're alone on the roof, so there's no one here to tell on her. Well, someone could look up and see her from the ground, but as Setsuna has settled on, looking ''up'' isn't generally necessary in a student's life.)

"They look nice," Mikoto says, "but I never had one before. It would have been a distraction... I guess." The corner of her lip scrunches at that guesswork, nose all a-wrinkle. Her expression brightens, a moment later. "But now I know mine's almost here! So, I'm really happy!"

Her head flops to the side, braids dangling as her brow rises in thought. "But," she adds, "I feel weird, too." That's not precisely the word for it, but Mikoto doesn't really ''have'' a precise word for it.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Rattle rattle. Clink clink. The little noises that are part of life on Earth, little digressions from whatever someone's task might've been, if they even have one. Voices far off; Mikoto moving around. Sure, most students know better than to pull this particular kind of thing, but they're always pulling something!!

Setsuna is used to these little noises but still notices them now and then. She doesn't comment; instead she focuses on Mikoto's guesswork. "Yes, I suppose it would've been," Setsuna agrees with the guesswork. In Labyrinth it would've been a distraction, but mostly it just wasn't important; it being important is the weird part. Nice, though.

"Oh, is it? Congratulations," Setsuna says, reasonably sure that that's the right thing to say. But the weird aprt...

A normal person might sympathize, might draw a connection between their feelings here because Setsuna herself would feel weird, too. But Setsuna is not quite that, doesn't quite think that way first. It sort of goes without saying.

"Yes," she says first. Acknowledging her feeling. But then, "..."

"...Do you know why?" she says. "Even if you don't, I'd... like, to hear about it."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto, who isn't really sure what the right thing to say is, feels ''entirely confident'' it's the right thing to say. Why ''wouldn't'' it be a congratulatory matter?

Her head rights itself from its extreme tilt at the sound of what Setsuna would like to hear, which, itself, might be a head-tilting gesture now she's tilted her head as far it can tilt. "Umm," is the noise she makes, hummed through her lips, kick-kickie-kick as her gaze goes up to the sky.

That's not so much a grunt of dismissal as much as it is a thoughtful sound; perhaps Mikoto doesn't, entirely, know how she feels. She has to think about it. And she does!

"I guess... growing up, I was supposed to focus on my Lord Brother," Mikoto says, after a silence which is surely not long enough for either of ''them'' to find it awkward. "But birthday parties are all about, celebrating someone, right..? So it makes sense we never had them... since they're supposed to be special." Every day was about celebrating him, for Mikoto; she couldn't pay attention to herself.

But, well, that's why she needs to practice. Just like make-up classes.

"But..."

Her weight redistributes as a matter of long practice, but it still looks precarious as she lifts one hand from the fence, reaching up to brush one of those beleaguered braids behind her ear. "But," she goes on, after that halt in dialogue, "I wouldn't know it was coming up if Lord Brother hadn't told me, back then. He didn't have to... but he praised me, and... and even though he was so important... it must mean I'm special to him too, right..?" Her voice grows in pensiveness with her expression, fingers lingering at her cheek.

"He gave me a day just for me..." It's a complicated feeling woven through those words; for all he's hurt her terribly, still there were those windows into someone more complex than a tyrant. Her hand drops, to clasp at her heart; her gaze drops from the sky, too. "Maybe... part of me wanted my Lord Brother to be here, like he said. I'm scared of seeing him again, but... stuff like that... it makes me feel like I could reach him."

Her shoulder shrugs, as her hand returns to the chain-link, and her gaze finds Setsuna again. "... but I feel a little shamed of that, too. If I could celebrate with Lord Brother... I guess it would've meant I never chose to get away, back then. And that's not what I want." She shakes her head, demonstratively. "I want to have a big party! And sing happy birthday, and eat cake, and stuff like that! I want to spend it with my friends! And, I can decide what seventeen is to me!"

She sinks back on her arms, with a crooked smile. "But... I can't forget him, I guess." Her shoulders shrug up, and shrug down, with a little jerk of her head as if to say, 'feelings are hard.' She's explained as well as she can, it seems.

(Mikoto doesn't really feel the need to explain that statement fully; she takes it for granted that Setsuna knows what it's like, having someone who used to control so much in her life still take up space in her head.)

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna takes Mikoto's gesture for its meaning; this one she knows, has learned from observing Mikoto in particular that it is one she does too, and so she waits for her to think out what she's going to think out. Kick kickie kick...

Nah, Setsuna doesn't find the silence awkward. She waits patiently for Mikoto to organize her thoughts, as she would want someone to do for her. So when Mikoto thinks about it, and finally speaks up...

Setsuna reacts in silence at first; it makes sense, the logic, but she's thinking about it and forgets to say as much herself. All about celebrating someone... That does make sense. Lord Moebius doesn't have a birthday, after all.

It does look precarious. Setsuna trusts Mikoto's balance, and focuses more on that. On... Hm. Special...

"It's hard," Setsuna agrees at length. "...They expect you to, I think. To just forget, unlearn... years of what you've known. Not everybody--and even the ones that do will try to understand. But... It's not that easy."

"I don't know what he meant or intended by telling you. Maybe it does mean that. But Mobius-sama gave me a special tool to use, and... still ordered what he did."

"But it's hard. It's not what you want, but you can't just forget."

"...I think it's okay," she says. "Not to forget. To wonder a little."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto says a lot, by Mikoto's standards; Setsuna says a lot, too, and perhaps it can even be measured with the same yardstick. Not at first, but in time --

What they expect --

Here Mikoto wonders if it's really what they expect, or what she expects them to expect; regardless she cannot deny it is ''easier'' to share some emotions about what happened with friends like Eri than others. Her familial anger and betrayal finds a home amongst the girls who rescued her, but...

... those aren't the only things she feels. It's not that easy. In the end, Mikoto wasn't simple in the slightest.

Her gaze drops away, as Setsuna invokes Mobius-sama's actions; she's never been able to argue on the awful things the masters did, and these days can even appreciate why she couldn't bring herself to. It is far too eminently believable -- even when only her dreams knew -- that someone could be THAT cruel, THAT callous.

She hums acknowledgement through her lips; she's still listening.

Her legs have stilled against the fence, though, and in her arm-braced silence she is not ''unlike'' a tower stretching up into Tokyo. Still decorated in obsidian; still calling them in.

"I don't know how to feel about it," Mikoto says, and she's responding to Setsuna devastatingly directly, but perhaps not the way it sounds.

Did he know he asked too much for her, or did she simply fail to meet his expectations..?

She moves on, as her heels tap against the fence again. "Yeah," her attention comes back to Setsuna, too. "Sometimes I think... I'd like to introduce him to everyone, so Lord Brother could see everyone was actually really nice. And we could have a party together... and... and if he'd just talk to us, we could figure out how to fix what was wrong!" Her fingers tighten, in the fence, her shoulders hunching with her frown.

She still thinks of that thing which weighed on him so much that he had Mikoto break herself upon the rocks as a ''problem'' he's trying to fix. All for Japan, and the peace of the world. Perhaps the alternative is too horrifying to contemplate.

"But he thinks everyone here's an enemy, so he won't even come to my birthday party," Mikoto huffs, finally bending her arms and springing down to earth, landing in a crouch with hands to ground to absorb the impact of three metres of airtime. "I guess that's why everyone expects that, huh? 'Cause - 'cause they can be so - so --"

Up she springs, brushing off her skirt. (There's another little tear at the hem, but that's normal, for anything which dangles around Mikoto's person.) "''Stubborn!''" She decides on, finally, and it's a telling word she chooses.

Stubbornness is not, exclusively, a negative trait. If Mikoto's friends weren't so stubborn in the face of her own efforts, she'd still be suffering, after all.

But neither is it entirely ''positive.''

Finally Mikoto grunts, head jerking to the side to allieviate a crick, a hand rubbing at her neck. (Those might not happen so much if she didn't use her head so expressively, but never mind that.) "But even if Lord Brother did that for me," she decides, finally, "now it's my day. So I'm not gonna be sad. I finally get to do something normal like this! I'm really excited!"

She is, too; by the time her head rights again, she's smiling anew.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna can't be sure, of course. She doesn't really know what everyone is thinking, as a rule, isn't very good at guessing... But that's something she thinks she's picked up, that most people don't easily understand this in particular.

Setsuna has trouble believing in cruelty even when she's experienced it. From Mobius, at least. She thinks about it sometimes. ..But here, now...

A tower.

How to feel about it. It is terribly direct, in its way. But Setsuna doesn't really know, either. Which was it? Some days, other days...

"Yes," Setsuna says. "That would be nice..." If it were possible. If it were what would happen. But they both know it's not. Instead...

"Yes," Setsuna agrees on stubbornness. She even probably knows who Mikoto directs it at. No, she must. "I wish... we could just talk to them," she says instead. "Show them..."

Setsuna Higashi is the last person to get onto Mikoto for having complicated feelings here. Perhaps the very last. "But," she says.

"...I think that's great," Setsuna says, turning to look up at Mikoto again with a small smile of her own. It does not dispel all the worries she's considering, either, but Mikoto has made a Choice, and Setsuna recognizes that. Recognizes what it is. That it's important.

"It belongs to you," Setsuna says. "...It's your own."

And with another little smile, "I hope I can do something for your birthday, too!"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's a strange double consciousness, isn't it? Perhaps there's a word for that.

Mikoto isn't very good at words, though, so never mind that.

She hums affirmation, with a nod, as Setsuna expresses her own wishes; it seems the two of them are of one mind, even if they are, perhaps, thinking of different Lords on high. If only they could show them -- if only she could show him, the reason ''why'' they believe so steadfastly in their actions.

It's not just because they're the heroes of their own story, is it? How can it be a matter of perspective when they changed hers so much for the better..?

But Mikoto straightens up, and Mikoto makes a decision, and Setsuna hears that, too.

Refocusing one's attention doesn't mean the bad things go away; it's all about looking on the bright side, instead. It means Mikoto can smile, because Setsuna praises her resolve as positive, reinforces her hard-won belief.

It means a lot to hear it's hers, coming from Setsuna, and her smile is not so small any more; now it is broad and beaming, as if she means to give the sun a run for its money.

"Yup!" She declares, happily, springing forward to grab Setsuna's hand with hers; that's something she can do, now, and her world is better for it. "'Cause Setsuna's my friend, too!"

Struck by inspiration, she declares: "... let's go sneak into the theme park at night! We can find where they keep the puffy candy and go climb the big wheel!!"

This, Mikoto thinks, is a perfect way to celebrate with someone who tends to be as quiet and thoughtful as Setsuna.

Also trespassing is a crime but never mind that either.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Maybe. Setsuna doesn't know it either.

But this, Setsuna knows; that Mikoto understads something that she can't really explain, that she doesn't have the words to impart to someone who doesn't. It's a wish that is no less dear because of it.

A hard-won belief is something worth protecting, for Setsuna. She smiles back at her. She feels the same--that focusing on the one thing doesn't mean pretending the other things are gone. And while maybe it would be easier if those other things were gone... It's not that simple, either.

So Setsuna enjoys being able to see something of just Mikoto's, when once she didn't get to have anything herself. Setsuna would once have had to recoil from how bright that smile is, but not now. She beams back.

"Yes," she agrees happily to being Mikoto's friend, and then she springs forward and--Ah? Setsuna blinks owlishly as Mikoto springs forward, surprised but not startled; she remains otherwise utterly calm in body language after all. But her friend...

"Oh!" Setsuna answers. She remembers well a time they had there before...

And this is a much better idea.

"Yes," Setsuna answers back. It's easier than going to a large gathering for her, too. "We'll find it!!"

...To Setsuna, it sounds like a lovely way to celebrate her friend.

2021-02-11 - A Day Just For Me

2021-02-14T05:24:59Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: we won the ooc/ic date minigame. please deliver our prizes posthaste

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: A Day Just For Me'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto shares her excitement about her upcoming birthday with Setsuna -- and when Setsuna notices something else beneath the surface, she asks after Mikoto's feelings, only to find a lingering regret. Demon Lords can be so stubborn, huh?''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Setsuna Higashi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Juuban Public School - Rooftop
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2021-02-11 - 2015-11-02
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"You've all gathered here to improve your scientific knowledge," says one Terada-sensei, adjusting the cuffs of a very nice suit. "This is an extracurricular activity, but your results will of course be communicated to the appropriate teachers in your schools, so please do your very best. And remember to have fun!"

One Mikoto Minagi, who could ''really use help'' with her science grades, wrinkles her nose as she leans down to examine the beaker. She's not the only one in an Ohtori uniform, though it's a fairly small crowd here today; some Juuban science enthusiasts, and a handful of Sister Schools students who were kindly (or otherwise) directed by their teachers towards something which could help them catch up.

It's not so long ago that Mikoto wouldn't have bothered with optional cross-school activities to try and get some extra credit; she simply wouldn't have seen the point at all. Her future of battle was prescribed to her. But now it's so much more like it ''matters,'' like one day she will have to think about what happens, when she gets older. Like she'll have to think about who she wants to be!

And so, she carefully reaches out to the apparatus... and...

-=-=-

Here are three facts about that grades-bolstering activity:

1) Nothing exploded. (Although Setsuna had to stop Mikoto from making a terrible mistake at one point.)
2) No one got hurt. (Although Mikoto did spend a little too long being fascinated by the changing colours of a bunsen burner's flame.)
3) Everything went better than expected. (Although Mikoto definitely didn't rank highest in that activity, or even towards the middle.)

Afterwards she escaped upwards, because she has learned the value of high places from cats; and Juuban's rooftop is more easily-accessible, than Ohtori's. (Which is not to say that Ohtori's rooftops are INACCESSIBLE, at least when one is willing to climb out the window and find footholds in the intricate detailing.) She leans against the chain-link fence, with only an idle thought about how easy it would be to scale it; it's a one-shouldered affair, given the case slung over one shoulder, but Mikoto is used to managing that extra cumbersome weight.

"... we did it!" Is her cheerful summation, to Setsuna, and really it's the most talkative she's ''been'' this afternoon; much of her time in the science lab was spent in ''deep concentration,'' which meant she communicated more in grunts than anything else.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Mm!"

Setsuna Higashi is primarily here to help her friend, though she also has some enthusiasm for the scienec in and of itself. She's one of those awful people who are actually pretty good at school, in part because of her willingness to work at it and in part because she comes from an 'advanced' society. Of course, a lot of things she knows are things that Earth calls different things than what she's used to, so it's not like she can just coast...

But here and now, she is looking to the teacher and then to the beaker, and when Mikoto reaches out she smiles encouragingly and--

-=-=-

Setsuna, too, knows the value of high places, because a dark general is a lot ''like'' a cat. Also because Mikoto is here and went first. Regardless...

Setsuna is not leaning on the fence at the moment but instead taking a seat nearby, setting down her things and turning to look at Mikoto because she remembers at the moment that it's nice to look at people when you're talking to them, she's pretty sure.

"We did," Setsuna answers. She's been mostly quiet herself except when needing to explain something, but she is usually quiet. And here...

"Good work," she says to Mikoto. "I knew that you could."

That she could goes without saying. This time.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Dark Generals ''are'' a lot like cats. Especially the ones under her Lord Brother. (Well, the one. It was just Mikoto fighting out there, right?)

"Thanks," Mikoto chirps, bouncing back against the chain fence, using its innate sproinginess to sway herself back and forth. It's like moving around, but she's staying still! A genius invention. "Setsuna's real good at this! I didn't know half that stuff!"

One notes at this point that Mikoto Minagi is, in fact, in the grade above Setsuna Higashi, and really ought to know half that stuff by now.

But then, that's what activities like this are for!

Bounce, bounce, and that's when TRAGEDY STRIKES: one of Mikoto's braids bounces back a little too much, and gets caught in an errant bit of chain. She squeaks as her movement is interrupted, stilling for a moment as she frees herself from where it's tangled itself up, one eye closing and all the tension of her face pulling to one side like a bed in the middle of being made. But she untangles herself, and cants her head back the other way, cheer returning to her face. "... I'm okay!"

She seems pretty chipper today.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Probably.

"Mm!" Setsuna answers, noticing how much Mikoto is moving around today but not finding that strange, just notable. "And now you do!" she answers brightly, spending little time on her own expertise because--well. She does know this stuff, and even she's not as good at it as some of her friends are. Ami or Honoka, for instance...

But they aren't here! And... Well. Mikoto maybe should know it but she can learn at her own pace! Part of the nice part of Earth schools is that it's okay to have some differences here and there, too.

Bounce bounce--Mikoto squeaks and Setsuna tilts her head, watching her free herself. She... doesn't move much, this is not a terrible crisis. Instead she waits, and then smiles when Mikoto is free. "Great," she answers.

Setsuna looks up to the sky for a moment. She has friend. She has open sky. It is... a nice day so far.

"I like Juuban's roof," she comments, after a little while. It doesn't appear she's going anywhere with that though.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Now she does..! She hums cheerful affirmation, at that. Mikoto might be playing catch-up, but that's okay, because it's not like the fate of the world or her wellbeing is hanging on her ability to distinguish covalent and ionic bonds.

At least she's pretty good at the health questions in physical education. Mikoto know an awful lot about how the human body can be damaged. Little-known fact: she's ''also'' good at massages.

One might think that Mikoto, having learned that playing with the chain-link fence results in injury, would stop messing with the fence. This is incorrect. Mikoto turns and laces her fingers into it, leaning back and regarding Setsuna and her world all upside-down as her neck exposes itself to the sky and her braids dangle down to earth. "Yup!" She declares, smiling. "This place is great!"

''Hup'' she pulls herself upright again, and looks up, up, up. Her fingers tighten in the chain-link, and loosen, experimentally. Her head cants just ''so.'' She shrugs at the weight on her shoulders, letting Miroku's case drop to the ground and rest against the fence, and her hands settle a little higher.

All a sudden, Mikoto springs upwards, hefting herself up from link to link, the toes of her sensible Ohtori flats seeking those little ridges in the chain as her arms handle the heavy lifting. Up she goes, until she's three metres in the air; she swings herself around, and perches precariously on the top of the fence, legs swinging against it.

She looks ''terribly'' pleased with herself.

She doesn't actually say anything about it for a while, though; having found a perch, it seems Mikoto is happy to look up to the sky, just like Setsuna. Eventually, though, her attention comes back down to earth, and for once she's looking down rather than up at her friend.

"Hey, Setsuna," Mikoto wonders, all out of the blue, "birthdays are weird, right..?"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

She has time to catch up! It's fine. And she has the chance!

Setsuna does not really expect Mikoto to stop playing with the fence by any particular means. It's just a thing that is going to happen, and Setsuna keeps watching the sky for a little longer as her friend climbs up and around the chain-links. The roof...

"Mm!" Setsuna acknowledges Mikoto's declaration, and then glances at her once she springs up, tilting her head to consider her for a moment. It's a precarious perch indeed, but...

Well, she's fine. It's just what she does. Setsuna goes back to watching the sky for a while. Until...

"?" Setsuna reacts at first, tilting her head at the question and remembering again to look at her when she considers an answer. 'Up' is a different direction for her, but at least she's not looking into the sun to see her. Instead...

"Mm," the girl from Labyrinth answers, and considers. "Mm," she agrees. "Not ''bad'' weird, I don't think. But a little weird. Or maybe we're weird..." 'We', of course. "Well they're nice, I guess."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The fence rattles, each time Mikoto's heels impact it, like chimes or bells or chains. Her fingers have locked around the upper limits of the fence to keep her up there and not falling down the other side; luckily, she's too light to send it all crashing down, even if she's heavier than one might initially give her credit for. No doubt this fence was built to withstand all the ravages of teenagers, after all.

(Even if most students know better than to pull something like that. Luckily, they're alone on the roof, so there's no one here to tell on her. Well, someone could look up and see her from the ground, but as Setsuna has settled on, looking ''up'' isn't generally necessary in a student's life.)

"They look nice," Mikoto says, "but I never had one before. It would have been a distraction... I guess." The corner of her lip scrunches at that guesswork, nose all a-wrinkle. Her expression brightens, a moment later. "But now I know mine's almost here! So, I'm really happy!"

Her head flops to the side, braids dangling as her brow rises in thought. "But," she adds, "I feel weird, too." That's not precisely the word for it, but Mikoto doesn't really ''have'' a precise word for it.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Rattle rattle. Clink clink. The little noises that are part of life on Earth, little digressions from whatever someone's task might've been, if they even have one. Voices far off; Mikoto moving around. Sure, most students know better than to pull this particular kind of thing, but they're always pulling something!!

Setsuna is used to these little noises but still notices them now and then. She doesn't comment; instead she focuses on Mikoto's guesswork. "Yes, I suppose it would've been," Setsuna agrees with the guesswork. In Labyrinth it would've been a distraction, but mostly it just wasn't important; it being important is the weird part. Nice, though.

"Oh, is it? Congratulations," Setsuna says, reasonably sure that that's the right thing to say. But the weird aprt...

A normal person might sympathize, might draw a connection between their feelings here because Setsuna herself would feel weird, too. But Setsuna is not quite that, doesn't quite think that way first. It sort of goes without saying.

"Yes," she says first. Acknowledging her feeling. But then, "..."

"...Do you know why?" she says. "Even if you don't, I'd... like, to hear about it."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto, who isn't really sure what the right thing to say is, feels ''entirely confident'' it's the right thing to say. Why ''wouldn't'' it be a congratulatory matter?

Her head rights itself from its extreme tilt at the sound of what Setsuna would like to hear, which, itself, might be a head-tilting gesture now she's tilted her head as far it can tilt. "Umm," is the noise she makes, hummed through her lips, kick-kickie-kick as her gaze goes up to the sky.

That's not so much a grunt of dismissal as much as it is a thoughtful sound; perhaps Mikoto doesn't, entirely, know how she feels. She has to think about it. And she does!

"I guess... growing up, I was supposed to focus on my Lord Brother," Mikoto says, after a silence which is surely not long enough for either of ''them'' to find it awkward. "But birthday parties are all about, celebrating someone, right..? So it makes sense we never had them... since they're supposed to be special." Every day was about celebrating him, for Mikoto; she couldn't pay attention to herself.

But, well, that's why she needs to practice. Just like make-up classes.

"But..."

Her weight redistributes as a matter of long practice, but it still looks precarious as she lifts one hand from the fence, reaching up to brush one of those beleaguered braids behind her ear. "But," she goes on, after that halt in dialogue, "I wouldn't know it was coming up if Lord Brother hadn't told me, back then. He didn't have to... but he praised me, and... and even though he was so important... it must mean I'm special to him too, right..?" Her voice grows in pensiveness with her expression, fingers lingering at her cheek.

"He gave me a day just for me..." It's a complicated feeling woven through those words; for all he's hurt her terribly, still there were those windows into someone more complex than a tyrant. Her hand drops, to clasp at her heart; her gaze drops from the sky, too. "Maybe... part of me wanted my Lord Brother to be here, like he said. I'm scared of seeing him again, but... stuff like that... it makes me feel like I could reach him."

Her shoulder shrugs, as her hand returns to the chain-link, and her gaze finds Setsuna again. "... but I feel a little shamed of that, too. If I could celebrate with Lord Brother... I guess it would've meant I never chose to get away, back then. And that's not what I want." She shakes her head, demonstratively. "I want to have a big party! And sing happy birthday, and eat cake, and stuff like that! I want to spend it with my friends! And, I can decide what seventeen is to me!"

She sinks back on her arms, with a crooked smile. "But... I can't forget him, I guess." Her shoulders shrug up, and shrug down, with a little jerk of her head as if to say, 'feelings are hard.' She's explained as well as she can, it seems.

(Mikoto doesn't really feel the need to explain that statement fully; she takes it for granted that Setsuna knows what it's like, having someone who used to control so much in her life still take up space in her head.)

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna takes Mikoto's gesture for its meaning; this one she knows, has learned from observing Mikoto in particular that it is one she does too, and so she waits for her to think out what she's going to think out. Kick kickie kick...

Nah, Setsuna doesn't find the silence awkward. She waits patiently for Mikoto to organize her thoughts, as she would want someone to do for her. So when Mikoto thinks about it, and finally speaks up...

Setsuna reacts in silence at first; it makes sense, the logic, but she's thinking about it and forgets to say as much herself. All about celebrating someone... That does make sense. Lord Moebius doesn't have a birthday, after all.

It does look precarious. Setsuna trusts Mikoto's balance, and focuses more on that. On... Hm. Special...

"It's hard," Setsuna agrees at length. "...They expect you to, I think. To just forget, unlearn... years of what you've known. Not everybody--and even the ones that do will try to understand. But... It's not that easy."

"I don't know what he meant or intended by telling you. Maybe it does mean that. But Mobius-sama gave me a special tool to use, and... still ordered what he did."

"But it's hard. It's not what you want, but you can't just forget."

"...I think it's okay," she says. "Not to forget. To wonder a little."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto says a lot, by Mikoto's standards; Setsuna says a lot, too, and perhaps it can even be measured with the same yardstick. Not at first, but in time --

What they expect --

Here Mikoto wonders if it's really what they expect, or what she expects them to expect; regardless she cannot deny it is ''easier'' to share some emotions about what happened with friends like Eri than others. Her familial anger and betrayal finds a home amongst the girls who rescued her, but...

... those aren't the only things she feels. It's not that easy. In the end, Mikoto wasn't simple in the slightest.

Her gaze drops away, as Setsuna invokes Mobius-sama's actions; she's never been able to argue on the awful things the masters did, and these days can even appreciate why she couldn't bring herself to. It is far too eminently believable -- even when only her dreams knew -- that someone could be THAT cruel, THAT callous.

She hums acknowledgement through her lips; she's still listening.

Her legs have stilled against the fence, though, and in her arm-braced silence she is not ''unlike'' a tower stretching up into Tokyo. Still decorated in obsidian; still calling them in.

"I don't know how to feel about it," Mikoto says, and she's responding to Setsuna devastatingly directly, but perhaps not the way it sounds.

Did he know he asked too much for her, or did she simply fail to meet his expectations..?

She moves on, as her heels tap against the fence again. "Yeah," her attention comes back to Setsuna, too. "Sometimes I think... I'd like to introduce him to everyone, so Lord Brother could see everyone was actually really nice. And we could have a party together... and... and if he'd just talk to us, we could figure out how to fix what was wrong!" Her fingers tighten, in the fence, her shoulders hunching with her frown.

She still thinks of that thing which weighed on him so much that he had Mikoto break herself upon the rocks as a ''problem'' he's trying to fix. All for Japan, and the peace of the world. Perhaps the alternative is too horrifying to contemplate.

"But he thinks everyone here's an enemy, so he won't even come to my birthday party," Mikoto huffs, finally bending her arms and springing down to earth, landing in a crouch with hands to ground to absorb the impact of three metres of airtime. "I guess that's why everyone expects that, huh? 'Cause - 'cause they can be so - so --"

Up she springs, brushing off her skirt. (There's another little tear at the hem, but that's normal, for anything which dangles around Mikoto's person.) "''Stubborn!''" She decides on, finally, and it's a telling word she chooses.

Stubbornness is not, exclusively, a negative trait. If Mikoto's friends weren't so stubborn in the face of her own efforts, she'd still be suffering, after all.

But neither is it entirely ''positive.''

Finally Mikoto grunts, head jerking to the side to allieviate a crick, a hand rubbing at her neck. (Those might not happen so much if she didn't use her head so expressively, but never mind that.) "But even if Lord Brother did that for me," she decides, finally, "now it's my day. So I'm not gonna be sad. I finally get to do something normal like this! I'm really excited!"

She is, too; by the time her head rights again, she's smiling anew.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Setsuna can't be sure, of course. She doesn't really know what everyone is thinking, as a rule, isn't very good at guessing... But that's something she thinks she's picked up, that most people don't easily understand this in particular.

Setsuna has trouble believing in cruelty even when she's experienced it. From Mobius, at least. She thinks about it sometimes. ..But here, now...

A tower.

How to feel about it. It is terribly direct, in its way. But Setsuna doesn't really know, either. Which was it? Some days, other days...

"Yes," Setsuna says. "That would be nice..." If it were possible. If it were what would happen. But they both know it's not. Instead...

"Yes," Setsuna agrees on stubbornness. She even probably knows who Mikoto directs it at. No, she must. "I wish... we could just talk to them," she says instead. "Show them..."

Setsuna Higashi is the last person to get onto Mikoto for having complicated feelings here. Perhaps the very last. "But," she says.

"...I think that's great," Setsuna says, turning to look up at Mikoto again with a small smile of her own. It does not dispel all the worries she's considering, either, but Mikoto has made a Choice, and Setsuna recognizes that. Recognizes what it is. That it's important.

"It belongs to you," Setsuna says. "...It's your own."

And with another little smile, "I hope I can do something for your birthday, too!"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's a strange double consciousness, isn't it? Perhaps there's a word for that.

Mikoto isn't very good at words, though, so never mind that.

She hums affirmation, with a nod, as Setsuna expresses her own wishes; it seems the two of them are of one mind, even if they are, perhaps, thinking of different Lords on high. If only they could show them -- if only she could show him, the reason ''why'' they believe so steadfastly in their actions.

It's not just because they're the heroes of their own story, is it? How can it be a matter of perspective when they changed hers so much for the better..?

But Mikoto straightens up, and Mikoto makes a decision, and Setsuna hears that, too.

Refocusing one's attention doesn't mean the bad things go away; it's all about looking on the bright side, instead. It means Mikoto can smile, because Setsuna praises her resolve as positive, reinforces her hard-won belief.

It means a lot to hear it's hers, coming from Setsuna, and her smile is not so small any more; now it is broad and beaming, as if she means to give the sun a run for its money.

"Yup!" She declares, happily, springing forward to grab Setsuna's hand with hers; that's something she can do, now, and her world is better for it. "'Cause Setsuna's my friend, too!"

Struck by inspiration, she declares: "... let's go sneak into the theme park at night! We can find where they keep the puffy candy and go climb the big wheel!!"

This, Mikoto thinks, is a perfect way to celebrate with someone who tends to be as quiet and thoughtful as Setsuna.

Also trespassing is a crime but never mind that either.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Maybe. Setsuna doesn't know it either.

But this, Setsuna knows; that Mikoto understads something that she can't really explain, that she doesn't have the words to impart to someone who doesn't. It's a wish that is no less dear because of it.

A hard-won belief is something worth protecting, for Setsuna. She smiles back at her. She feels the same--that focusing on the one thing doesn't mean pretending the other things are gone. And while maybe it would be easier if those other things were gone... It's not that simple, either.

So Setsuna enjoys being able to see something of just Mikoto's, when once she didn't get to have anything herself. Setsuna would once have had to recoil from how bright that smile is, but not now. She beams back.

"Yes," she agrees happily to being Mikoto's friend, and then she springs forward and--Ah? Setsuna blinks owlishly as Mikoto springs forward, surprised but not startled; she remains otherwise utterly calm in body language after all. But her friend...

"Oh!" Setsuna answers. She remembers well a time they had there before...

And this is a much better idea.

"Yes," Setsuna answers back. It's easier than going to a large gathering for her, too. "We'll find it!!"

...To Setsuna, it sounds like a lovely way to celebrate her friend.

2020-12-30 - Minagi, Minagi, Burning Bright

2021-01-03T13:41:48Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: mikoto minagi is trying her best

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Minagi, Minagi, Burning Bright'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Girls practice all kinds of braveries in front of their bathroom mirrors. Mikoto has looked into eyes like hers before. Perhaps - with effort - she can also become brave.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy - Dormitories
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2020-12-30 - 2015-10-21
|-
|}
[[Category:Cutscenes]]

''(With thanks to Mai for her cameo.)''

Mikoto Minagi stands in front of the bathroom mirror which she and Mai Tokiha share, all damp from the day's bath. Her braids are heavy as they brush past her white cat-faced pyjamas. She's turned the light off already, but she felt the need to pause, tonight; there's plenty of light from the hall, in any case.

She looks herself in the eye. These days, that's something she tries to avoid. Her gaze is too gold and too bright and just a little bit ''wrong;'' it used to fascinate her, but now she dislikes the reminder that she's different from her friends. ... after all, she's not the only one, with eyes which burn bright gold.

But, that's why...

She swallows; she steels her shoulders. She is quiet, when she speaks. "I don't feel good about that," she tells herself, as she looks into her gold eyes, the defining feature of the Minagi clan. It's the same thing she tried to tell him, once, only for the words to catch in her throat like a chicken-bone. This isn't the first time she's tried again, now she's here in the safety of a home much warmer. Like her sparring practice with Fate, it's all about learning something new... and unlearning something old.

Her bravery doesn't last. Her shoulders curl in - she glances away, for a moment. But she returns her attention to the mirror, and she tries again. "I think there's a... another way." A small correction, something she can say. She has gotten bolder as she practices to herself, but her recovery is not a singular moment; it is a series of decisions, made over and over again. She knows now it takes time, and effort, and she won't be good at it right away, like craters in Shibuya's streets.

And there is stumbling. As the hall light behind her catches her eyes with a bright golden glint, she flinches, chin ducking down as her lips pull back in a grimace. She can feel her obsidian heart pounding protest, loud and angry.

But she has to try. She'll never be able to save him if she doesn't try. She is no expert in defiance - neither does she give up. She has always been bold in Tokyo, and surely she also can be bold under her own gaze.

"Nn--!"

Mikoto tries to speak so forcefully and at once her bravery crumbles; her throat tightens and she turns sharply away from the mirror, curling in, grasping her arms about herself. Her eyes squeeze very, very shut.

She's not scared of saying it to herself, not really. She's scared of...

Then Mai calls out to remind her that ''dinner'' is ''almost ready,'' the scent of delicious hanbagu drifting in from the kitchen. With that, Mikoto all a sudden doesn't care about answering that philosophical conundrum, because ''dinner is almost ready.''

She uncoils, she leaves, and surely her gaze cannot burn into her soul now.

One day she'll be able to stand up to herself, in the mirror.

One day, when she meets her Lord Brother's eyes again...

2020-12-13 - Preliminary Disruption

2020-12-22T12:43:44Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: 'make sure you have the operational order of the links right,' i told myself. 'you always mix up which one actually hotlinks and what's the cover text.' but as the narrator would tell you, i did not do that.

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Preliminary Disruption'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto stumbles on a minor Labyrinth plot, and now it's her turn to give Westar some advice.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Westar|Hayato Nishi]], [[Mikoto Minagi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Taiyou Ramen Stand
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2020-12-13 - 2015-10-18
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Nishi [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

It's a somewhat noisy evening on this particular street of Tokyo. Offices are officially done for the day, and those who worked late are out looking for a bite to eat. But there's small commotions, scattered arguments, and a general sense of irritation in the air as salarymen flock to food stalls.

The subject of the hour is the day's specials, and which ones are actually available. The menus written in chalk on slate boards offer enticing deals, and yet the chefs asked for them seem to know nothing - leading to one argument after another, one disappointment after the next.

The only one really enjoying himself right now is a university student with a nice bowl of tonkatsu ramen, relaxed with midterms firmly behind him, and occasionally admiring his belt buckle of all things. After a moment's thought, he tosses a small white cylinder into a cigarette ashtray, and ignores the clatter as he digs into umami broth and crispy pork cutlets.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

No one's having a good time in this corner of Asakusa, are they..?

Mikoto, of course, has little knowledge of the great and terrible world of ADULT RESPONSIBILITIES. The hundreds of salarymen who file through Tokyo are as alien to her as she is to - well, let's be frank, any one of them, if they actually opened their eyes to look. She has no father to look up to and know the frustrations of adulthood, after all.

But equally Mikoto has some experience communicating with things which aren't much like her; she's very good with cats. And so she ''feels'' the discontent of the necktie collars, more than she comprehends precisely why they're all so fussed about 'the budget', or 'that jackass in accounting', or...

Well, 'why does everything go wrong?!' is a fairly easy utterance for her to comprehend. 'Just give me something to eat!' is easier, still.

Mikoto shrugs the shoulder where Miroku's sword-case rests, and sighs.

She's been good about sending for help when Tokyo is in peril. Ever since Fate inspired her not to fight alone, Mikoto has been doing her best to uphold that ideal. But ''this'' sort of scheme...

No, she hasn't called in the cavalry as she slips under the cloth of the ramen stand. She unshoulders Miroku, leans it against the counter, raises two fingers to indicate the second special to the chef. Pork ramen, just as she's smelling.

Though, she doesn't glance to her other side, not immediately.

"Thought I'd find you here," she says, instead.

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Nishi [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

There's no immediate response to Mikoto's plain comment. Her fellow ramen diner seems to be listening for something, even as he slurps down a couple of noodles. The general grumbling, the groans of resignation, that pervasive irritation that almost, almost verges on true misery - and then, at last, a distant cry of outrage as the changes to a sign are discovered. Satisfied, he takes a bite out of one slice of pork cutlet.

"It's good food, Minagi. That's something worth enjoying, right?" Hayato finishes the slice, setting his chopsticks aside for a moment to just...bask in the flavour, the aroma, and everything else going on. And, perhaps, more subtle senses - whether dangerous powers lurk nearby, discounting whatever darkness sits just a few seats over.

But she hasn't called in the cavalry, and her sword is still in its sheath.

"I thought I'd try being quiet for a change. Testarossa's idea, once - draw things out. Heart wasn't really in it, though - I didn't even bring in backup for this one." He glances over. "And besides, you wound up being here after all. What's that about, anyway?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The ramen arrives; Mikoto gathers up a heaping chopstick-ful. "... it's good!" She chirps, and there's a brightness to her which was never there before, when she was snacking between grim tasks.

It's not like the food changed. Maybe she did.

She quiets down a little after that, though, shaking her head and finally looking over. "I can't just let you make them sad... Westar-senpai. That's who I'd rather be. But, food first." Mikoto tilts her head, braids tumbling over her cheek as she regards her ramen again.

Another mouthful. Nomph.

"It's not like I came out here for that, anyway," she says, a little shrug of her shoulders. "I guess I was just thinking, 'cause of midterms and everything..." 'Nostalgia' might be a better word, but it also might be too much of a word for Mikoto's vocabulary.

All a sudden she looks back to him, with wide gold eyes which have only ''just'' begun contemplating the nature of academic rigour instead of skipping every hard class. "Did Westar's exams go okay?!" THAT--

-- might not be the question which seems most suitable to ask a General in the midst of an active dark plot, low-key and untransformed though it is.

And yet, Mikoto seems absolutely sincere in her concern for his cover story.

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Nishi [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

The food remains, the company remains; perhaps what has changed is the context. Allies no longer, but at least one of them is in a place where she can laugh honestly; by such measures, a mood is improved.

The commotion in the area is growing louder, and there's more spikes of anger - but it's a precise irritation, and the sum of the whole is diminishing as one stall after another discovers and corrects the deception. Things are nowhere near calm, particularly as entitled patrons demand that fictitious deals be honoured - but the rumblings are beginning to diffuse.

More to the point, Hayato has a bowl of ramen, and the vegetables are delicious.

"You've got your job, I've got mine." Slurp. "Whether that's where we'd rather be or not, that's where we are. I see what I can manage to gather, your group shows up to make sure that doesn't keep happening. Looks like tonight's little try is falling apart anyway." Slurp.

He twirls a slice of pork in his chopsticks, contemplating the least important question. "As for exams? Nothing too bad. University-level courses are...harder and easier, if that makes sense. No 'next stage' that cares what grade you get - so it's about learning, or at least being in the room. I'm just trying to pay attention in case anything useful comes up."

A pause. "And so I can let Soular know which books people are going to need from the library to study. He likes causing that kind of trouble."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Given Mikoto has made her statement, the remainder is clear even to her.

She wonders: is this sadness what they felt, talking to her in places much like this?

"It wasn't a bad idea," she says, "but Westar didn't think about how much people want any food at the end of the day. Even if it's not the food they wanted, food still makes people happy." Grasping a slice of pork in her chopsticks, the food here certainly looks like it's making ''Mikoto'' happy.

She pauses, once she's done chewing, and adds: "... but I guess I don't have to tell Westar that. It's about opportunities, right? Even if they're not perfect."

Tilting her gaze up to the lanterns lighting the stand, her voice gains the remove of wondering, for a moment.

"Yeah... sometimes you gotta take opportunities."

But she's not going to push it. It's just advice, couched in advice, with all the leave of deniability. She picked up a couple of things from him, after all.

She does look to Westar, ''utterly'' relieved, when he says his exams weren't too bad. "Good!" She says, bright as day in the shade of the evening. "I was worried... 'cause I made so much trouble when they were going on. But, Westar was okay!" She smiles, brightly, and takes another big bite. Omph nomph.

"Caring about school... isn't that bad!" She declares, once that's down. "But," she goes on, with a little wrinkle of her nose, "it ''is'' harder."

Harder than causing trouble in broad daylight like she always used to do..?

Well, that's what she learned to do, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Nishi [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Hayato swallows the last bite of pork cutlet, only a smattering of noodles and vegetables left in his bowl. He considers the advice, considers the joy a simple bowl of ramen brings, and simply nods to himself as he sets to fishing out those straggling bits of food.

This is, admittedly, a celebratory meal on his part. Exams are done, and it is admittedly easier to relax without that spectre looming behind him. (Only the actual spectres of Labyrinth loom now.)

"There is that. It's a different...culture in university, too. Less on the school clubs, more on studying. It helps when you get to...choose what you're learning." The verb sounds awkward, coming out of a Labyrinth denizen's mouth, and an odd expression flits over his face. It is mostly just a cover, but he did actually pick a field of study. It wasn't chosen for him.

...huh.

Eventually, he shakes his head. "So yeah. Opportunities - at school, and at 'work'. Like tonight, a...what do you call it, low-cost trial. Didn't work out great - because all the stalls around here make great food regardless - but it didn't take a lot of effort to find that out."

He lifts the bowl, to slurp that oh-so-tasty broth. "So maybe that's what you do. Find what you...want to try, and give it a shot."

Sluuuurp.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Getting to choose...

Mikoto nods, encouragingly. "Yup," her agreement is more chipper, this time. "It sounds fun!" She might not entirely mean the ''school'' and the ''learning,'' there, but there's something about that freedom which is absolutely enjoyable.

She doesn't point out how nice it is to be able to choose things. She doesn't ask Westar if he'd like to choose ''more'' things. She just... expresses her enthusiasm for the potential. Westar needn't involve himself in her excitement at all; it is supremely self-centred.

But maybe Mikoto knows not to push too hard, too overtly. Every time someone tried to tell her she wasn't happy - she just became more grimly set on enjoying her awful tasks.

Maybe she's not just thinking of herself.

Shlurrrrp. Mikoto vacuums in her broth, too.

"It was good advice," she remarks, when she puts the empty bowl down. "Not fighting to the end. Sometimes it's okay to try things and see if they work. Not everything's gotta be to the death." She recalls old advice; she evidently still values it, even knowing where it came from, what it was meant for.

"So... what thing do you want to try, Westar?" Mikoto asks, as she puts the bowl down, alongside some coins to cover the cost. "Or... what things?"

Like there can be more than one thing to try. Opportunities at school and at work. There's an 'and', in there.

"Maybe Westar can tell me, later," she goes on, because Mikoto has no illusions about him telling her what he ''wants'' right ''here'' when the thought has evidently just entered his mind. "Right now, I gotta go make sure none of those men got into trouble. I don't think I need to call help for this, right..? It's not like Westar brought backup, and starting a fight here would just get lots of normal people wrapped up." She grins, as she shoulders Miroku back onto her back. "... so we can just call it done, right?"

She waves, as she turns. "It was a good try, Westar-senpai!"

And then she's off, to go make sure there are no lasting ill-effects to the lingering power of an Executive's influence.

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Nishi [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

...it is fun.

Not just the classes. Management theory isn't the most exciting thing in the world, but it's about how to organize people to work - which seems like a skill an Executive of Labyrinth should have. (A skill Mobius should have already given them, even.)

But trying out all the foods of Earth is fun. Going to festivals and sports matches is fun. Talking with a...former colleague is fun.

It's supposed to be a mission.

But Minagi doesn't push beyond that, save for a question - what else might he choose. Setting the empty bowl before him, he considers the words - but Minagi is already getting up to leave. They could start a fight - transform up, start destroying peoples' livelihoods, throw a giant monster into the mix -

"Yeah, we're done." But he's not in the mood right now - he made his effort.

"And it wasn't that good a try, really. See you around, Minagi." He tosses a handful of coins on the counter - more than the price, he can afford it - and slouches off on his own.

To contemplate what one might choose to do beyond orders. What a terrifying thing.

2020-12-13 - Preliminary Disruption

2020-12-22T12:42:34Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: this isn't film festival but bf can have a little bittersweet reunions. as a treat.

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Preliminary Disruption'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mikoto stumbles on a minor Labyrinth plot, and now it's her turn to give Westar some advice.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Hayato Nishi|Westar]], [[Mikoto Minagi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Taiyou Ramen Stand
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2020-12-13 - 2015-10-18
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Nishi [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

It's a somewhat noisy evening on this particular street of Tokyo. Offices are officially done for the day, and those who worked late are out looking for a bite to eat. But there's small commotions, scattered arguments, and a general sense of irritation in the air as salarymen flock to food stalls.

The subject of the hour is the day's specials, and which ones are actually available. The menus written in chalk on slate boards offer enticing deals, and yet the chefs asked for them seem to know nothing - leading to one argument after another, one disappointment after the next.

The only one really enjoying himself right now is a university student with a nice bowl of tonkatsu ramen, relaxed with midterms firmly behind him, and occasionally admiring his belt buckle of all things. After a moment's thought, he tosses a small white cylinder into a cigarette ashtray, and ignores the clatter as he digs into umami broth and crispy pork cutlets.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

No one's having a good time in this corner of Asakusa, are they..?

Mikoto, of course, has little knowledge of the great and terrible world of ADULT RESPONSIBILITIES. The hundreds of salarymen who file through Tokyo are as alien to her as she is to - well, let's be frank, any one of them, if they actually opened their eyes to look. She has no father to look up to and know the frustrations of adulthood, after all.

But equally Mikoto has some experience communicating with things which aren't much like her; she's very good with cats. And so she ''feels'' the discontent of the necktie collars, more than she comprehends precisely why they're all so fussed about 'the budget', or 'that jackass in accounting', or...

Well, 'why does everything go wrong?!' is a fairly easy utterance for her to comprehend. 'Just give me something to eat!' is easier, still.

Mikoto shrugs the shoulder where Miroku's sword-case rests, and sighs.

She's been good about sending for help when Tokyo is in peril. Ever since Fate inspired her not to fight alone, Mikoto has been doing her best to uphold that ideal. But ''this'' sort of scheme...

No, she hasn't called in the cavalry as she slips under the cloth of the ramen stand. She unshoulders Miroku, leans it against the counter, raises two fingers to indicate the second special to the chef. Pork ramen, just as she's smelling.

Though, she doesn't glance to her other side, not immediately.

"Thought I'd find you here," she says, instead.

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Nishi [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

There's no immediate response to Mikoto's plain comment. Her fellow ramen diner seems to be listening for something, even as he slurps down a couple of noodles. The general grumbling, the groans of resignation, that pervasive irritation that almost, almost verges on true misery - and then, at last, a distant cry of outrage as the changes to a sign are discovered. Satisfied, he takes a bite out of one slice of pork cutlet.

"It's good food, Minagi. That's something worth enjoying, right?" Hayato finishes the slice, setting his chopsticks aside for a moment to just...bask in the flavour, the aroma, and everything else going on. And, perhaps, more subtle senses - whether dangerous powers lurk nearby, discounting whatever darkness sits just a few seats over.

But she hasn't called in the cavalry, and her sword is still in its sheath.

"I thought I'd try being quiet for a change. Testarossa's idea, once - draw things out. Heart wasn't really in it, though - I didn't even bring in backup for this one." He glances over. "And besides, you wound up being here after all. What's that about, anyway?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The ramen arrives; Mikoto gathers up a heaping chopstick-ful. "... it's good!" She chirps, and there's a brightness to her which was never there before, when she was snacking between grim tasks.

It's not like the food changed. Maybe she did.

She quiets down a little after that, though, shaking her head and finally looking over. "I can't just let you make them sad... Westar-senpai. That's who I'd rather be. But, food first." Mikoto tilts her head, braids tumbling over her cheek as she regards her ramen again.

Another mouthful. Nomph.

"It's not like I came out here for that, anyway," she says, a little shrug of her shoulders. "I guess I was just thinking, 'cause of midterms and everything..." 'Nostalgia' might be a better word, but it also might be too much of a word for Mikoto's vocabulary.

All a sudden she looks back to him, with wide gold eyes which have only ''just'' begun contemplating the nature of academic rigour instead of skipping every hard class. "Did Westar's exams go okay?!" THAT--

-- might not be the question which seems most suitable to ask a General in the midst of an active dark plot, low-key and untransformed though it is.

And yet, Mikoto seems absolutely sincere in her concern for his cover story.

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Nishi [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

The food remains, the company remains; perhaps what has changed is the context. Allies no longer, but at least one of them is in a place where she can laugh honestly; by such measures, a mood is improved.

The commotion in the area is growing louder, and there's more spikes of anger - but it's a precise irritation, and the sum of the whole is diminishing as one stall after another discovers and corrects the deception. Things are nowhere near calm, particularly as entitled patrons demand that fictitious deals be honoured - but the rumblings are beginning to diffuse.

More to the point, Hayato has a bowl of ramen, and the vegetables are delicious.

"You've got your job, I've got mine." Slurp. "Whether that's where we'd rather be or not, that's where we are. I see what I can manage to gather, your group shows up to make sure that doesn't keep happening. Looks like tonight's little try is falling apart anyway." Slurp.

He twirls a slice of pork in his chopsticks, contemplating the least important question. "As for exams? Nothing too bad. University-level courses are...harder and easier, if that makes sense. No 'next stage' that cares what grade you get - so it's about learning, or at least being in the room. I'm just trying to pay attention in case anything useful comes up."

A pause. "And so I can let Soular know which books people are going to need from the library to study. He likes causing that kind of trouble."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Given Mikoto has made her statement, the remainder is clear even to her.

She wonders: is this sadness what they felt, talking to her in places much like this?

"It wasn't a bad idea," she says, "but Westar didn't think about how much people want any food at the end of the day. Even if it's not the food they wanted, food still makes people happy." Grasping a slice of pork in her chopsticks, the food here certainly looks like it's making ''Mikoto'' happy.

She pauses, once she's done chewing, and adds: "... but I guess I don't have to tell Westar that. It's about opportunities, right? Even if they're not perfect."

Tilting her gaze up to the lanterns lighting the stand, her voice gains the remove of wondering, for a moment.

"Yeah... sometimes you gotta take opportunities."

But she's not going to push it. It's just advice, couched in advice, with all the leave of deniability. She picked up a couple of things from him, after all.

She does look to Westar, ''utterly'' relieved, when he says his exams weren't too bad. "Good!" She says, bright as day in the shade of the evening. "I was worried... 'cause I made so much trouble when they were going on. But, Westar was okay!" She smiles, brightly, and takes another big bite. Omph nomph.

"Caring about school... isn't that bad!" She declares, once that's down. "But," she goes on, with a little wrinkle of her nose, "it ''is'' harder."

Harder than causing trouble in broad daylight like she always used to do..?

Well, that's what she learned to do, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Nishi [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Hayato swallows the last bite of pork cutlet, only a smattering of noodles and vegetables left in his bowl. He considers the advice, considers the joy a simple bowl of ramen brings, and simply nods to himself as he sets to fishing out those straggling bits of food.

This is, admittedly, a celebratory meal on his part. Exams are done, and it is admittedly easier to relax without that spectre looming behind him. (Only the actual spectres of Labyrinth loom now.)

"There is that. It's a different...culture in university, too. Less on the school clubs, more on studying. It helps when you get to...choose what you're learning." The verb sounds awkward, coming out of a Labyrinth denizen's mouth, and an odd expression flits over his face. It is mostly just a cover, but he did actually pick a field of study. It wasn't chosen for him.

...huh.

Eventually, he shakes his head. "So yeah. Opportunities - at school, and at 'work'. Like tonight, a...what do you call it, low-cost trial. Didn't work out great - because all the stalls around here make great food regardless - but it didn't take a lot of effort to find that out."

He lifts the bowl, to slurp that oh-so-tasty broth. "So maybe that's what you do. Find what you...want to try, and give it a shot."

Sluuuurp.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Getting to choose...

Mikoto nods, encouragingly. "Yup," her agreement is more chipper, this time. "It sounds fun!" She might not entirely mean the ''school'' and the ''learning,'' there, but there's something about that freedom which is absolutely enjoyable.

She doesn't point out how nice it is to be able to choose things. She doesn't ask Westar if he'd like to choose ''more'' things. She just... expresses her enthusiasm for the potential. Westar needn't involve himself in her excitement at all; it is supremely self-centred.

But maybe Mikoto knows not to push too hard, too overtly. Every time someone tried to tell her she wasn't happy - she just became more grimly set on enjoying her awful tasks.

Maybe she's not just thinking of herself.

Shlurrrrp. Mikoto vacuums in her broth, too.

"It was good advice," she remarks, when she puts the empty bowl down. "Not fighting to the end. Sometimes it's okay to try things and see if they work. Not everything's gotta be to the death." She recalls old advice; she evidently still values it, even knowing where it came from, what it was meant for.

"So... what thing do you want to try, Westar?" Mikoto asks, as she puts the bowl down, alongside some coins to cover the cost. "Or... what things?"

Like there can be more than one thing to try. Opportunities at school and at work. There's an 'and', in there.

"Maybe Westar can tell me, later," she goes on, because Mikoto has no illusions about him telling her what he ''wants'' right ''here'' when the thought has evidently just entered his mind. "Right now, I gotta go make sure none of those men got into trouble. I don't think I need to call help for this, right..? It's not like Westar brought backup, and starting a fight here would just get lots of normal people wrapped up." She grins, as she shoulders Miroku back onto her back. "... so we can just call it done, right?"

She waves, as she turns. "It was a good try, Westar-senpai!"

And then she's off, to go make sure there are no lasting ill-effects to the lingering power of an Executive's influence.

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Nishi [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

...it is fun.

Not just the classes. Management theory isn't the most exciting thing in the world, but it's about how to organize people to work - which seems like a skill an Executive of Labyrinth should have. (A skill Mobius should have already given them, even.)

But trying out all the foods of Earth is fun. Going to festivals and sports matches is fun. Talking with a...former colleague is fun.

It's supposed to be a mission.

But Minagi doesn't push beyond that, save for a question - what else might he choose. Setting the empty bowl before him, he considers the words - but Minagi is already getting up to leave. They could start a fight - transform up, start destroying peoples' livelihoods, throw a giant monster into the mix -

"Yeah, we're done." But he's not in the mood right now - he made his effort.

"And it wasn't that good a try, really. See you around, Minagi." He tosses a handful of coins on the counter - more than the price, he can afford it - and slouches off on his own.

To contemplate what one might choose to do beyond orders. What a terrifying thing.

2020-12-05 - Legend of "Black Feather" - Casablanca Hawkshaw -

2020-12-22T12:36:45Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: it happened so much!!!

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Legend of "Black Feather" - Casablanca Hawkshaw -'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Rei and Nori go out to view the ORIGINAL Casablanca, but there's a catch: someone has stolen one of the reels. What nefarious fiend could have done this? Is it the work of darkness, or a phantom thief? Or, could it be...''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Nori Ankou]], [[Rei Hino]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Midtown Hibiya
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2020-12-05 - 2015-10-17
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

THE TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

IN WHICH

well look at the name; you will get the idea.

The young woman known as Nori Ankou is fond of films. She doesn't bring it up much after a certain incident early in her career, but it was telling that *she thought of messing with a movie theater*, wasn't it? And in her home she has an excellent personal TV and has even managed to get a blu-ray player to work despite needing to navigate around an otter habitat.

But a film festival... in these situations you can see certain films in their proper theatrical environment.

"And it's really going to be quite something... have you ever seen the old film, Casablanca? They have a series of these going on at the Midtown Hibiya, just off of the station - yes, do you know it? Ah, well... they've brought in real film projectors-- yes, most theaters are moving to digital! But this is a classic one and it's going to be showing an original print of Casablanca! Yes, they found it in someone's closet in Sendai, or at least, that's what I was told..."

"And I would say [ROUND UP ZA USUAL SUSPECTS], Hino-san, but I think it might be a little more relaxing if we went together, hm? If that won't put you out, of course..."

NOW

Midtown Hibiya has a wonderful shopping center downstairs, and Nori Ankou - who is wearing a perfect French striped shirt beneath a loose bolero jacket cut from a light patterned textile with a vaguely sun-and-desert theme to it, a wool skirt, leggings and some low-topped black walking boots. It is getting chilly outside, after all, at least today.

She had already gotten a small shopping bag from 'Cabinet of Curiosities'. And as she lingers with a coffee near the station-side entrance, she is also holding two tickets in that same hand. Because that... IS STYLISH.

And it starts in just 25 minutes.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Every year, mid-April, white Casablana lilies appear in Rei's room. She does not care to explain this to her friends who visit; she leaves them to their imaginations.

(Every year, another white dress.)

Well, that connection...

"Casablanca! To be honest, it is one of my favourites; I shouldn't be surprised to hear you know it, should I? You've given me wonderful suggestions over the years. This one, it's romantic, and tragic, too..."

"Yes, this is the sort of film you watch together, I think. I'm pleased you thought to ask me, Ankou-san!"

You know, in Japan, white is a particular colour.

AND NOW:

Rei Hino has not come here in a white dress. Rather she is in black ''and'' white, a striped skirt over white leggings, a blouse which layers black over white, and a black shear cardigan over the top.

She arrives perfectly on time, of course, because unlike some of her compatriots Rei does not sleep in or dawdle. Would that she ''could'' sleep in, after --

Well, never mind that. She prays in the morning, and the day is free for her to be a girl.

"Nori-chan," Rei greets her, with warm honourific; she's always carried herself a little differently, outside of Ohtori's school grounds. Maybe she doesn't have to worry so much about appearances outside of the gaze of everyone watching her for her last name, out here. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting long -- but it looks like you've grabbed some good deals, huh?" She smiles, gesturing to the little bag with nails painted red, the hint of colour even more shocking on its greyscale base.

"It feels a little decadent," she admits, looking up. "We don't even have a television at home -- it interferes with our work, you understand -- but I still enjoyed going out to see these films... I suppose that's why I don't know as many as you do, don't you think? But... well, it's nice," she admits, waving a hand as if to wave off the smile on her face. "Just between us, I'm glad we both like these old things."

Maybe the real reason Rei didn't want to gather a group is so she wouldn't have to put so much effort into gnashing her teeth!

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The color of
Well; you know.

Nori's eyebrows lift up for she has seen Rei in the moment of taking a sip of coffee, and she smiles to her, dipping into a bow. "Ah, Rei," she states, warmth in her tone. "Yes! I came here early because I didn't want to cook breakfast by the time I got up, so I had thought I could have a little something..."

"Really?" Nori then says, her eyes widening. But then she puts two and two together, and murmurs, "Ah, of course," perhaps not reading the lines right but imagining, perhaps, an angry kami walking over to turn on the sumo.

Nori smiles, then -

- and as they're going up the escalator, Nori says, "You look very sharp today... So you had the chance to go to a lot of screenings? My old house in Sapporo had a nice big home theater system, and usually papa was out doing this and that so I was able to watch whatever I wanted. I suppose I could have played games or something, but to be honest with you that's a lot of work..."

NORI ANKOU IS NOT A GAMER BECAUSE GAMES ARE HARD.

"... So... well... mm..."

Nori finishes her coffee. "Do you like to have popcorn or anything...? I think for a movie like this we don't really need it..."

It is not a big theater - this is a repertory piece after all - and to all appearances they are the only ones who will come in. There is a gorgeous recreation of a 1961 film poster, as was originally put out for the movie.

"... Do you like to sit in the front, or in the back?"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Ah! Clever," Rei smiles. "To be honest, Grandpa usually cooks breakfast... well, sometimes Yuuichiro tries." He does his best. Don't ask how Rei takes it, as much as her yobisute regard says something about him.

Up they go, and Rei laughs, waving a hand. "One thing led to another, and... it just became a hobby of mine, I guess! It wasn't something I needed anyone else to enjoy, and... well, I liked getting to know other people on the screen," she sounds a little embarrassed to admit it, and astutely does not mention ''why'' she would need to learn about people in film rather than just looking to friends. "Maybe there's something about watching films in a theatre... it's a real escape, you know?"

She flips her hair over her shoulder, fanning out in the movement of the escalator. "I've never been one for games either," she admits. "I only really play them at the arcade, so..." Well, if television at home invites the devil, the kami would surely not tolerate ''game systems.''

MEANWHILE:

There comes a rap-rap-rapping, upon the chamber window. Specifically, the window of one 4-4-4 apartment; which is ''quite'' high up, so the only possible way to gain ingress this way is surely...

'Caw,' Phobos says, as she pokes her head in.

Oh, of course. When one can fly, one needs not fear high-rises at all.

In her talons she clasps a rolled-up picture of a French woman, all in black and white; on the back is a message, in Japanese which has the air of having been translated, thanking Hino-san for her enthusiasm for one Lebeau-san's role in the film Casablanca. It seems she sent a message to her in great passion; perhaps due to her connections, she's gotten a reply back, though it doesn't look as though Marie penned it personally.

(Well, she probably doesn't know Japanese.)

The short note is dated 2011, and Phobos claws it over to her associate with an explanatory, 'ka-caw!'

Evidently, this film means a lot to Rei Hino, and has for a while.

And the film their girls just left to see is, in fact, the original...

SPEAKING OF WHICH:

Evidently the answers to those questions were a lack of popcorn and a plethora of space, because Rei sits at the back of the theatre, and there are no snacks in her lap. She watches the short film before the premiere feature with rapt attention, the occasional gasp.

But it's only when the screen goes blank that she whispers, excited: "It's starting..!"

Surely this will be an excellent screening.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"I'm a little jealous... I never knew my grandparents," says Nori, wistfully.

ELSEWHERE.

The window is cracked a little - just the one, for most of the windows have a sort of panel over them, muting the sunlight. But not one facing the breakfast nook. The Nori Ankou residence is high up so the window only opens so high, and Batiste feels the wind from outside. Phobos wiggles in and Batiste says, "Welcome, welcome - do you want some fish or -"

Batiste looks at the picture.

He is still for long - well past the four seconds when silence is awkward with human conversations. His paws come together at about the ten second mark. And at about the eighteen second mark he looks upwards towards Phobos, and he says, "Of course, it makes perfect sense. And my role... it is as clear as a crisp neap-tide morning. Yes, I understand. Shall I meet you outside? I think I may be a bit heavy for you to ah -"

Batiste gestures.

INSERT THEME: https:''''www.youtube.com''watch?v=uvwuLymqcnQ

IN THE FILM

Nori sits and she is quiet beyond the occasional small gasp and sound. The lack of color is no obstacle, nor is the transportation into the misty perils of an occupied city in a time not so long ago.

Cinema, performance... the light in a dark room... the close confine of a private place, with only you and the lights. You, the lights, and those who are precious to you...

"..."

It seems as if it might go on forever, but still be over too soon.

"... Rei-san," Nori murmurs in a low voice.

It might all seem to take a mere moment, but be an aeon in the memory.

"... how many times do you think this scene is supposed to play?"

Moving round and round, an eternal cycle of joy and of beauty.

"... I only saw it on a recording, so perhaps the, er, the theatrical..."

"... I think it's stuck," Nori says.

(This realization took 22 minutes.)

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The intrigue! The lighting! The transgressions..!

And to think, this is the original print..!

But as the scene repeats, Rei Hino begins to grow suspicious. She doesn't ''think'' this is how it's supposed to go. Then, maybe the other screenings were cut for time..?

And yet... it keeps looping.

"I don't think it's meant to go on this long..." Rei whispers back, in growing concern.

"These old films... do you think, maybe..."

And here her concern peaks: "We'd better check it out."

(Just, you know, quietly. Because they're in a theatre, even if people are starting to murmur between themselves.)

Stepping ''out'' of a theatre is a task unto itself, of course; slipping through the aisle in the dark, finding the low lights at the floor to guide one out to the doors beyond. They have tickets, so they'll be able to get back in, at least. But once they're out --

"This has got to be a nefarious plot!" Rei exclaims, as her fist impacts her palm. "Of course they'd target something like this -- everyone loves this film!" This may be a slight exaggeration: Casablanca likely isn't ''quite'' as popular in Japan as it ever was in the West. Still, there was a crowd, in there.

"Let's sneak around to the projector room," she suggests. "It's bound to be happening in there."

MEANWHILE:

'Cuh-caw,' Phobos huffs, grasping one end of a fabric sling in her talons. This is the genius carrying solution they have come up with to prevent her talons from digging into their prize. It means that between them, they can carry...!

... something. It's obscured by the cloth.

BUT THAT MUST HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH:

Sneaking into the projector room is, of course, more complicated than just walking in there. The International Film Festival is a Big Deal, even if this is only one of several screening locations.

And everyone around the room is running about in a bit of panic. "What do you ''mean,'' the reels disappeared?!" A harried attendant demands. "They can't have just -- poof! -- up into the air! Just -- find where you misplaced them, all right?! They won't buy 'You'll always have Paris' as a line to excuse this!"

Rei presses herself against the wall as she listens furtively to the panic, and whispers: "So someone made them disappear..! Where do you suppose they're hiding?!"

On the floor, mysteriously, lies a single black feather.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

MEANWHILE

Batiste pushes. He has to push. He has the closest things to hands. He also has to make sure that the precious prize does not slide out of the fabric sling; that it doesn't start rolling down the hallway AGAIN; what is more, that the film within isn't shocked too hard, because if it were to be then Batiste knows it just might EXPLODE!!!!!

Batiste misremembers his chemistry. The film stock, while flammable, is not nitrocellulose as particularly seen in notorious film 'Inglorious--'

BUT ANYWAY

"It could be a break in the film," Nori murmurs. "But it has been three or four loops, hasn't it? It would be one thing if there was a brief break or something like that, but - oh! Is this a MISSING REEL?"

She says that phrase in English. It sounds portentious. She rises upwards and crouches slightly to move after Rei. It may become clearer than usual to Rei that Nori is not going to end up a petite woman as this happens; she is almost stooping to keep herself low. When Rei proposes something -- Nori's eyes widen. Could this good and proper yamato nadeshiko seriously propose that they!?

ELSEWHERE

"What do you think...? Should we risk the elevator? If we can make it to the station, Reon will be glad to open a door for us," Batiste huffs, "but - oogh! These were so clumsy...!"

BUT ANYWAY

Two glamorous and well dressed young women can go wherever they want when people aren't paying attention. Why, lots of these people are well dressed. Perhaps they assume that Rei and Nori are just part of the show? Nori presses back as Rei does, flattening herself as if she is pantomiming but entirely in imitation of what Rei is doing. (Secretly, Nori has no idea what Rei is doing now. She wonders if Rei is about to propose they rob one of the jewelry stores on the third floor. Wouldn't that be kind of fun, and exciting? They would have something in common, and nobody would really be hurt - though, wouldn't --)

Nori blinks several times as Rei speaks to her, dissipating her temptation of fantasy.

Nori glances at her with her deep blue eyes. "I -- -- wait!"

"This feather..."

Nori sinks down balletically to reach over and pluck the feather up. As she rises slowly she turns it over in front of her face, eyes crossing slightly for a moment as she attempts to examine it in the light. "... Could this be... a phantom thief? Did they wish to seize this rare print...? What kind of a thief... perhaps... 'Black Feather'?"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

WHAT ARE THEY GETTING UP TO

'Kehhh,' Phobos waffles, as she flap-flap-flaps their way down the hall. 'Kuh-caw?'

Well, mascots have a certain sense for meaning, after all, and that question might approximately mean: 'can we make it to the elevator??'

If they just push a little more, they'll be able to make it...!!

AMIDST A MYSTERY

Rei would never propose robbery! Even if she is ''very'' good at sneaking. Well... maybe not ''never,'' but really, one must be an upstanding moral character if one is to uphold the traditional soul of Tokyo!

Most of the time.

But no, Rei is possessed of the vengeful desire to ''solve this terrible crime,'' and soon enough Nori catches on. More than catches on -- she finds their first clue!

"Ehh? A feather..?" Rei steps closer, to examine it. Does it look familiar..? No, it can't possibly. "A Phantom Thief!" She exclaims, hand to chest. In scandalised hush, she posits: "Don't tell me Kaitou Jeanne has a rival..! And she's nowhere to be seen... then, it's up to us!"

Rei looks left.

Rei looks right.

Rei leans in, and whispers: "We'll have to think like a thief to catch a thief..."

And straightens up, and considers...

"If ''I'' were a sneak, I'd take the stairs."

Here she points to an unassuming doorway to the stairwell, oft-ignored in favour of elevators and escalators.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Batiste considers.

He crouches.

He digs the front of his paws under the back of the reel...

And he...

LIFTS!

"Hurry!" he says. Even as the elevator comes dangerously close to --

MEANWHILE:

"There can be multiple phantom thieves," Nori says, darkly. "Not all of them may use their powers for good. At least, I would assume so. Have we not met those who would use their own strengths and talents for ill? But of course," she says, twirling the feather, "it is not always so easy to walk the path of wickedness."

As Rei looks right, and thus away from her, Nori's hand comes up and places the feather behind Rei's ear, firmly ensconsed in those raven locks. heh heh, raven, Nori thinks, before a question is posed to her.

"If I were a sneak," Nori says, "I would live in the Cote d'Azur but I would have a real challenge because I do not really tan even in the sun and I would just get burned.. but I would be so close to everywhere important and beautiful, to Monaco and to Nice and Cannes and not so far away from Turin and a little further yet and there would be ROME! And Paris, of course, but that should almost go without -"

Nori falters, and falls silence.

She turns her head and nods once. "Of course -- they would have to reach the ground floor. Whether they tried to escape to the walks or to a waiting getaway vehicle...!"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Even those who do may find themselves doing good despite themselves," Rei says, a golden flash through her mind. And then she looks away--!!

"Eeeh?" She blinks, as suddenly a ''feather'' joins her face. She laughs, despite herself. "Nori-chan..!"

She's not distracted from THE MISSION for long, though. And when Nori falls to distraction, Rei's hand comes to her shoulder, with a little shake. "Focus, focus! Ilsa-san needs us!" Of course Rei would do this for the sake of the leading lady.

AND SO: the stairs.

ON THE FIRST FLIGHT: "You won't get away, Black Feather--!!"

ON THE SECOND: "Hup!"

ON THE THIRD: "Almost there..!"

ON THE FOURTH: "Where are you?!"

ON THE FIFTH: "Hff... hff... you won't get away with this!!!"

ON THE SIXTH:

this is where Rei Hino speeds TOO FAST and all but COLLIDES with the doorway, hand going to the handle reflexively. Out they tumble--!!

''Ding.''

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Down they go.

Ever faster.

Ever longer.

Feet click and tap on concrete steps, echoing in a column, a hollow shaft that supports this palace of the modern day.

Fortunately this building is like seven stories tall so while this takes a minute, it does not go on in some preposterous manner, like in famous film "Ghostbusters" featuring Harold Ramis, Dan Ackroyd and Bill Murray!

Nori does not remark on this, of course. In fact she has not herself seen 'Ghostbusters'. A flaw that may perhaps be remedied one day, even if it is, admittedly, probably going to lose a little something in the dub. BUT THEN

The door! They tumble outwards. For all of her grace on the catwalk, Nori Ankou goes sprawling out face first, wincing as she catches herself on both palms on a decorative but rather hard stone floor, momentum putting a little scrape there as she looks up and turns her head AND

THERE HE IS

Nori's eyes widen to the size of projector lenses as everything comes into sharp soul-shattering relief, a dolly zoom of the soul as she shouts out, "BATISTE! GET AWAY! THAT BIRD WITH WHICH YOU STAND IS NONE OTHER THAN -"

Nori Ankou points. "Black Feather!"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

PREVIOUSLY

'Caw?' Phobos asks, as she flaps up to tap one of the buttons with her beak. (These elevators are not designed for the diminuitive passenger.)

Tap-tap she pecks at the 'close door' button, and down they go.

One floor...

Two floor...

Three floor...

'Ding!' The door opens. A cleaner looks down at the otter and the crow in the lift.

'Ka-caw!' Phobos flaps up, and hits the 'close door' button again before she can figure out what precisely she's looking at. "Ehh-- wait, hang on--!!"

As the doors close, she can be heard wondering, "Was that a rat..?!"

'Keh,' Phobos lands and fluffs her feathers up, sympathetically, to poor mislabelled Batiste.

Four floor, five floor, six floor, ground floor.

'Ding!'

WHICH BRINGS US TO

'Black Feather!'

'CAW?!' Phobos demands, all afloof. On the ground of the elevator, her wings flap. 'Caw! CAW CAW CAW!'

"Wh--" Rei looks from Phobos to Nori, eyes wide in scandal. "Phobos! You can't say that about Nori-chan!"

Beat.

"... hang on, what's the meaning of this?!" As if her brain has just processed the slingful of reel Batiste and Phobos were carrying between them. "Phobos, are you really the notorious crow burgler, Black Feather?! And Batiste! How could you get yourself wrapped up in this?!"

Rei is shocked! Shocked!

Meanwhile, Phobos fluffs herself up with indignity and looks over to Batiste, clacking her beak.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

PREVIOUSLY.

Batiste breathes as they are in the elevator. To Batiste it seems to take longer. He is a small animal; his metabolism is fast. "Do you know," Batiste says, "I wonder how you will be able to make use of this thing for" DING

"squeep" Batiste says.

The door shuts. Batiste rocks back on his plumpsome powerful tail, putting one paw over his bow tie. "Whuf," he breathes, before

DING

Batiste's eyes widen to the size of tinier movie cameras. He immediately takes two hop steps to the left to put himself behind Phobos. This does not work because Phobos is the wrong general shape, but when Phobos fluffs up --

Batiste doesn't want to get pecked. "Er, well," he says, "you see, we just, that is to say that when we set out on this adventure we had no idea things would take this turn, matters just escalated and at every step we thought it was going alright and so -"

"You didn't tell me you were a professional thief," Batiste tells Phobos.

"So you know it to be true!" Nori says from the ground.

"Yes! No!" Batiste squeeps. He covers his adorable face in his precious little paws.

Nori frowns, having seen this tactic before. "Please help me up," she says to Rei, rolling a little onto her side and extending one hand upwards, long fingers splayed out.

"And can we help that snake that they are trying to carry out...?"

Batiste lowers one paw to reveal one eye. He glances towards Phobos, then momentarily towards Nori; but for once, in his wisdom, he keeps his clam reception port shut.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

'Ca-AW??' Phobos issues to Batiste, and it's an offence which needs no translation, but Rei helpfully translates anyway: "I believe you're not a professional thief, Phobos."

Rei... speaks bird..?!

"It's just..."

Here she pauses, to lean down and assist Nori with the rising; perhaps not quite as elegant as she, but helpful nonetheless. She steps over to the sling, only to find --

"Oh my god," Rei gasps, "it's the original print!"

'Kawh,' huffs Phobos.

"Oh, no. I see what happened," Rei says, a hand to her forehead as her head tilts up. "Phobos knows how important this film is to me, so she must have wanted to bring this to me... but Phobos, a film is something you enjoy in a theatre," she tries to explain, leaning back down to gesture. "I'm glad you were thinking of me, but you know we have to put this back, right..?"

'Caw,' Phobos grumbles, claws tapping at the ground.

"Yes, just like the jewelry."

She leaves that one ''entirely'' unexplained.

"It looks like we're going to have to think like thieves a little longer, Nori-chan," Rei supposes, as she carefully gathers up the reel. "Do you suppose we'll be able to get this back without anyone noticing..?"

ELSEWHERE

A cleaner tries and fails to convince her superior that the rats and the crows have formed an alliance and are attacking the building as they speak.

BUT ANYWAY, BACK TO THE PLOT

"Of course," Rei adds, looking to Batiste and Phobos, "we'll need your help, too. I know you're not used to sneaking around, but you're small, right?"

(Here Phobos shares a look with Batiste. Though scary shiny crow eyes are bad at emoting, the glance is unmistakable.)

AND SO

IN ALLIANCE WITH 'BLACK FEATHER'

OUR HEROES RETURNED CASABLANA TO ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE

AND GATHERED IN THE DARKENED THEATRE.........

"I guess it's true," Rei whispers to Nori, and a couple of passengers who snuck in. "We ''will'' always have Paris."

FIN.

2020-12-06 - On The Slow Train To Fate

2020-12-22T12:31:07Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: oh yeah the film festival happened

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: On the Slow Train to Fate'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Yumi and Mikoto get on the train to the International Film Festival, and discuss a most important topic: birthdays.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Yumi Ohzora]], [[Mikoto Minagi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
A train carriage, Tokyo
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
2020-12-6 - 2020-10-17
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Today is the Tokyo International Film Festival, and one Yumi Ohzora was planning to go. She has a general interest in movies in the first place, though her work with AoAka has opened her eyes to the more technical aspects of the works. And that's all well and good, and she was planning to go herself... But...

>Are you busy today?

That's how it started. Or more appropriately, it ''started'' back at Infinity when Yumi had to drop by her dorm after class before heading out, and took a few to sit down. But the upshot is that Yumi asked Mikoto to join her, glad that Mikoto couldn't see the sting of needing to in the first place. Not that she minds Mikoto being around, or anything...

But after midterms, she's really out of energy and feeling kind of terrible.

That was then, however. Now...

They are lucky* enough that Yumi has a seat on the train on their way out! This at least is one of the less crowded routes at the moment, in relative terms. That is to say it's only very full instead of completely packed like sardines. Yumi has her bag in her lap, having changed into a nice knee-length dress in pale pink, and a brown jacket along with teal tights and some boots. She did change out of her uniform, since she had the time.

* Mikoto happened.

So, looking a little terrible, Yumi offers Mikoto a lopsided smile as the train goes on. "Thanks," she says. I know I already said that, but..."

She might've had to lean on Mikoto a little on the way over.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

> Nope!!!!!

Mikoto's text messages all have about that many exclamation marks these days. She figured out where the punctuation was hiding, and now she is unstoppable.

Mikoto, strangely, might have just as good a sense for what train lines are crowded as Yumi does, if for different reasons. The sensory experience of being on a packed train when one has senses quite ''this'' sharp is... well, let's not dwell on that, except to say that it is most likely the reason Mikoto has access to a high-level train technique.

''Bullying people out of her space.''

She's perched on the aisle, giving Yumi plenty of space to exist without getting pinned in the corner. This might give commuters the idea that there is room for someone else to sit in the row, but every time one of them looks as though they might try it Mikoto gives them the most ferocious glare, and all a sudden their phones are much more fascinating to them.

This expression flees her face the minute she turns back to Yumi again. ''Yumi'' gets a bright smile, the same as she has each time she's needed to lean on her. (Mikoto is much shorter than Yumi, but also, much sturdier. It works out.) "It's okay!" She chirps, sounding completely unbothered by that trailing implication. "'Cause this is something Yumi wants to do, right? So it's good!"

Her ear twitches, and she briefly looks away to glare at someone else shifting too close before she looks back to Yumi again.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Unstoppable!!

Much like Mikoto's train technique, and it occurs to Yumi as she thinks about it that very thing about Mikoto having a reason to be good at it. She doesn't dwell on it either, though she is kind of embarrassed by the trouble. She gives people apologetic looks now and then but it's hard to stay bothered when it's Mikoto making space for her. She has such bright smiles!

"Okay," Yumi answers. "I thought about asking Hana-chan too, but she's probably pretty busy..."

But just Mikoto is more than fine, and Yumi reaches out to take her hand for a moment, squeezing fingers. "Well! It should be fun, there's a lot that's going to be there. And there's subtitles so if you don't understand what they're saying it's fine." She bites her lip, thinks.

"Just one of those days, I guess. It gets a little worse this time of year sometimes. Not sure why. You should've seen--" Pause. "Nnnevermind. That would've been gross."

"...Do you know I actually kinda like trains? I mean, I like the long-travel ones better because they're less crowded, but even so. I don't even mind them being kinda full of people except that my stomach would definitely mind right about now."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Maybe next time," Mikoto assures her, because Mikoto knows how disappointing it can be when someone is busy.

She squeezes back! Gently, though, because she knows Yumi bruises easily at times like these. (Well, that's how Mikoto thinks of it, anyway.) "Oh!" She smiles, sounding relieved, at the mention of ''subtitles.'' International means foreign languages, and, well...

... don't ask how Mikoto's English midterms went. She didn't do much better when there wasn't a monster interrupting it.

She cants her head, as Yumi starts only to cut herself off, but after a quizzical look she leaves it by the wayside. Instead, she wonders: "... is it 'cause it's getting colder?" Yumi is pretty cold at the best of times, so it makes sense to Mikoto that she'd have a hard time when the ''world'' got colder too.

Listening to Yumi's opinion on trains, Mikoto grunts affirmation, head tilting the other way. And then jerking to the side so she can glare out of the corner of her eye at someone jostling close in an attempt to get her attention. They got her attention! Luckily, they lose it a moment later as they decide to lurk by another seat instead.

"Trains are a lot," she considers, once her attention is on Yumi again. "They're loud all around, and --" the greatest miracle of this world is Mikoto actually trying to be considerate of her friends, because for once she considers Yumi talking about being queasy and veers off to say, "-- and some other stuff!" She concludes, instead, brightly. "But if there's not so many people, it can be good."

Beat.

"I like riding on top better though."

Of ''course'' she does.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Gently is good. So is relief! Yumi smiles a little at that, glad that that actually helps, like she'd hoped it would. She... has not asked about Mikoto's English midterms in specific. She sort of figures that if she wants to talk about grades more than they already have then she'll bring it up, and...

Well.

"Yeah," Yumi answers Mikoto's question. "The cold air's harder to breathe--it kinda... hurts. That might be all it is. Oh, and there's more bugs going around this time of year, so more chance I can pick something else up."

But trains! Trains, and--ah, another apologetic look from Yumi, who shrinks a little in her seat. It does not make her take up meaningfully less space, as tall as she is, taller than a lot of the boys in her class at this point.

"Yeah," Yumi says, "That's true too. And you have to put up with a lot on them when they're crowded," she admits. Some other stuff! Yumi is not sure what the other stuff is but has a feeling she dodged a bullet. Go Mikoto! "Yeah. Like, the Shinkansen's good."

Yumi laughs a little. "Yeah, that is more fun, huh? Flying over, too."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Harder to breathe...

Well, Mikoto can't help but think of Mai's own brother, here, and that's an unsettling thought which wavers her smile for a moment. And so, she focuses on the other part of that sentence, instead. "Yeah, people get sick more." Not so much Mikoto. Part of that, of course, is due to her wrinkle-nosed lament: "I don't like those shots."

(Mikoto at least doesn't tear up the doctor's office these days, but perhaps that's just due to Mai refining her strategy.)

"Oh, it's okay, Nao taught me how to deal with that," Mikoto says, cheerfully vague, on the topic of crowded trains. Her gaze tilts up, as she wonders. "Shinkansen's real fast... I wonder who's faster? Fate, or Shinkansen..."

It seems that even Mikoto can have imagine spots. Well, she did get a lot of practice at pretending, didn't she?

She's pulled from her burgeoning imagination, though, by something which clearly delights her. "Flying's the best!" Mikoto chirps, brightly. "Hey, why didn't we fly?" ... maybe Mikoto still isn't the ''best'' at not blurting out unfortunate things. She realises just why Yumi wouldn't want to fly a broom while she's feeling like this a moment later, to her credit, and hastens to add: "... oh, I guess it's daylight, huh?"

Which is A LIE, written entirely obviously on her face, but it's a lie which is meant to make Yumi feel better.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi sure catches it. She doesn't want to bring Mikoto down, though, so instead she says, "And then when everybody's sick they get other people sick!" She focuses there, instead. Then, a small smile, a half-laugh. "Aw. Yeah, shots are kinda rough, huh?"

Yumi is rather accustomed to needles. For some reason.

"Oh, so she's where you learned the technique?" Yumi wonders. "That's impressive..." But the imagine spot--Yumi thinks about it, tilts her head.

"Probably Fate, but only if she's really trying," Yumi pronounces thoughtfully once she notices Mikoto thinking about it. Then--Ah. Flying...

"Yeah, flying's great, right?" Yumi agrees, and manages to conceal some of the awkwardness there. But it definitely stings a little, that particular blurt. Mikoto at least offers her a nice out...

"Y-yeah," Yumi answers. "Shouldn't go around during the day like that, when people can watch." Yumi accepts it, this time. At first. And then... She sighs. "...Be nice if that was the only reason, huh?"

Yumi shakes her head. "Anyway, this time of year isn't all bad. My birthday's coming up, and I think Mother won't be too busy this year."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"They hurt!" This might seem like a strange complaint, from someone who hurtles herself into the jaws of monsters, but the context of a nurse administering medicine is entirely differently to a battle.

''Apparently.''

There's an affirmative nod, and then another, as Yumi moves on to Fate. "Yup," Mikoto decides. "Fate goes real fast." The fact that girls wondering whether fate itself is faster than the Shinkansen is the best possible way to make the other commuters tune Mikoto and Yumi's fantasies out is, in fact, an entirely accidental precaution.

It's useful when talking about ''flying,'' though. Mikoto effortlessly saves the conversation--!!

Okay, no, even she can hear the way Yumi stammers over her reply, and she looks a little embarrassed about it all. This time, ''she'' finds Yumi's hand to give it another gentle squeeze. "Yeah," she agrees, a little more shaded.

That quiet doesn't last, though, as Yumi mentions ''birthdays.'' "Birthday!" She says, brightening right up. "Wow, Yumi's just like me! I never knew!" The words Mikoto says often carry heavier loads than they appear; she wasn't only ignorant of ''Yumi's'' birthday. Her head cants, and she queries: "Wanna do something with your mother then..?"

Mikoto doesn't say something like, 'there are better people than her to spend your birthday with'. Even though she has some suspicions... she's the last person who would criticise someone for wanting to spend time with family.

So she just asks.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Apparently so!! "Aw," Yumi says, and smiles again at Mikoto, one of those small ones that goes 'I get it'. She does not think about the fact that what they're saying would sound ridiculous to the people around them, because she only has so much mental space and she forgets about it. But, talking about flying could be rough! Until...

Quiet. Yumi's fingers are a little cold, but she curls them around Mikoto's for a moment anyway.

"Oh, am I?" Yumi asks, more brightly after Mikoto. But the question... Well. There are a lot of people Yumi could spend time with. She looks through the air a little, sort of distant a moment as she thinks.

"Well, in theory I'm having lunch with her. But that still leaves a lot of the day! Though I think there's a party later that night too--the Infinity Halloween party? And I wanted to go to that."

"...But maybe we can do something, too. Either before the party, or... Maybe we could go somewhere the next day, that Sunday. Maybe you and me and Eri, or something. I dunno."

"But I'm looking kinda forward to it anyway."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Yup! I'm November!" Mikoto sounds ''terribly'' proud that she can say that now. Her voice is warm like her fingers are warm, because the engine of Mikoto is always ready to leap into action.

(Maybe that's why it's so easy for her to bristle at normal things, like flu shots.)

And what Yumi wants to do...

Mikoto listens attentively, with those big gold eyes. "A party!" She affirms Yumi's desires, effortlessly. "I'll go, too!" This will surely go well. Mikoto has to have gone to a Halloween party before, right?

(She has not done that. ... well, all her free time until recently was spent on the search. There's a lot she didn't pay much attention to before now.)

Her smile gains a few more lumens as she adds: "Let's do something, Yumi! Together!" Her feet kick a little in the space between chairs; she's short enough that she can lift them off the ground without much effort, after all. "It should be a good day, right? So Yumi should get to spend as much time with people you love as you want." Her mother, and Eri, and Mikoto, and... and everyone at that party..?

Well, maybe more those first three.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Nice!" Yumi answers, and is glad Mikoto didn't turn out not to know after all despite all that. It would've been unfortunate. ...But bristling at normal things, that's okay. "October 31, for me. No joke."

Kind of perfect for a witch, right?

"Oh, great!" Yumi answers. "Then I'll see you there, too." Of course Mikoto has. Yumi doesn't even question it, doesn't even think of questioning it. Maaybe she should've. But with bright pink eyes she looks back at Mikoto, and beams back a little.

Yumi is too tall for kicking atm, but she is pretty happy with it!

"Yeah!" Yumi agrees. "That'd be really nice." A good day...

"...Last year I didn't have a lot of people to spend it with. Things kind of all fell through at the last minute, and I sort of didn't do anything except after. but now there's not just my school friends but you guys too..."

Definitely the first three, of all those.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto sees no reason to inform Yumi that she really didn't know, until recently. It wasn't necessary to her training to have a day focused on herself, when she could find her happiness in her Lord Brother.

... and yet, he's the one who told her, in the end.

These little things which carry her hope forward...

Well, there's no need to talk about them. She's interested in ''Yumi.''

"That's... really soon!" Mikoto confirms, after a brief moment of arithmatic. Another moment, and... "... oh! It's party 'cause it's holiday, right?"

did mikoto forget about halloween

"That'll be fun!" Mikoto concludes, because holidays are fun.

And so she listens as Yumi speaks on her loneliness; things falling through. "That sounds hard," she sympathises, without pressing on the ''why.'' "But," she adds, with confidence, "this year will be different! Yumi's got lots more friends now! We'll make sure good stuff happens!"

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi kind of assumed Mikoto didn't, at first. There's a lot she's likely missed out on...

"I didn't want to make a huge deal out of it or anything," Yumi admits on her birthday. "And yeah! Halloween. It's pretty important at Infinity, so I want to be sure to go."

It will be fun! Maybe not the same kind of fun they're both expecting but Yumi is optimistic there, and glad to have shifted topics in this direction, too. She reaches up to adjust her glasses as she talks, though, brushing some gray hair out of her eyes where it's started to fall there.

"Yeah," Yumi answers. "Exactly. This year will be different! ...Thanks, Mikoto-chan."

Good stuff....

"Oh! Speaking of, I think our stop is soon. I'm... feeling a little better," which is technically true.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"I don't really know how big a deal it's supposed to be," Mikoto admits, in turn. "But, Yumi's a big deal to me!" This affection she offers freely and without reservation, her love a wellspring.

With a look of wonder, she echoes, "It's important...? Okay!" If Halloween is that big of a deal, Mikoto had better make sure to know ''exactly what to do'' there.

She'll ask Mai for advice!

That can't possibly go wrong.

Mikoto hums bright affirmation, as Yumi agrees with her, only to blink as she brings up their stop. "Right!" She nods, and smiles. "Good! Let's enjoy movies, Yumi!"

Mikoto might not really be able to appreciate the fine art of film, but...

... she appreciates Yumi!!

Mikoto Minagi

2020-09-27T22:36:47Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: galleries are hard

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Mikoto Minagi'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:mikotocats.png|300px]]
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Mikoto Minagi
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Aliases:
| Fire-Mouthed Cat Demon
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age/Birthdate:
| 16 (November 4th, 1998)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 4'11"
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Gold
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Astrological Sign:
| Scorpio, Earth Tiger
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Blood Type:
| B
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Food:
| [[Food#Favorite_Foods|Mai-Style Ramen Noodles!!]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Food:
| [[Food#Least_Favorite_Foods|Super Spicy Curry Buns]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Subject:
| Battle... that's not real subject? Okay, Japanese History.
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Subject:
| Mathematics
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Dossier'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Group:
| Unaffiliated, with former ties to [[Dark Fall]] and the [[Chevaliers_and_Shepherds|Shepherds]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Position:
| Stray Cat
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| [[School: Ohtori Academy]] (11)
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| [[Mai-HiME]] (FC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User: Nyaaahhh!!!|Nyaaahhh!!!]]
|-
|}
'''Mikoto Minagi''' is a girl who found her brother - the Obsidian Lord. But when she found that her Lord Brother's love came with a heavy cost, her friends fought through her devotion to help break her from his control. She is determined to not only turn over a new leaf, but to help her family do the same.

''(Dark magical girl arcs are, at their heart, stories about trauma, and Mikoto's tale involves child abuse and domestic abuse.)''

== Quote ==
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-12u04eADNU there's something i've forgotten]]''
|-
|
"You are who you are, Mai. Deal with it however you want."
|}

== Profile ==
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4kmZprvFZI furikaerazu tachimukau ken o kokoro ni]]''
|-
|
Raised in an isolated mountaintop shrine, Mikoto Minagi transferred into Ohtori's ninth grade. An outsider to Tokyo, her guilelessness and positivity were appreciated by many, even as her ignorance offended Ohtori's structured sensibilities. She quickly became (in)famous around the academy for her offbeat attitude, love of good food, and ability to make friends with just about every cat she met. Those who got closer earned unwavering loyalty and affection, and discovered the deep intuition behind her plainspoken exterior. But the girls engaging her at night knew a more complex story: Mikoto as a HiME was alarmingly willing to fight other magical girls, using her acute senses and overwhelming might, and her main objective was never the safety of Tokyo's citizens. Instead, she was driven to find her Lord Brother - and only after doing so did Mikoto realise he was the Obsidian Lord, one of Dark Fall's terrifying Demon Kings. He isolated her, manipulating her love for him to convince her to fight, and forcing her through shadowy possession when she hesitated. The enduring love of her friends finally helped her break away from his abuse, and she stole not only herself but her unusual claymore Element and oni Child, Miroku. Now, she employs her sinister powers to protect the people she once plagued... but though she doesn't remember everything, she still hasn't forgotten the brother she left behind in the dark.
|}

== Personality ==
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKpdDalhfks anybody's love but his will never fill this space within me]]''
|-
|
Guardian of the sword.

Loyal to her Lord Brother.

A warrior who can defeat any enemy.

That is who the shrine maiden of Minagi is. But that isn't who most people know.

Most people know Mikoto-chan, the naive young girl with a bottomless stomach. Mikoto is transparent in her desires, innocent as a child in all that the world has to offer. More cat than girl in everything she does, Mikoto is almost charmingly foolish; she finds joy in the smallest things, happiness in sunshine and surprise in brightly-coloured bugs.

Mikoto thinks in black and white. She's good at judging people, to a point; but once she has made a decision, it's difficult to shake. Either you are a good person, or a bad person -- either she likes you, or she doesn't. Those who she deems good have an easy pass through her mental defenses; she's easily-led, ''gullible'' to those who she thinks are kind. Combined with her natural transparency, this makes her an easy mark for those who can make that all-important first step.

Mikoto's entire life has consisted of following a superior, obeying them; she cannot stand a vacuum in that area, though she doesn't consciously realise it. Currently, the person occupying that position is Mai Tokiha, who got the position while it was on sale -- Mikoto was starving and alone, and Mai was a kind person who fed her. After Mai's seeming death and following rebirth, Mikoto has thrown herself into loving Mai -- besides, she loves Mai's food, and being with Mai is fun! She's very possessive of this kind person, and she will protect her as if Mai's enemies were Mikoto's own.

But it took her a year to express these emotions, which brings us to a salient point -- Mikoto doesn't understand emotions very well. She can express her appreciation for the things people ''do'' very easily, but for a long time, she didn't realise this meant she liked the person themselves. While her brother (and then, her grandfather) were always quick to show her love and appreciation, she was taught very little about how to process her emotions. It's not that she's stupid -- she's very savvy as to how people act, and can notice discrepancies in their behavior easily. But now that she has realised she can love people, she is free and open with her affection -- too much, perhaps. She also has very poor emotional boundaries -- when her friends are sad, she gets sad, too. Luckily, it also works the other way around.

Alongside not understanding emotions, Mikoto doesn't understand a lot of other things. She was never taught about stealing, or about public decency, or about personal space. Many Japanese customs are lost to her, from honourifics (or even decent grammar) to when it's all right to say what she's thinking (that's all the time, isn't it?). She is, however, very conflicted about harming noncombatants; she's always been taught that those who attack her are enemies, which means that people who have done nothing wrong must be, by extension, not enemies at all.

And yet, to think of enemies brings us back to the beginning. It's an important point to make: Mikoto destroys enemies. Those who attack her are enemies. Enemies deserve no pity, no quarter. Enemies must be destroyed! It brings us to Mikoto the shrine maiden, Mikoto the keeper of the sword, a Mikoto far more ferocious and terrifying than the hungry child her friends know. Mikoto, in battle, is girl barely able to even control her sword -- and this imagery is not for nothing. There is bloodlust and battle-rage within her, and if it is allowed to grow out of control, her ability to distinguish between enemies and hold herself in check diminishes significantly. Were something awful to happen... this horrible trait might even come to engulf her.

For now, at least, Mikoto may be shaken from her terrible berserkergang.
|}

== History ==

=== The Shrine Maiden Of Minagi ~ 'Duty' ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPS0wH8zUqs i don't know what's wrong with us, they just made us this way]]''
|-
|
A great shadow stretches over the Minagi shrine -- the shadow of the Obsidian Lord. His grip is felt in the blood of every legitimate heir to the name, and in their isolated mountain home, they serve him in all they do.

Mikoto is a HiME. She has known this for as long as she could remember. But she is different to the other HiMEs, those people with Elements and Childs. Mikoto doesn't think about it. Mikoto wasn't told about it.

Mikoto wasn't told that her claymore was the vessel of the Obsidian Lord. She was simply told to keep it with her always -- to guard it with her life. She didn't know that other HiME's Elements disappeared when not in use. She didn't even question it.

She questioned very little, because she was raised to obey, and to fight.

She came to know her claymore as Miroku, the force of destruction which she felt lurking always at the edges of her mind. Miroku, which was in truth the Obsidian Lord's Child, was simply another weapon to her; they were all her weapons, all things she would use to destroy the enemy. Her Child was Miroku. Her Element was Miroku. That neither could be called hers -- that she was more likely -their- possession -- escaped her.

She sought the approval of her Lord Brother, doting on on his every footstep. To serve and love only her brother was the law of the shrine, and she did not question it.

When he told her to fight without hesitation, she fought without hesitation.

When he praised her, her heart swelled.

When he left, she was crushed.

Because he did. He left without warning, without a word. Her grandfather consoled her, and she continued to learn under him, Miroku never leaving her side.

But...

She never forgot her Lord Brother.

That she was intended to serve him was a promise and a contract and a binding force around her soul.

Her grandfather, ever sly and wise, taught her well. He reinforced the ideals which had been planted in her mind, but left enough of himself open to her that she would come to rely on him and to love him...

... so that he could destroy that, as well.

It cost him his life; he did not even falter. That is the way of the Minagi family. Their lives are nothing but pawns on the board.

She didn't falter, either. Miroku cut her precious grandfather open and exposed his insides to the world. And as the killer's remorse hit her, as she knelt beside him and cried, he taught her the lesson which cost him his life.

She was only to love and serve her brother. No one else.

He was in the land of Fuuka, and she was to go there and find him.

The shrine maiden of Minagi left the mountainside that day. Though she could not even properly recall his face, she would find her brother.
|}

=== In Delible ~ 'Homura' ===

''let's do the time warp again''

=== Our Shining Days ~ 'Beginning' ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aFied2YYVg won't somebody come take me home?]]''
|-
|
On the way to Fuuka, she encountered an enemy. And she fought -- she fought bravely -- but the enemy was too much for her. She might have died, but instead, she woke in a bed. She had been saved, and it didn't occur to her to think about it overmuch. Instead, she confronted the enemy again.

Miroku thinks little of steel; even the steel which comprises a ship. Even so, Mikoto could not defeat her enemy.

She was saved again. It was fortunate. She left as soon as she woke.

...

But she was really quite hungry. She hadn't eaten for quite a while, after all.

She smelt food, and took it.

No one on the mountain told her that food could be an enemy too.

Water defeated the enemy which burned her mouth and her throat, and then she came upon another -- one who seemed at first to be an enemy, but who was, on closer inspection, the one who helped her. Mikoto didn't get any further time to consider her course of action; she fainted from hunger.

When she woke, she was in a bed again. The girl was there. She gave her food.

Valhalla's gates opened; the angels flooded forth around Saint Peter's stand; ambrosa stood there in her mouth. It was the best thing she'd ever tasted. It was heaven. It was better than heaven. It was delicious!

(It turns out that in a strict shrine, where cuisine isn't valued beyond its ability to keep someone alive, tasty food isn't a great concern.)

The girl was called Mai, and she was too nosy, but she was very kind. Mikoto liked her. Still, she had to go, and find her Lord Brother.

So she left.

Later, during the night, when she could smell nothing which would lead her to her brother, she met that kind girl Mai again. Mai was being attacked. Mikoto, who liked that kind girl, deemed the attacker her enemy. It was good! She discovered that kind Mai was a HiME, and she also met the enemy who had attacked her before. It would have been a wonderful turn of events, had Mai's enemy not been so relentless.

She had to divert her attention to it, and even Miroku's strength was not enough. There, Mikoto met Mai's strength, a strength called Kagutsuchi. It was an overwhelming strength. Mai was not only a kind person, but a strong person. It was amazing!

Mikoto went with Mai to speak to a girl she called the director, who led the school. According to Mai, that girl would pay for her to live there and allow her to study, despite the fact that the closest thing to study in this place was a club where they only studied with practice weapons. Mikoto didn't like her. But she could stay in Fuuka that way, and search for her Lord Brother.

She went back with Mai, and that kind person allowed her to stay. It meant far more than any vague words about being paid for, about some custodian footing her bills. Mai cooked her food!

Mai took care of her, and so she took care of Mai. Because Ohtori was in Tokyo, and Tokyo was a hotbed of spiritual activity. The Orphans which threatened humanity were the HiME's specific problem, but there were more, more and more - monsters and gods and dark things which smelled of ash and rot. Without her Lord Brother to guide her, Mikoto fought for Mai.

There were others. Not only HiME, but Sailors and Knights and Puella Magi. Some of them became her fierce friends, others she knew only on the battlefield. One, in particular, she grew close to - Eri Shimanouchi, who loved plants as she loved cats.

And there were other HiME. Natuski Kuga, who was her enemy, was someone Mai insisted was a friend. Mikoto was reluctant, but Mai eventually succeeded in getting her to like the other girl. There was Nao Yuuki, who told her things Mai never would; later, Kozue Kaoru would take her position of devil's advocate, first known to Mikoto only as Cassandra. Midori Sugiura, of course, was Midori Sugiura.

But Mai was the most important HiME, because Mai made her good food, and Mai slept with her at night, and Mai supported her when she was unsure. Mai made stir-fry, with meat and onions and bell peppers. She made rice balls, and vegetables, and miso soup. She made Italian pasta. She made fish, freshly-caught by Mikoto herself. And, of course, she made ramen, and Mai's ramen was the ''best.''
|}

=== Love Is A Word You Can't Take Back ~ 'Alyssa' ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYRqIAuY9IQ do you understand that we will never be the same again?]]''
|-
|
It was the HiME who SEARRS targetted, a year after Mikoto had arrived at Ohtori. Cassandra's identity was revealed to her, and her identity was revealed to the world. In a tattered ballgown, she went underground with Mai and Natsuki, and found herself summoned by the Headmistress in order to defend the populations of the Sister Schools. Miroku cleaved tanks in half, but it was Mai's power, Kagutsuchi, which truly stole the stage. Upon it, Mai took Alyssa's Child's blast, and Kagustuchi transformed, and took them to space.

But when they fell, Mai was not with them. Mikoto cried out, and in her grief, forgot her most important lesson. 'I love Mai!' The words she couldn't say when Mai was with her, she said as she watched the sky for any sign of Mai's body.

With that admission, it became easier. Mikoto realised she loved so many people. But Mai was gone.

Eri stayed with her, in the days afterwards. She cried on her, often. Eri, who had viewed Mai as such a close friend as well, was the closest thing Mikoto had to guidance in those days. It forged their bond stronger, closer. Eri became the most important girl in Mikoto's world, simply because Eri was there for her when she needed her.

And then Mai came back! It was the best day in Mikoto's life, and she cried happy tears instead of sad, and didn't let Mai go for so long because she was terrified of her leaving again.

Mai had come back, and Mai was safe, and Mikoto didn't want her to be in danger any more. It was easy, when Eri started sharing her problems as a Puella Magi with her, to justify keeping Mai out of the loop. Mai wouldn't understand. Mai would be in danger. Mai, who had come back to them safe, who Mikoto loved and didn't want to see hurt...
|}

=== A Monster Made Of Love And Obsidian Blades ~ 'War' ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReA_3z4gl5s these nails in my hands, erasing all the lines in the sand]]''
|-
|
... Mai couldn't know about Mikoto's hunts with Eri. And when Eri's problems with other Puella Magi came to a head, Mikoto found she couldn't tell Mai that she was fighting for her friend, either. Because a war was brewing, and Mai would be sad, and disappointed, and in danger.

Mikoto had to do it on her own.

So she did. She aligned herself with Eri, followed Eri's example, and beat Eri's enemies. She came home to Mai at night, and said nothing about the battles she had fought. It was a conflict she struggled with, her obligations to Mai and her obligations to Eri tearing at each other. She tried not to think about it, and justified it to herself, and kept fighting.

In time, it changed from being a question of Eri's life to a question of all life on Earth. It became a question of defending Mai, and a question of safeguarding her Lord Brother. These threats meant much more to her than the lives of so many strangers, and it was these threats which spurred her to commit even further to her bloody path. She hated hurting people who weren't warriors, but what choice did they have? The stakes were too high. So much was at stake. ''Eri'' was at stake.

It hurt, not being able to talk to Mai about it. But she loved Eri, too, and didn't want her to die. She didn't want Eri to burn out in a blaze of glory. She didn't want Eri to suffer. So Mikoto pushed herself harder, and harder, and harder, all so Eri wouldn't have to expend so much magic, so Eri wouldn't need quite so many grief seeds. Mikoto didn't need grief seeds. Mikoto could do that much for Eri. It was Endo Naoki, in the end, who dashed her hopes and dreams for Eri's shining future. He and Fallen Stern demolished her twice in a row, defeating her utterly.

But when he struck her down her the second time, with a mighty blow which ought to have felled her even were she healthy instead of almost past her limit, she didn't stay down. Fearing for her friends' safety in the face of someone who could destroy ''her'' so reliably, Mikoto convinced herself Miroku was necessary, though she had always been taught to use his power alone with caution. She summoned her Child, and destroyed Endo, in turn. If not for Ren Aizawa's timely interlude, she would have surely killed him.

Instead, it was Eri who killed. Mami's soul gem was shattered, and Mikoto convinced Miroku to reveal itself - a ''conversation'' strange to have, thoughts not quite her own - so that it could rescue Eri and the other Shepherds from Chevalier retaliation. It was against the idea. She persisted. Sayaka's darkness was too wrong; Eri's anguish, too deep. She had to get them away.

So she did.
|}

=== Devastation In The Wake ~ 'Falling' ===

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQtzSmv_9D4 i am letting myself look the other way]]''
|-
|
And when next she woke, she found herself attacked in such subtle, terrible ways, with cables in her flesh and horrible beeping machines. She tried to flee, remembering old instructions to survive - but she was too weak, and they captured her and bound her. Yumi explained, when she came to, that she was in hospital. Hospital... the same place Takumi so often went. Mikoto hadn't realised how torturous it was.

Mai visited the next day, and her grief and her worry and her anger were so overwhelming that Mikoto's world was shattered in an instant. Everything was for naught - because Mai was crying. Mikoto realised, all at once, that her efforts were meaningless, because she had made Mai go through the same horror Mikoto went through when she thought Mai was dead.

And in Mikoto a darkness flowered, so unlike her obsidian edges. Because she had no way to make Mai happy, and make Eri happy as well. She loved them both - served them both - and they would never, ever agree. Mai wanted them to be normal high school students. Eri was embroiled in a war. Mikoto knew the warrior's path she must lead, saw it leading away from Mai -

- it wounded her, deep inside her heart. She struggled even to enjoy food, for the joy of food was something Mai had shown her; she felt so undeserving of delicious things. A terrible guilt pressed down upon her, as she struggled to reconcile her two closest friends. She couldn't be what Mai needed her to be - but she couldn't be what Eri needed, either, because her body was broken. She was not smart enough, or good enough, or strong enough, to find a solution which would make everyone smile. Worse - asking for smiles only brought wooden, stiff things.

But Mai was the girl Mikoto loved most in all the world, so Mikoto tried anew to be what Mai wanted. She tried to attend normal school functions - they went wrong. And then she tried to make Mai happy by staying at home and recovering, even though there was so much danger she felt she had to confront.

She just wanted Mai to smile. She knew that soon she would be called on to fight again, and she would not be able to resist the call, because Eri loved her - really, really told her she loved her, unlike the Mai who never said those words - and Eri needed her strength.

And all Mikoto could do was fight, as the war so clearly demonstrated. Fighting was all she was good for. Destroying enemies was her singular purpose, and Eri had so many enemies, and Mai increasingly few...

... but Mai's sadness hurt so ''much''. So Mikoto tried to stay still, tried to do normal things.
|}

=== A Thousand Enemies And The Lighthouse ~ 'SPACE JAIL' ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zMrL6N3GDA stay with me, this is what i need, please]]''
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It didn't last. The one time Mikoto decided it was safe to take a normal walk, without any intention to fight... she saw a menacing ship approaching, and was drawn into a battle anyway, because it threatened the Earth - where her Lord Brother was, and Mai and Eri, too. They were threatened with vaporisation, but Steven Universe's shield saved them. They then fought a ferocious warrior, Jasper - who thrust a gem destabiliser right against Mikoto's heart.

Her connection with Miroku was temporarily disrupted, and for the first time, she couldn't feel it at all. It flew into the ocean; she hit the sand. Stripped of her powers, she could do nothing as she was kidnapped by Jasper and Rubeus into their spaceships. She awoke in a room with ''Endo'' - and no one else at all. When Mikoto realised, she wanted to kill him - but a previous conversation with Kasagami Araki stayed her hand, because she'd told her that she was breaking too much of herself in her anger, neatly coached in the metaphor of broken chopsticks. Forced to inaction, she was stuck in a hateful room. The only way she could tolerate speaking with him was to educate him on their enemy's weaknesses. She found a surprising amount of excuses to do so - because the loneliness was just too much to bear.

But she was rescued by Steven once more, and he led her to her obsidian pendant, stolen from her person when she was imprisoned. She separated from them to find Miroku - and after fruitless searching, eventually it was able to reach out to her. She took it in hand, and met with the others, where Ruby demanded help, because Sapphire was being menaced by one of Rubeus's black crystals.

They were stopped by Peridot, in a robonoid mecha. Mikoto went to struck it down - and was met, face-to-mechanical-claw, with an industrial destabiliser, designed for things much ''larger'' than girls. And for the first time in Mikoto's life -

- she froze. She couldn't move. She had no options. She was still injured; she wouldn't be able to leap away in time. She couldn't possibly block something like that. And attacking it would be fruitless. There was nothing, ''nothing'' she could do. She couldn't even ''try,'' as her warrior's training and Miroku both demanded of her, because fear flooded her, locked up every limb.

The destabiliser terrified her that much. And Steven saved her, a third time, shield to destabiliser. Through Ami Mizuno's direction, they were able to destroy the mecha, exposing Peridot. Mikoto would have executed her despite being already defeated, moved both by her terror and Miroku's terrible anger - but she disappeared. There were few things which could distract Mikoto from her rage, in that moment.

An honest, unfiltered show of love and affection and romance between Ruby and Sapphire turned out to be one of those few things. In the brief moments she saw them reunited as a pair, Mikoto found herself thinking of a certain face. Is that what being attracted to girls meant? And why, then, would it make her think of...

Questions which were quickly ignored and suppressed. Ruby and Sapphire fused together, became ''Garnet,'' her enemy. She directed them to the prisoners still captured... and they walked right into a trap. A trap which they had no hope of defeating - but they didn't have to. There were others, who had come to save them. Lancelot had come to save her. ''Mai'' had come to save her.

And Mikoto, who had felt so despondent over Mai's coddling, despaired so much over Mai's inability to return her love, was overjoyed to see that Mai cared so much. Surely, this meant Mikoto was still important to her! Because Mai wouldn't let anything hurt her - not even the words of an enemy. But Mai was hurt, in the fight against Rubeus, where Mikoto fought so hard because Mai bid her to destroy her enemies. Never mind that Mikoto's healing injuries were also aggravated - Mai was hurt! It was through Lancelot's help that they were all able to flee; it was through the efforts of several that they were able to escape. (Notably, Steven's bubble protected them from the impact. That's four times he saved her.)

Jasper survived the crash - but she didn't survive fusion with Lapis, who dragged her into the ocean as Malachite. Mikoto used Eri's words, to try and convince Lapis not to do it; words she didn't really believe herself, but the only ones she could think of which might not have made everything worse. But in the end, Lapis's own feelings made even the threat of their fusion a distant thing, lodged at the bottom of the ocean.

The aftermath of her second space adventure left Mikoto more scarred than she'd like to admit. She dreamt of the annihilation of destabilisers, even alongside Mai's comforting presence. And the fact that Mai was hurt while rescuing her weighed on her, especially as she saw how much it hurt Mai to have to stop, too.
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=== Secret And Known Things ~ 'Reinforce' ===
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It was in trying to help Mai, by going out and getting ingredients for dinner so she wouldn't have to walk on a hurt ankle, that things became worse for Mikoto again. Wounded and weak, she was targeted for harvest by Vita - and though Vita found her a dangerous beast to back into a corner, Mikoto ultimately couldn't face up to the other berserker. Though [[Lera Camry]] tried to intervene and save her, the Book of Darkness drained her of her magic and left her defenceless.

Lera took her to Nishitama Park to try and help her recover, and Mikoto's stubbornness saw her not only hiding the fact that it was Eri's territory, but also saw her stalking off alone as the guilt overwhelmed her. She had to kill Lera's friends, after all - even if Lera was a good person who saved her and tried to convince her she had worth beyond the fight. It was a foolhardy decision, because Mikoto was a normal girl, and normal girls were Witch food. She found herself caught in a Labyrinth, and was almost torn apart by Familiars before Eri intervened.

And so Mikoto found herself powerless again, so soon after the destabiliser severed her. This was not the same feeling - Miroku was still there, but it was distant, foggy, and she could not handle her sword at all. It was as if she'd been taken by some terrible sickness. Her friends tried to reach out to her, to convince her there were still things she could do, even when she couldn't fight. It was difficult to convince her, but Eri and [[Yumi Ohzora]] eventually made some progress. [[Kasagami Araki]], on the other hand, declared Mikoto her knight in her enthusiasm while reassuring her - and Mikoto found herself rankling against the girl again. There was something threatening, about Kasagami's aspirations. Mikoto tried to tell her she could only be her friend... ''tried.''

But it was Mai who saw how much being drained wounded Mikoto, at night, as she slipped away to try and reach out to her sword. And it was Mai who sat with her, under the night sky and a glimmering star, and listened to her woes. It was Mai who reminded her of her resolution as a HiME - to protect someone precious. The most important girl in her life... well, wasn't that Mai Tokiha? The knowledge brought Miroku back to her, and Mai congratulated her for it. Mai supported her. That Mai did not condemn her - that Mai was glad for her - was an incredible healing force, for Mikoto.

Were this a happy story, Mikoto would go forward with the power of love and fight for justice.

This is not a very happy story.

Eri called a meeting of the Shepherds, and Mikoto found herself reminded of the guillotine hanging over the head of the ''third'' most important person in the world. She reached out to Homura, offering to hunt Sayaka with her. She couldn't leave it to Eri, not after seeing how much defeating Mami hurt her hunting partner. Mikoto was not affected by Mami's death like anyone else - she was a natural choice to kill the next one. She had the strength to do it, so she had to do it. If she didn't, Eri would die. She did not tell Mai, when she got back. She was ashamed. And death, besides, was a secret thing, though she did not know why she felt so.

She was interrupted from a nap by Nagi, informing her that the final fight for control of the World Tree was beginning. And Mikoto, though she was still hurt, had to respond: its power could threaten the world where her Lord Brother lived. The Protodaimons proved horrific foes, however, especially as they tore through her mind's defences instead of her body's. Terror took her, and she fled from her allies and her enemies alike.

It meant she was not by their side, as Dark Fall seized victory and opened a yawning portal to the Dark King. All the most terrible servants of darkness responded to his clarion call --

-- including Mikoto Minagi. Her necklace glowed with sickly purple light, and she was possessed by a dark shadow which veiled her identity and every soft part of her. That terrible force rampaged in a completely unguided fashion, activated with no orders to follow. It sieved the love from her heart and made her strong again, so that she might destroy them all. Destruction was all she knew. It was only luck which saw nothing cross her path to be annihilated.

But the Kiryuu Sisters sacrificed themselves to stymie the Dark King's coming, and the golden light of their love settled in on Mikoto, and the dark shadow faded and she found herself standing alone. Alone and confused, because she didn't remember the Dark King's call at all. She thought she must have just gotten so frightened that she forgot. She thought the Kiryuu Sisters' light must have revitalised her. She ascended the tower from her low point, all alone - and was caught in the process by Mai and Kagutsuchi. Mai was there for her in her dazed bewilderment.

Mai took her to the husk of the World Tree, alongside [[Takeo Akamizu]]. There they found the Wolkenritter, using that hated Book to drain the Dark King's portal. But Mikoto could not lay aside her grievances - she attacked Vita, alongside so many others. It would have been a terrible fight, had the Book of Darkness not activated itself. It absorbed the Wolkenritter in an act of violence which even disturbed Mikoto, and it captured all those girls and sent them to a perfect world of dreams.

Mikoto wished so much to be back with her family. And since her Lord Brother never left - Mikoto never went to Tokyo at all. But she couldn't forget her love for her friends, and so in her dream she attracted the monsters of Tokyo to her mountain instead, to defeat them alongside her Lord Brother. She would fight all the battles - and the people below would be able to live peaceful lives. And the only things she ever fought... were monsters. She didn't know how to hurt humans. She didn't need to know.

But still her heart yearned for what she had left behind, and so the Book's Mai climbed the mountain, and Mikoto defended her from the terrible creatures there. It was in delivering her back to the train station that she found Eri - and she was not of the Book at all. She weaved a hundred little questions through Mikoto's mind as they climbed the mountain, and after so much subtlety applied the force of a sledgehammer to one final question: What was her Lord Brother's name?

It shattered the Book's hold on Mikoto, and she knew nothing of Eri's conversation with the image of her Grandfather. She was having her own conversation, after all - with her Lord Brother. She realised it was wrong. He would never act the way he was. He would never fight as her partner, like Mai or Eri. And his training was not just focused on monsters at all.

As she took through the Book's worlds awakened, she was all sledgehammer. She burst into Mai's world and reminded her of how the world truly was by getting into trouble immediately - it was in anger that she tore down Kasagami's illusions of being Mikoto's 'Lord Sister'. In the visage of the Belkan Knight Golf, Mikoto even ripped through the memories of the Wolkenritter's past to inform Vita so bitterly that she was dead and gone. She could not abide the lies.

And when it came time to escape the dream... the world was shattered. The World Tree crumbled, and not every civilian had escaped the massive barrier erected around Tokyo. Amongst so many people to protect were Chie and Aoi, Mikoto's stalwart social defenders at school. She called Miroku's obsidian spires to their defence, to help stop the World Tree's boughs from crushing them - perhaps the only time those jagged things had been employed to any other purpose than destruction. They had questions, and Mikoto had scarce few answers for them, but she knew she must protect them.

The Book of Darkness faced them, and Mikoto found herself facing off against the attacks of so many foes again as it employed all the skills it had absorbed from the magical community. Worse than that, however, was the way she summoned ''Miroku'' - and empowered her profane copies of the weapon with Fallen Stern's offensive magics. Mikoto would have torn her apart, falling on her with all the force and fury of a freight train, had [[Fate Testarossa]] and [[Nanoha Takamachi]] not blasted her from the Book's form.

And so the Book was named 'Reinforce', and the forms of [[Hayate Yagami]] and the Wolkenritter resolved again. Mikoto could not trust Vita, but in the face of the threat of NachtWal, she followed the instruction of a girl who had been so sickly before. She fought with Takeo against the threat, joined at points by Steven and Sailor Pluto - but in the end, as NachtWal crumbled into a mass of flesh and misery, she was alone. It was there that Lera called out to her, and showed her a path through the horror. And as they held the line against NachtWal, to keep it from the civilians, Lera spent every ounce of magic and found herself without her Barrier Jacket at all - and Mikoto, without thinking, stepped in to shove her aside and cut down the flesh which meant to take her.

She would make a thousand excuses, later, for why she did it. But the truth was, she had already decided Lera was a good person, and it was difficult to convince her mind that a good person could be an enemy. Lera had never attacked her, after all. Lera tried to help her, after all. Lera said kind things about her, after all. And, after all - good people were always worth protecting.

Through Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate's combined efforts, NachtWal was destroyed, in a storm of destruction she felt pressured to describe as 'beautiful'. And in the end, a wizened woman appeared to instruct them to plant the seeds of their hope and their dreams. And [[Setsuna Higashi]] approached her, and shared with her her own struggles - and in that vulnerable moment, tired from the fight, Mikoto took her hand and let her lead her to a site to plant a seed. She spoke of her own realisations, her own hopes, her own fears. They helped to nurture the seed into a tree - the new World Tree.

Were this a happy story, this triumph of hope and compassion would pave the way to new friendships and understandings.

This is not a very happy story.
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=== Blood In The Water ~ 'Sayaka' ===
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!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlvJC0FUuKU every broken dream that i leave behind]]''
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She left the World Tree, and she knew only one thing: she must find her Lord Brother. She must pour all her energies into the search, to find him, to apologise for her perfect world being different from the vision he had for her. To bring that perfect world into reality - the true perfect world, the one he desired - she must find him.

Mikoto dreamt again, that night, abstract black-glass nightmares as her brain struggled to comprehend the darkness which had consumed her on the tower. Within it was a command, issued from her darkest parts in recognition of the dangers presented by Eri's questions: she must destroy.

It was this onus of destruction which saw her descending on Vita, fully intending to take her life. The decision was barely conscious; in her battle-fugue she stalked and apprehended her in broad daylight. But Vita would not fight - and as a civilian, Mikoto found she could not lower her blade onto her. People who couldn't attack her could not be her enemies. She tried to incite Vita to violence, and failed. It was Vita who incensed her, instead, as Mikoto felt her words of triumph were a scathing indictment of her failure to keep her Lord Brother safe and happy. She might have felled her regardless of her feelings, then, if a bystander had not rounded the corner - so instead, she swore her vengeance and left.

She was not the only enemy Mikoto spoke with, though Eri's injunction not to fight the Chevaliers without reason held fast. Cure Passion tried to understand her, only for Mikoto to end up screaming at her. Nanoha found Mikoto in her bakery - and Mikoto tried to behave herself in the enemy's territory, but regardless abjured any attempt to call her a friend. Fate tried to reach out, and her familiar history wounded Mikoto deeply before she pushed the nascent realisation away. Her enemies were wearing her down, inch by painful inch, and she hated feeling so weak in the face of something she could not call an attack at all. But it was difficult for enemies to reach someone like Mikoto, even as she tried to kill [[Westar]] for trying to get her help in dragging Setsuna back to Labyrinth.

A friend, on the other hand... would have much better luck. For at the same time as Mikoto struggled with the words of her enemies, she listened wholeheartedly to the words of [[Homura Akemi]], a girl she trusted well. Homura had defeated Mai's murderer, after all. And Homura took the belief Mikoto had forged for herself, that little scrap of ethics she had fought for under the cover of her Lord Brother's brutal instruction - that people who couldn't fight her could not be her enemies at all - and she shattered it unblinking. They had to kill Sayaka as a civilian, and Homura could not have Mikoto flinching out of a misplaced sense of honour. It hurt, and yet Mikoto discarded the belief without hesitation, because she loved Eri, and she wanted Eri to live.

It was Mai Tokiha herself who almost lifted another of her self-imposed limitations. She shared her fears with her as they tried to take a Golden Week holiday, how battered she felt by the barrage of words she could not defend against, and Mai told her the one thing she had denied for so long: words could be an attack, too. But if words were a method of fighting, Mikoto would have to fight so many more people - including the bullies of Ohtori. Mai struggled to reason with Mikoto that words ought to only be fought with more words, and told her to ignore them, or shout or call to Mai for help before she drew her blade. And yet, she said that sometimes, there was no other choice... and Mikoto knew well what she meant. She felt foolish, for not realising that she was being attacked. Now she knew.

She spent the Darkness Festival with Eri, and at first it was a pleasant thing. But with the realisation that Miroku could be called a vessel, the tone changed. Eri eventually came to share that Puella Magi's bodies weren't alive like hers, and Mikoto shared her own conflict about not remembering things, recalling the way she attacked Vita in fugue. It was not a concern she articulated well, and Eri led her stumbling onto a hot plate, just as the other girl tried to explain to her. It led Eri to take her to a ruined church and share another tale of touching hot stoves... which only made Mikoto feel more isolated, unable to comprehend Kyouko's betrayal when she had only known love from her family. She might have locked Eri out, then, had Eri not tried so hard to reassure her they were the same in all the vicious ways which mattered.

Though she had good times, shopping with Mai and karaoking with her and Ye-jin, and insightful times as she learnt of the woes of Takeo's family, there were other people she'd rather keep at arms reach. Lera tried and failed to reach out to Mikoto, again, though Mikoto realised with relief that Lera had not meant to leave her in a Witch-infested garden. Perhaps that much she could tolerate, but Setsuna Higashi tried, too - and the two of them found it so hard to communicate that they ended up fighting. Mikoto decimated her, and might have destroyed her, if not for Fate's swift intercession. And as she came to her senses in the ruins of the battlefield, she realised she'd messed up.

Kasagami found her in the boughs of the tree she had cut down, exhausted but largely unharmed. She had a great amount of criticism for Mikoto's actions and attitude, which Mikoto absorbed without even trying to defend herself, because even if Kasagami was hurting her with words she had brought it on herself. Despite her frustration, Kasagami nursed at the scrapes and scratches Mikoto had accrued, and perhaps in a better world Mikoto would realise that her words not lining up with her actions spoke to a deeper love than her irritated admiration. Instead Mikoto was sure she had erred -- a certainty which weighed her down as she helped Kimiko hunt, and finally came to a head as she joined Eri for her own gardening. Miroku's blade carved close to Eri as she cleaved through the familiars, and when Eri pressed whether Mikoto was really all right, she flinchingly confessed her sins. Eri reassured her that she'd done the best she could have done, and that it was the Chevaliers' fault for pushing her. Mikoto finally told her about the way the Chevaliers had been targetting her -- and Eri both explained the way they saw the Shepherds as weak and in need of salvation, and defended their enemies as not truly wanting to weaken her for an easy kill.

When Fate tried to engage her on what she had done, as she and Arf happened upon Mikoto during Children's Day, she denied any wrongdoing at all. But she remembered Kasagami's frustration, and so she tried to warn Fate away. Fate asked whether Mikoto enjoyed killing, and it was not a question she could fully answer. She tried to say her feelings on the subject didn't matter, and Fate again told her they did. As she stalked from Tama to the heart of Tokyo to get away from her, she found someone else who considered her thoughts: Sailor Neptune, who had been troubled by visions of Mikoto. Unlike Fate, Sailor Neptune was a friend, and so Mikoto smilingly answered her questions -- though she talked often of Eri, and little of herself, a thing Neptune soon remarked on. Mikoto did not ask Neptune in turn who she was or the details of her purpose: instead she simply wanted to know how she could pronounce Linden Baum's menu so aptly.

It took her a while to remember /why/ she'd gone to Tama: the Children's Day sports festival, where Takumi was volunteering. She and Mai spent a while there, but their day was interrupted as Esmeraude summoned one of her dark minions to the field. Following Mai's lead, Mikoto leapt into battle; she desperately wanted to be able to act in the defence of civilians, for once in her life, and her wish and wholehearted devotion to the fight was rewarded with their safety. And as Golden Week drew to a close, Mikoto searched out Yumi, whom she had not been able to locate through the holidays. They got excited for normal things, like scones and swimming, and did not talk of the dark clouds on the horizon. The only hint was the way Mikoto ended up napping on Yumi, trapping her on the couch, because she'd been doing so much.

It was nice to do something inarguably good for once.

But Mikoto had promises to keep.

Homura came to her without warning to tell her the time had come, and Mikoto followed without question. But though Homura left a hole where Sayaka's heart ought to be, she did not die, and Kozue would not allow Mikoto to kill her. She ground down her feelings for Kozue with each heft of her blade, realising that being a warrior who could defeat any enemy did not mean she had to be stronger - only that she was willing to go further. (Realising, and pushing aside the realisation, that she did not enjoy it at all.) This was a sentiment she followed to its conclusion as Kozue's child Cassandra trapped her with no hope of escape, and she called Miroku to shatter them all. But Utena swept in, ever the valiant prince, to rescue Sayaka - and Kozue was retrieved by someone so much more familiar. Shizuru. She stood with magical weapon and spoke with nobility, every inch of her designed to communicate how much higher she stood. And Mikoto, who recognised that manner so instinctually, knew fear. She could not hope to fight someone... like her brother.

Shizuru bid her to see to Eri, insinuated that perhaps her enemies had the same idea they'd had, and Mikoto ran.

With Homura's help, Mikoto was able to track down Eri, and she found her safe - but not all right. Motionless, Eri told her she deserved better than being her assassin, and Mikoto despaired, because what else could she do to make this better? She wanted it to be fair, though Eri shut down those hopes as she loomed. She told Mikoto about her own hopes - and how impossible they were. She'd need a miracle to fix her life, and she'd used hers already. And she dragged Mikoto's own secret dreams from the place she had tried to bury them, her wish to be with Mai and to fight Orphans instead of girls.

(Her wish that her Lord Brother would respect her and listen to her, even if he didn't like what she had to say.)

It troubled Mikoto, and like all things which troubled her, she tried to push it aside and not think about it. She dragged Mai and Eri to one of Ye-jin's parties - only for the cake to disappear as the lights went out! No one believed Mikoto at first, who smelt the frosting slip away, and saw no hands moving it illuminated by everyone's mobile phones. Eri eventually realised she was telling thr truth, and Mikoto left her two most important girls to take care of each other in Ye-jin's improvised courtroom as she slipped away to address the problem. With [[Georgia Jenks]] and Steven Universe, she found the cake -- and when she did, she found that Georgia, too, was HiME. (They would later resolve to fight monsters together, a gloriously uncomplicated proposal which delighted her.) She did not share her revelation with Mai, afterwards; she was too busy testing the waters of Mai's anger towards Eri. She found that Mai felt little animosity, and confessed the weight of Sayaka's wrath which hung over Eri like a guillotine - as well as a few things she didn't mean to say, as she insisted that she wouldn't give up on Eri.

It was that refusal to give up which drove her to confront Setsuna Higashi, instead of monitoring her like Homura had told her to do with the Chevaliers. Setsuna was still injured from their conflict, and so Mikoto reasoned it would be easy to scare her away from Eri - and in this way prevent further bloodshed. Instead she learned that Setsuna wanted to protect Eri, too... and she learned Setsuna's name. It was a moment of surprising openness, but she realised at the last moment that she could not rely on her enemies to help her - even though Eri's words about what the Lotus world meant still rang in her ears. Conflicted and confused, she fled.

Midst her tireless searching and the remnants of war, of course, there was still class to take care of. Mikoto actually attended the cooking class she was supposed to take part in -- only to test out an incredibly spicy sauce Usagi and her friends had made. The Demon Cat of Ohtori rampaged through the halls of Infinity Institute, only stopped by the famed Michiru Kaioh, who just happened to have milk on hand. Usagi came by Mikoto and Mai's dorm, the next day, with a box of Makoto's cookies to apologise. Their conversation turned to romance, and when Usagi asked if Mikoto had ever wanted to kiss anyone she realised what she had not quite managed to put together throughout a thousand subtle hints: she was sweet on Mai Tokiha. But she knew that if she told her, Mai would run away -- and besides, Mai treated her like a kid, not like a fellow girl. Usagi suggested proving she really was a girl just like Mai, and Mikoto immediately took the suggestion on board as she dragged Usagi into a plot to make more cookies. (It did not work out well, but at least they had Makoto's cookies to ply Mai with in the aftermath.)

Mikoto found herself pulled into the preparations for the Kanda Festival. Her enemy, Vita, was there - and Mikoto reached out haplessly to Yumi for guidance, only to be reassured that it was all right. With Yumi, and Signum under the name of Yagami, Mikoto filled the hot air balloon which would become the parade float Majestia. She realised midway through that Signum, too, was an enemy - but Signum insisted she was just here for the celebration, and so haltingly Mikoto reached out for her assistance in their preparations.

When the festival started in earnest, Mikoto was there to help support Yumi, in case the crowds got too much for her. But it was not the people who were overwhelming: it was the float, Majestia, animated by magic and acting in destruction. At first, Mikoto was incensed to see her magic hijacked in such a fashion; it was only as the fight stretched on, and Majestia was pierced to reveal a great malevolent eye of magic, that she began to realise perhaps it was a true reflection of her power. Rather than fight what felt like Miroku, she ran; she did not run far enough. It was only the purifying magics of the likes of Steven and Yumi which saved her.

The events troubled her, and as she searched later, she took refuge in the boughs of the World Tree to think. There she met [[Soular]], who pressed upon her the urgency of her search. He forced her to confront the fact that she had not found her Lord Brother, though she had searched for two long years. She realised it was still the most important thing, to her - and resolved to redouble her efforts, though she was already running at breaking point.

She was not the only one. The conflict between Eri and Sayaka boiled over as Sayaka, Kozue, Endo, and Tsubasa made an assault on Kyouko and Eri; but the Shepherds were there to intercede, and so, surprisingly, were the splintered Chevaliers, now led by [[Nori Ankou]]. Mikoto's battle with Kozue found itself interrupted by the other obsidian-wielder, as la Sirene de Diamant struggled to reach out to Kozue. In the end, Mikoto found herself working -- if not with her -- at least towards a similar purpose. It was a strange partnership which advanced as Sayaka and her friends converged on the Labyrinth Eri and Kyouko were in, Tsubasa blocking the path. Mikoto expended herself, summoning a great and towering blade to split the one Tsubasa wrought: they were things stories tall, built to bisect buildings, not people. As they carved into each other, hers instead became structurally integral to the terminal they had ravaged; she had to sustain the spell. It was an unfortunate situation, as they rushed into the flooded building, and she found Eri and Kyouko about to be washed away. It was all she could do to summon a cage of obsidian around them, and beseech her friends for help.

Once everyone was extracted from the terminal - when she could finally release her magic - Mikoto was exhausted, bereft of the will to fight. In weariness she heard Homura's revelation that Eri was a gem, and that the end she was meant was only to become a Witch. She did not struggle to accept it as much as others did. She knew, already, that there could be dark things inside girls. She had seen how her own power looked to everyone else, after all. Mikoto reaffirmed her dedication to Eri, even knowing what she would become.

The Chevaliers and Shepherds both realised that the witch which was Sayaka had to be dealt with, and some of each of their number agreed to watch it, together. It was Mikoto who first checked on la Sirene, the next day, and ushered her out of her vigil so that she could see to her wounds. La Sirene blamed Homura; Mikoto could not bring herself to do so. Homura knew something which no one could know. Mikoto felt some kinship to that struggle, as she realised that she could not tell her friends about her own worries without putting herself at risk.

She shared what she could with Mai and Natsuki, and when she came to support Eri, she found herself put in a strange position: taking responsibility for Eri's wellbeing. Seeing the other girl's desperation, she stepped, uncomfortably, into command - and told her what to do. It was this responsibility which pushed her to go further in assisting Eri, maintaining her territory, failing to warn innocents away from Familiars. She took responsibility, too, in failing to tell Eri about the way she no longer protected anyone in her garden, so that Eri would have enough to eat.

It was another thread of desperation which defined the way she pushed herself, further and further, as she sought to intensify her search, and see to the thing which was Sayaka, and take care of Eri. Amongst the many people who saw the way stress winnowed her was Madoka - and Mikoto realised, as the other girl brought her a bento just for her, that her anger was misplaced. Madoka was not unlike her, even if she was not a warrior.

It was Mai, in the end, who provided Mikoto with a light in the dark. Following Usagi's advice, Mikoto asked to help prepare bento in the mornings with her; another promise, one to keep her from disappearing in the early hours of the morning to search. It provided some scarce reprieve: Mikoto could, at least, wake up with Mai and spend time with her, before the constant grind of her innumerable tasks overwhelmed her for the day. Mikoto could not express how important it was to her, even if she made a poor assistant in the kitchen.

A point of stability was important, with the way her world was changing rapidly around her. The Chevaliers and the Shepherds were working together, now - a union expressed succinctly as the two factions joined each other for karaoke. Mikoto felt her fears that Eri was condemned were only confirmed, but in truth, it was not only fear which led her to pledge her strength to Kozue's plea for help. She could not make herself reach out to a girl who had once been her friend - but she would help her, and perhaps in this way her feelings would reach her.

Kozue hoped that their feelings would reach Sayaka, too. If they could help her, they could break the ignoble fate which awaited Puella Magi. But as they fought into the heart of Oktavia's labyrinth, it became clear that their mission was fraught. Oktavia was a monster, and did not listen even to her closest people. Mikoto, deep in berserkergang, could offer no words of solace. In desperation she called on Miroku to breech the ground with its club, but it was not enough to save Kozue and Cassandra. As it became clear that the two would be killed, in fact, Mikoto dismissed her Child from the field. She could not risk Miroku, no matter her feelings for Kozue.

And Kozue died, and took the Witch with her.

Mikoto would never know if she could have stopped it if only she fought a little harder.
|}

=== Moored to Paradox ~ 'Fallen' ===

''here's the story about how mikoto fucked up cooking breakfast so hard she RUINED HER ENTIRE LIFE''

== Powers/Abilities ==
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkENkfrQChY here by my side, you are destruction]]''
|-
|
[[File:Mikototracking.png|200px|thumb|right|Sniff sniff sniff.]] Mikoto has senses as sharp as any animal's, and much sharper than most of the girls around her. In particular, she has a much stronger sense of smell than humans ought to have, and she is able to get a lot of olfactory information from the world; she's even able to track things just by their scent. Her sense of taste allows her to detect even small variations in food, but also makes her much more vulnerable to spicy dishes - instead of being pleasantly painful, it's instead agonising. (Keen hearing and scent is also occasionally more of a hindrance than a help, in the city; Mikoto hates taking the train because it's such an overloading experience.) 

[[File:Mikotoeyes.png|200px|thumb|left|That's a normal thing for eyes to do.]] Her eyes are of special note, because being a little too bright is the least strange thing about them. Bizarrely, she at times seems to have a layer of tapetum lucidum which gives her eyes an odd shining quality in the dark as it reflects the available light; it contributes to her superior night vision. Stranger still is something even more rarely seen: Mikoto's eyes have vertical pupils which can slit to a narrow point, not unlike the cats she's so fond of. It is the most obvious clue that Mikoto is a little more - or a little less - than an average teenage girl. 
[[File:Mikotofeats.png|200px|thumb|right|She knows she's good.]]
Mikoto is alarmingly acrobatic, even as a civilian; she's leapt out of third-story windows only to bound into the bushes unharmed. Parkour comes as naturally to her as going the normal, boring route, and she can often be found leaping across rooftops rather than walking on the pavement. She may not be able to fly, but she is very, very good at jumping and climbing. She has an excellent sense of balance, too. 
[[File:Mikotoneedsfoodbadly.png|200px|thumb|left|Hunger: the enemy which can never be defeated.]]
However, the cost of these abilities is significant: in order to fuel her enhanced capabilities, Mikoto has an extremely fast metabolism. She goes through energy very quickly, and while she can tough out low energy levels for a time, when she inevitably runs out, she's completely useless. She needs to eat often and heartily in order to avoid collapsing from hunger, a state which looks alarmingly similar to a dead faint. 
[[File:Mikototackle.png|200px|thumb|right|Never not dangerous.]] [[File:Mikotosfriendlyswordadvice.png|200px|thumb|left|Miroku's advice is predictable, but solid. Surely there's nothing else going on here.]]
Her abilities are no less striking in combat, because Mikoto has been training for battle from a distressingly young age. Aside from her natural aptitude with her Element, the obsidian claymore Miroku, Mikoto is also competent in unarmed combat - just in case anyone ever manages to disarm her. It's something very hard to do, because not only is Mikoto's grip on Miroku as strong as iron, if she ever does lose it, she can summon it back to her side simply by reaching out and speaking its name. This method of summoning stands in contrast to most HiME, who summon their Elements with a thought, and it is strange to note that despite supposedly being a piece of highly-advanced materialising equipment, Miroku never seems to ''dematerialise.'' It's always located somewhere in the physical world - though it can teleport to Mikoto at her calling. When not in use, she generally carries it around in a stiff black case which suppresses its powers and allows her to enjoy the benefits of Recognition Inhibition. (Civilians tend to classify it as a golf case, hence Mikoto's reputation in Ohtori as Mysterious Golfer-chan.) Strangely, it seems to take an active role in communicating with Mikoto, though she often mistakes its influence for her own thoughts or feelings... and it's usually telling her to defeat her enemies. 

[[File:Mikotosummoning.png|200px|thumb|right|Now you're thinking with dark portals.]] [[File:Mikotoexplosion.png|200px|thumb|left|It's easy to open doors in life when you can just destroy the wall.]] Mikoto's powers with Miroku tend to be shockingly direct. Wielding it, she is staggeringly powerful; she has carved trees, trucks, tanks, and even a cruise liner in twain. She builds up momentum by running, twirling, and jumping - something which makes her hit even harder, but which can also be exploited by girls who prefer finesse over force. So, too, can her lack of defences and stamina be exploited by canny fighters, because while Mikoto is quick and strong, she isn't very sturdy, and she tends to pour all of herself into her attacks, seeking to end battles quickly. It is undeniable that she does one thing - hitting enemies with her sword - very well, and generally, it's what she'll stick to doing in a battle. But at the peak of its destruction, Miroku is also able to empower its attacks with explosions of energy, red sigils alighting on its blade before it glows blinding white; it assaults its target with spider-cracking malevolent energy, and floods those cracks with a pale red light before it explodes. By bringing Miroku around in full revolution and stabbing it into the earth, consumed by a dark portal and enveloped by white light, Mikoto is able to access the powers of her Child - which is also called Miroku. 

[[File:miroku.png|200px|thumb|right|It's a bit ogrewhelming when it does show up.]] [[File:Mirokuspikes.png|200px|thumb|left|Miroku is shy, and doesn't reveal itself often.]] Miroku, the Child, is known to most of the magical community only through its obsidian stalagmites. While most HiME would summon their Child to the field upon calling its name, Mikoto's remains hidden beneath the surface, only attacking with its elemental aptitude. It has emerged, rarely, at Mikoto's behest. Those few warriors who saw it know it to be an oni, stories tall - not quite as long as Kagutsuchi, but much broader and sturdier. It is a fearsome creature which can attack at range or up close, well-defended with its spiked armor and yet no less agile for its size and bulk. While its magic tends to take the direct shape of jagged obsidian spikes, it is also capable of other magic, such as summoning unsettling spires of darkness or a giant version of Miroku the sword. 

[[File:Adarkshadow2.png|200px|thumb|right|Spikes and swords, oh my!]]There is, however, another unsettling ability Mikoto possessed - or rather, which possessed her. Through a transformation apparently controlled by her obsidian pendant, the Power of Darkness infused her, reducing her features to a Dark Shadow. It fell over her upper half, and at times over her entirely; it was impossible to know the Dark Shadow was Mikoto, without seeing the transformation firsthand. In this form, there was little of Mikoto left in its mind. It invoked Miroku's magic silently, and did not utter a sound as it cleaved across the battlefield with overwhelming velocity and force, seeking to end lives through sword and stalagmite. This was an effective way to override Mikoto's objections over the violence she had to enact in Dark Fall - and it was only when the magical girls of Tokyo destroyed the pendant hanging around Mikoto's neck that she was able to free herself of the Dark Shadow's influence.
|}

=== Talents and Weaknesses ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYcS2Rl6XNc feline, fearless, faithful and true]]''
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Mikoto is a finely-tuned food-destroying machine. So long as it isn't spicy, and the food is otherwise pleasant, she can tear through it as if inhaling. Due to her senses, she's also very good at figuring out whether food has gone bad!

Mikoto grew up in a mountainous shrine, and so she is adapted to outdoor life. She's so good at climbing trees that she often takes naps atop their branches! In the city, she's translated these arboreal skills to roof-hopping, jumping from awning to sign to fire exit with aplomb.

Also due to growing up in one, Mikoto knows her way around shrines. It's one of the few areas where she knows the social rules well enough to not shock anyone.

Mikoto was tutored in Japanese history as part of her studies growing up, so it's one of the few school subjects where she ''doesn't'' flounder. While she can only hope to get Ds or Cs in most of her subjects, she's consistently a B-student in Japanese History. It's the one thing - aside from her good PE scores - which saves her from cram school!

Mikoto is good at calligraphy, another thing she learned growing up, and her handwriting is surprisingly pleasant because of it. Her penmanship earns her a few more points in Japanese class, despite her poor grammar, letting her scrape by a 'poor' grade average in that class.

Mikoto has gotten better at speaking Japanese, over the time she's spent in Tokyo. Grammatical things like articles still elude her a frustrating amount of the time, and she still prefers the most simple and direct way to say what she means, but she understands a lot more than she did when she started. If she puts the effort in, she can almost talk normally... but it ''is'' an effort, and one she doesn't always care to make.

And while Mikoto may not always speak Japanese perfectly, she's fluent in cat body language and their various meows. She learned from the shrine cats at a young age, after all.

However...

Mikoto wasn't raised with an eye towards social skills. She knew very few people growing up, all part of her family, and her training was focused heavily on fighting and topics adjacent to the fight. Her speech wasn't corrected, and she wasn't taught about many fundamental topics. It means that she's terribly unbalanced; even though she's a fright on the battlefield, she often seems ignorant outside of it.

Mikoto is an extremely sensory person, and has trouble thinking of words to express her thoughts, a problem compounded by her life growing up. She's grown better at it with time, but she still needs a calm atmosphere to be able to speak precisely. Sensory overload troubles her, as well, a problem most succinctly expressed by her reaction to spicy food.

Mikoto remembers little of her childhood, and nostalgic reminders can often shut her down while her brain struggles with connections it can't quite make. She has traumatic reactions to many things, though she doesn't recognise them as traumatic. Even in the present day, if something happens which is too difficult for her to absorb, she will just dissociate from the knowledge so that she can keep being the cheerful girl she is.

Mikoto is self-centred, though not in any malicious sense. She understands people through her own reactions to them, and usually falls prey to the typical mind fallacy, thinking that other people must feel the same way she does. Though she genuinely cares about her friends, her attempts to fix their problems often amount to telling them to 'just smile!', and she's troubled when the advice which helps her doesn't help others. She's realised, now, how useless that advice is... at least in regards to Mai Tokiha.

Mikoto tends to decide whether someone is good or bad upon meeting them, in an easily-predictable and easily-manipulable way. She shuts herself off from people she considers bad, and doesn't guard herself around people she considers good. There are a few people who have switched categories, so she's capable of changing her mind, but it takes a great effort to do so. People who skirt those categories are extremely frustrating to Mikoto, and she tends to react by even more firmly categorising them as 'good' or 'bad'.

Mikoto is bottom-barrel in all of her ''other'' classes, only managing to escape abject failure due to Mai's heroic efforts. At times, her scholarship seems thinly-justified, because she's simply so ''bad'' at things like mathematics and science.
|}

== Rumours ==
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWLRYlG-KUU you know what simon says, he tells you what to do]]''
|-
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'''Around School:'''

* She's a transfer student who came here in the 9th grade! 
... ''I'' heard no one knows where she came from, and even her school records are a total mess! 
... ''I'' heard it couldn't possibly be Juuban, even though she's so simple! 
... ''I'' heard she's actually a delinquent who was sent to such a civilised place as one last chance for redemption! 
... how terrible!

* She's a terrible student, especially in science and maths! 
... ''I'' heard the only reason she doesn't fail is her roommate! 
... ''I'' heard she's actually really good at Japanese history! 
... ''I'' heard she skips class a lot! 
... how terrible!

* She can be so rude! 
... ''I'' heard she never says more than three words to anyone! 
... ''I'' heard she looks down on everyone, and that's why she's not in any clubs! 
... ''I'' heard she doesn't care about our money or status at all! 
... how terrible!

* She really doesn't understand social interaction! 
... ''I'' heard she just doesn't care! 
... ''I'' heard she doesn't use honorifics and always calls people by their first names! 
... ''I'' heard she's totally unaffected by hot guys, and, scandalous as it is, hot girls too! 
... how terrible!

* Some of the girls kind of pick on her, huh? 
... ''I'' heard she's a little kid who somehow skipped enough grades to end up in high school! 
... ''I'' heard she's a total weirdo who stares too much! 
... ''I'' heard she's a totally oblivious and ignorant country bumpkin! 
... how terrible!

* She's the demon cat who lurks in Ohtori, running around the rooftops and through the trees! 
... ''I'' heard it has terrible glowing yellow eyes, and it's wreathed in shadow! 
... ''I'' heard that it spit fire and smoke, and it wouldn't listen to reason at all! 
... ''I'' heard it just stares at all the boys like it's trying to figure out who to eat! 
... how terrible!

* She's a mysterious golfer-chan who always carries her clubs with her! 
... ''I'' heard she's bound by oath never to play again! 
... ''I'' heard her abilities are so amazing, she's just waiting for an opponent worthy of her skill! 
... ''I'' heard she's actually awful at golf! 
... how terrible!

* She has this weird ability to make friends with any cat on campus! 
... ''I'' heard it's because she's really a cat in human form! 
... ''I'' heard she's a cat priestess - I saw how she acted at a shrine once! 
... ''I'' heard she's amassing a cat army, and when she reaches her full power, she's going to take over Ohtori! 
... how terrible!

'''Magical Girl Rumours:'''

* Oh, Mikoto? She's a HiME, I learned that when Ohtori was taken over!

* Didn't she used to fight for the Shepherds? You know... before.

* She wields this giant black claymore, and she never, ever lets it go!

* She used to never talk in a fight... but she's been saying more these days. She still reminds me of a berserker, though...

* She's got some big family connections to Dark Fall, but apparently it wasn't all her choice. Everyone got through to her, and now she's fighting for Tokyo's sake... right?
|}

== Relationships ==

=== Family ===
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAK681fF4ac you will destroy in my name]]''
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|
'''Lord Brother''': ... what I had to do was hurting me a lot. I guess that was the point... Lord Brother needed suffering, and I was suffering. I don't understand how he could do that to me! But I can't believe Lord Brother was all happy with it, either. He was always so sad when I was sad, and he really did try to make me feel better. But Lord Brother only wanted me to love him, and, it wasn't good for me when I felt different. I was so scared... I felt so small. I guess I'm still scared, but one day I'll be strong enough to save my Lord Brother, just like everyone saved me. We were told this was our destiny, ever since we were kids. It's not fair... not to either of us. But, I don't think he sees any other way out. I know how that feels... but there's always another way!

'''Grandfather''': I finally got to say goodbye... and forgive him. 'Cause in the end, Grandfather let me down. He raised me, so he should've kept me safe, but... maybe Eri's right, and the only way he knew how to do that was to have me kill him. It still wasn't good. But I love Grandfather. That isn't bad. I still feel bad for killing him... but I guess I'll always feel bad about killing people I love. That's normal, right?

'''Miroku''': Miroku's like me. We served Lord Brother... but Miroku's old. How long has Miroku had to do it? It only took me a month to hurt people as much as I did... Miroku's much older than that. It's old like my family is old. Look... I know Miroku isn't very nice. Miroku fits in at Dark Fall really good. But, we share the same heart! If I can show Miroku there's a better way, I think Miroku can change, too. No one gave up on me, so I don't want to think there's no hope for Miroku, neither. ... plus, I need to keep Miroku safe from Dark Fall. It would be really bad if someone who wanted to hurt people convinced Miroku to work with them. I bet it'd be bad for me, too, since we're connected. That's why I never leave Miroku alone, even now. It was a promise I made... but I can make a promise to Tokyo too, right? I want to keep everyone safe.
|}

=== The Adopted ===
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuGUUZqNfjE i always fall from your window to the pitch-black streets]]''
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[[Mai Tokiha]]: In the end, Mai made me breakfast, even after all that... Mai's food is really the best. Mai's the girl I love most, but it's not like everyone else I love. Maybe one day I can tell Mai how I feel... but I think I'd better give it some time. I did try to kill Mai, back then... let's get back to normal first, okay? I wanna learn how to love without getting all twisted up.

[[Eri Shimanouchi]]: No matter what happened, Eri was loyal to me. Eri wouldn't even think about... stopping me, not like Mai did. She always believed, I could be saved. And everyone did save me! Actually, even though we acted like that, I'm older than Eri... don't tell anyone, but I kinda feel like she's my little sister. So I gotta be a good example! ... but I'm not gonna be one all the time. It's fine not to be a good person ''or'' a bad person!
|}

=== CAT FRIENDS ===

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb9RLG6vxZQ i tell you: a cat must have three different names]]''
|-
|

''Ohtori''
: '''Mori''', '''Momo''', '''Fuku''', and '''Kita''': Yearlings! Mori's black and white, doesn't like people, but she likes me. Momo's brown tabby, and she's so playful! Fuku's orange tabby, sleepyhead, he likes strangers. Kita's calico, polite refined lady, just like Ohtori.

''Outside Linden Baum''
: '''Umeko-momma''': Umeko-momma has a good colony, so she'll be okay with her kids. Silver tabby, very pretty!
: '''Haru''', and '''Cho''': Haru and Cho are sisters, brown tabbies, from same colony. But they're still little. Haru's good hunter, and Cho's really smart.

''Whiskers on Kittens, Harajuku''
: '''Minoru''', '''Isamu''', '''Toshi''', '''Yua''', and '''Kichi''': Minoru, Isamu and Toshi are stripey boys, ginger and brown and grey. Minoru's chatty, Isamu's real serious. Toshi's playful, likes climbing people! Yua's calico, she's more quiet, and Kichi's black cat, she loves to be brushed. I found them work in cat cafe! Now they have an all the time home!

''Tokyo Bay''
: '''Lion''': Steven's friend! Pink, and a lion. Lion is magic, but Lion's still a cat. Really big cat. I want to nap on Lion someday. Fluffy mane...
: '''Yakitori''' and '''Yakisoba''': Ginger cats! Yakitori doesn't like loud people. He loves chicken the most! I met him when he stole my yakitori... but Yakisoba likes noodles better! I think they're brothers..?

''Asakusa''
: '''Ichika-momma''', '''Tomomi''', '''Nobu-kun''', '''Sakura''', and '''Kayda''': Ichika-momma's calico, and so are most of her babies! Except Nobu-kun, he's black and white. Boy cats aren't usually calico. Ichika has lots to worry about, 'cause her kids are small, but Kayda loves exploring and getting into trouble! That's why I help. Sakura likes eating the most, and has long hair like Kyouko, so that's her name now!
: '''Kana''': Tuxedo cat! Tuxedo cat! Kana's ''shrine cat,'' so she's special. Sometimes I don't see her for ages, but she really likes me!

''Infinity Institute''
: '''Tama''': Yumi's friend! She's black cat. Tama doesn't like it when I do bad things, but at least she's forgiven me, right? She's older cat, so I can learn a lot from her too. Sometimes I bring her fish!
|}

=== Friends (Non-cat) ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eW07wD_bzA my people, right or wrong]]''
|-
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'''Castmates'''

: [[Ai Yamamoto]]: Just transferred... Ai's not from city neither! She's lots of fun! I guess I'm the one teaching now... but should a new HiME really listen to me..?

: Chie and Aoi: Mai's normal friends. I hang out with them sometimes! Chie knows lots about everything in Ohtori, and Aoi is very kind.

: [[Georgia Jenks]]: Is it really okay for us to fight monsters together..? I'd like that!

: Nao Yuuki: We haven't really talked about it, but... maybe it's still okay.

: [[Natsuki Kuga]]: We're worth more than what we can see what the softer people can't. If we look for trouble, we'll just find trouble, Natsuki. Isn't it okay to not find trouble now?

: [[Midori Sugiura]]: I'm really working on my grades! Really!

: Yukino Kikukawa: Yukino's the Disciplinary Executive now... sorry, but I'm still sneaking in after dark! Though, I bet Yukino knows about it anyway. Yukino might be quiet, but I know she notices things.

'''Cross-Cast Combos'''

: [[Chitose Shiratori]]: Chitose taught me a good lesson... I'm kinda worried about her, but so long's she knows we're her friend, it'll be okay. Right?

: [[Endo Naoki]]: I hated Endo so much... I wanted him to die. But then Endo died, and I wasn't happy. I didn't understand why Endo let me go at all... but trying to figure it out helped me lots, I think. 'Cause of that, I didn't hurt people as much as I could have... and in the end, Endo fought for me, even though I was so mean. Endo knows a lot about fighting, huh?

: [[Fate Testarossa]]: Fate convinced me it mattered, and that means a lot. Fate really was like me, after all... but I'm worried about her now. That man is using them like puppets... I hope Fate will be okay.

: [[Fuu Hououji]]: I remember being worried about Fuu when we were fighting too... maybe it was hard for her. But Fuu's really a nice person! And now I get winds of... um... making me feel better! It's good!

: [[Haruka Tenoh]]: Lots of new things about Haruka... but why does she keep turning everyone red? I don't really get it... is that stuff really that embarrassing?

: [[Haruka Tenoh|Sailor Uranus]]: I'm glad I never had to fight her!

: [[Homura Akemi]]: Just watch me, Homura. I'll prove I can do it. I'll prove it to Homura... and I'll prove it to Miroku, too. There's a better way, and, I can show you! The way I want to fight for Tokyo...! Even if it's someone like me, I can do it!

: [[Kasagami Araki]]: Kasagami's the Secretary now?! Doesn't seem like Kasagami's type... but, maybe it's like training? Since Kasagami wants to rule, still. That stuff is important, too, I guess. But Kasagami, why am I 'delinquent'? That sounds like a Linden Baum snack!

: [[Kimiko Akane]]: Kimiko's okay! After all this time... I'm glad she brought cookies.

: [[Kyouko Sakura]]: I'm glad I couldn't track Kyouko down. It's better to eat Kyouko's snacks! There are always more Kyouko snacks! Don't worry, I won't waste any!

: [[Lera Camry]]: I was so scary to Lera... but I guess it's 'cause I was scared, too. I was acting out, but Lera still tried to be my friend... and in the end, Lera helped save me! Lera's really impressive!

: [[Madoka Kaname|???]]: It felt different, when I killed Eri, but I'm not sure why. ... I guess it's 'cause I was helping Eri. That makes sense.

: [[Mami Tomoe]]: Can I really be friends with Mami? It feels kinda weird... but I'm happy!

: [[Michiru Kaioh]]: I guess Michiru was involved..? Well, it doesn't matter now. Michiru's a nice person! Gave me milk when my mouth was burning!

: [[Michiru Kaioh|Sailor Neptune]]: She's still kinda scary next to the ocean... but it's okay now! Sailor Neptune doesn't have a reason to splash me any more!

: [[Nori Ankou]]: In the end, she was the Siren I was so angry at... but Nori reached out to me. She likes cats too! Nori's really nice!

: [[Ren Aizawa]]: Ren isn't so scary when I'm not fighting her! We both like cake!!

: [[Setsuna Higashi]]: I guess Setsuna kept trying to be my friend 'cause Setsuna knew what it was like... it was a big relief when I found her and we didn't have to fight. I guess I said a lot of things she could have argued about... but she gave me a break. Now we can protect Tokyo together! I like this better than getting punched by Cure.

: [[Setsuna Meioh]]: Maybe now we can eat snacks again..? I'd rather eat snacks with Setsuna than fight her.

: [[Steven Universe]]: Steven was right! I can express myself in other ways than fighting! I'm not very good at drawing yet... but it's kinda like calligraphy!

: [[Takeo Akamizu]]: I guess those things I wanted... Takeo was always there. I mean, it's not the same, but... Takeo's looking out for me, right?

: [[Usagi Tsukino]]: I never ended up hurting her. What a relief!

: [[Utena Tenjou]]: I was mad at Utena, but it wasn't for good reasons. Utena was acting for good reasons! And now, I'm glad Utena did. I wanna be like Utena, too!

: [[Vita]]: Vita and I didn't get on good for a real long time... but Vita broke the stuff which was hurting me. I'm grateful for that. I'm worried about Vita, too, but... I'll fight, too!

: [[Yumi Ohzora]]: Yumi's from an old family, like me... so she gets things other people don't. It was threatening, back then... but I'm glad she gets it, really. She helped me reach out to Miroku after everything... I won't forget that.
|}

=== Acquaintances ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiumBwlr-CU i had your number quite some time ago]]''
|-
|
'''Distant Battle Allies'''

: [[Niramo Umokeshi|Sourisi]]: I should really tell her who I was working for at some point... I think she might be kinda confused.

: [[Signum]]: I wonder if Signum would eat ramen with me again now..?

: [[Usagi Tsukino|Sailor Moon]]: I guess I'm lucky it turned out that way... I know what happens to dark things what fight Sailor Moon. I never could answer those questions too good... but I'm glad she asked.

'''Totally Normal Girls'''

: [[Anthy Himemiya]]: Chu-chu must answer for his crimes.

: [[Chibi-Usa Tsukino]]: Brave little girl!

: [[Niramo Umokeshi]]: Feels like Niramo doesn't fit in too good around Ohtori... but that's okay! Ohtori's kinda weird anyway!
|}

=== ... It's Complicated ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8heQ0t48SL8 save your own, 'cause i don't wanna be this]]''
|-
|

: [[Kozue Kaoru]]: We're not really friends... but we're not enemies neither. There's some stuff we can't move past, but it's okay for it to be kinda complicated. I don't want bad things to happen to Kozue. Especially not now she's normal.

: Lapis: This feeling must be... caution. Lapis gave up. But Lapis still consumed Jasper. ''How?'' ... Lapis is dangerous.

: [[Sayaka Miki]]: ... I don't think we could have been friends back then, but maybe we could have been friends now.

: [[Westar]]: Westar-senpai helped teach me how to get along in Dark Fall... and I think his advice helped me hurt people less than I would've if I was doing it on my own. I feel bad about leaving Westar, too... but I can't let my guard down. Westar's still loyal... and even if other people think he's not too good at fighting, I know he is.

: [[Ye-jin Song]]: So... Ye-jin can't forgive me, after all. I'm sad about that... I hurt her 'cause I was hurting.
|}

=== If I Don't Call Them Enemies, Is That Okay? ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dao5P8Mqkzw i aim to break not one but all, i'm just a big ol' wrecking ball]]''
|-
|
'''Castmates'''

: [[Ye-jin Song|PRiNCESS Ye-jin]]: She's mad at me... but I don't really know what I did. I must've done something.

: [[Shizuru Fujino]]: Oh... I told Shizuru... that's not too good. But maybe it'll be okay? Shizuru is just Shizuru, right?

'''Miscellaneous Miscreants'''

: Jasper: Trapped in ocean's better fate than Jasper deserves. But... I guess Jasper's gone now. Beyond reach. Ocean's too deep, even for me, Miroku.

: Peridot: I don't really know how to feel about her now. I'm still mad, and I guess Miroku is really mad too, but she seems so... desperate. I don't know...

: Rubeus: ... I'm uncomfortable. ''Better'' be dead.

: [[Soular]]: ... I guess I see what Soular saw in me now. Maybe it was that obvious... I don't know.
|}

== Trivia ==
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6ijQpWABAI oh, you dark one, eternal outsider]]''
|-
|
* The kanji of Mikoto's last name, 美袋, are difficult to read for anyone who hasn't heard them said out loud, because their reading is decidedly non-standard. She shares her surname with the Minagi village in the Okayama Prefecture - but even if there's any relation, Mikoto herself never spent any time there, sequestered up in her mountain shrine as she was.

* Meanwhile, the kanji of Mikoto's first name, 命, references the Shinto concept of ''mikoto mochi'', a medium who receives the honourable words (''mikoto'') of a kami. Unfortunately, the so-called kami of the Minagi Shrine is not very nice.

* 'Lord Brother' is a fanciful translation of the formal and archaic term Mikoto uses to refer to her older brother, ''aniue'', and obliquely references his true identity as the Obsidian Lord.

* Aside from the Mai-HiME anime, Mikoto's history draws from Mai-HiME EXA canon.

* Mikoto's first-person pronoun is the relatively polite 私 (''watashi'') - a perfectly standard way to refer to oneself, commonly heard amongst girls. Because she's a girl, it's seen as appropriate both in formal and informal contexts.

* Conversely, when she's not just calling people by their names, Mikoto's second-person pronoun is the informal お前 (''omae''), which is usually - though not exclusively - used by men, and generally paired with the informal first-person pronoun 俺 (''ore''), rather than Mikoto's feminine ''watashi''. ''Omae'' is regarded as a self-assertive or even aggressive pronoun, which expresses higher status than the listener, or a very casual relationship between peers; it's only appropriate in informal contexts, such as between friends or siblings. To apply it to strangers, or less informally, is insulting - especially if applied to elders. Of course, strangers are the ones most likely to hear ''omae'' from Mikoto.
|}

== Gallery ==
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjf2FKlZl9M her little whiskers are stained with the blood of those that she has slain]]''
|-
|
<gallery>
File:MikotosVIPs.png|Mikoto, as she looked at the end of the civil war, feeling troubled about her most important people.
File:mikotosketches.jpg|Character studies! Mikoto is in a high school uniform now, though.
File:mikotobest.jpg|All ready for school! Cats are an important part of school life.
File:mikotouniform.png|... and here's Mikoto in her high school uniform! She does that to Mai a lot.
File:mikotoprofile.png|Mikoto has two modes: fighting and everything else.
File:mikotosniff.png|The Demon Cat of Ohtori.
File:tinykoto.png|Mikoto was given the responsibility of Miroku at a very young age. Look at how happy she is!
File:mikotobirthmark.png|Mikoto's HiME birthmark is located on her upper arm.
File:maikoto.png|Mikoto always ends up sleeping on Mai.
File:mikotomiroku.png|Mikoto napping with her obsidian blade, Miroku. She's very small, and it's very large.
File:mirokuobsidian.png|Mikoto and Miroku are associated with obsidian spikes which make a real mess of the ground.
File:mirokusigils.png|The sigils which have begun appearing on Miroku. It was actually serious.
File:miroku.png|Miroku is also Mikoto's Child! There's nothing weird about that.
File:mirokukagutsuchi.png|Miroku, again, with Kagutsuchi for size reference. They're both kinda big.
File:Mikotoeyeshine.png|So it turns out Mikoto's an agent of Dark Fall.
File:Mikotosdarkfalldigs.png|Mikoto, in her Dark Fall uniforms: both nighttime and daytime editions!
File:Obsidiancourt.png|The Obsidian Lord, lurking in the background, and his court: Nagi, Miroku, and Mikoto.
File:Mikotospendant.png|The Obsidian Pendant, Mikoto's precious gift...
File:Mikotosglowypendant.png|... which glowed when issuing 'guidance.'
File:Adarkshadow.png|This pendant infused her with the Power of Darkness. It has since been destroyed.
File:Mikotoprofile2.png|She can get pretty grim.
</gallery>
|}

== Logs ==
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s6epkl5HM0 i'll get it wrong 'til i get it right, at least i'm making scenes in the meantime]]''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
|}

== Cutscenes ==
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_dOfPljDCI i need my role in this very clearly defined]]''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = cutscenes
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = logs
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no cutscenes on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
|}
[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Ohtori]]

Mikoto Minagi

2020-09-27T22:29:52Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: now there's info on the spooky shadow which showed up to murder everyone!! also i filed ye-jin properly, oops

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Mikoto Minagi'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:mikotocats.png|300px]]
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Mikoto Minagi
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Aliases:
| Fire-Mouthed Cat Demon
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age/Birthdate:
| 16 (November 4th, 1998)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 4'11"
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Gold
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Astrological Sign:
| Scorpio, Earth Tiger
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Blood Type:
| B
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Food:
| [[Food#Favorite_Foods|Mai-Style Ramen Noodles!!]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Food:
| [[Food#Least_Favorite_Foods|Super Spicy Curry Buns]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Subject:
| Battle... that's not real subject? Okay, Japanese History.
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Subject:
| Mathematics
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Dossier'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Group:
| Unaffiliated, with former ties to [[Dark Fall]] and the [[Chevaliers_and_Shepherds|Shepherds]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Position:
| Stray Cat
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| [[School: Ohtori Academy]] (11)
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| [[Mai-HiME]] (FC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User: Nyaaahhh!!!|Nyaaahhh!!!]]
|-
|}
'''Mikoto Minagi''' is a girl who found her brother - the Obsidian Lord. But when she found that her Lord Brother's love came with a heavy cost, her friends fought through her devotion to help break her from his control. She is determined to not only turn over a new leaf, but to help her family do the same.

''(Dark magical girl arcs are, at their heart, stories about trauma, and Mikoto's tale involves child abuse and domestic abuse.)''

== Quote ==
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-12u04eADNU there's something i've forgotten]]''
|-
|
"You are who you are, Mai. Deal with it however you want."
|}

== Profile ==
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4kmZprvFZI furikaerazu tachimukau ken o kokoro ni]]''
|-
|
Raised in an isolated mountaintop shrine, Mikoto Minagi transferred into Ohtori's ninth grade. An outsider to Tokyo, her guilelessness and positivity were appreciated by many, even as her ignorance offended Ohtori's structured sensibilities. She quickly became (in)famous around the academy for her offbeat attitude, love of good food, and ability to make friends with just about every cat she met. Those who got closer earned unwavering loyalty and affection, and discovered the deep intuition behind her plainspoken exterior. But the girls engaging her at night knew a more complex story: Mikoto as a HiME was alarmingly willing to fight other magical girls, using her acute senses and overwhelming might, and her main objective was never the safety of Tokyo's citizens. Instead, she was driven to find her Lord Brother - and only after doing so did Mikoto realise he was the Obsidian Lord, one of Dark Fall's terrifying Demon Kings. He isolated her, manipulating her love for him to convince her to fight, and forcing her through shadowy possession when she hesitated. The enduring love of her friends finally helped her break away from his abuse, and she stole not only herself but her unusual claymore Element and oni Child, Miroku. Now, she employs her sinister powers to protect the people she once plagued... but though she doesn't remember everything, she still hasn't forgotten the brother she left behind in the dark.
|}

== Personality ==
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKpdDalhfks anybody's love but his will never fill this space within me]]''
|-
|
Guardian of the sword.

Loyal to her Lord Brother.

A warrior who can defeat any enemy.

That is who the shrine maiden of Minagi is. But that isn't who most people know.

Most people know Mikoto-chan, the naive young girl with a bottomless stomach. Mikoto is transparent in her desires, innocent as a child in all that the world has to offer. More cat than girl in everything she does, Mikoto is almost charmingly foolish; she finds joy in the smallest things, happiness in sunshine and surprise in brightly-coloured bugs.

Mikoto thinks in black and white. She's good at judging people, to a point; but once she has made a decision, it's difficult to shake. Either you are a good person, or a bad person -- either she likes you, or she doesn't. Those who she deems good have an easy pass through her mental defenses; she's easily-led, ''gullible'' to those who she thinks are kind. Combined with her natural transparency, this makes her an easy mark for those who can make that all-important first step.

Mikoto's entire life has consisted of following a superior, obeying them; she cannot stand a vacuum in that area, though she doesn't consciously realise it. Currently, the person occupying that position is Mai Tokiha, who got the position while it was on sale -- Mikoto was starving and alone, and Mai was a kind person who fed her. After Mai's seeming death and following rebirth, Mikoto has thrown herself into loving Mai -- besides, she loves Mai's food, and being with Mai is fun! She's very possessive of this kind person, and she will protect her as if Mai's enemies were Mikoto's own.

But it took her a year to express these emotions, which brings us to a salient point -- Mikoto doesn't understand emotions very well. She can express her appreciation for the things people ''do'' very easily, but for a long time, she didn't realise this meant she liked the person themselves. While her brother (and then, her grandfather) were always quick to show her love and appreciation, she was taught very little about how to process her emotions. It's not that she's stupid -- she's very savvy as to how people act, and can notice discrepancies in their behavior easily. But now that she has realised she can love people, she is free and open with her affection -- too much, perhaps. She also has very poor emotional boundaries -- when her friends are sad, she gets sad, too. Luckily, it also works the other way around.

Alongside not understanding emotions, Mikoto doesn't understand a lot of other things. She was never taught about stealing, or about public decency, or about personal space. Many Japanese customs are lost to her, from honourifics (or even decent grammar) to when it's all right to say what she's thinking (that's all the time, isn't it?). She is, however, very conflicted about harming noncombatants; she's always been taught that those who attack her are enemies, which means that people who have done nothing wrong must be, by extension, not enemies at all.

And yet, to think of enemies brings us back to the beginning. It's an important point to make: Mikoto destroys enemies. Those who attack her are enemies. Enemies deserve no pity, no quarter. Enemies must be destroyed! It brings us to Mikoto the shrine maiden, Mikoto the keeper of the sword, a Mikoto far more ferocious and terrifying than the hungry child her friends know. Mikoto, in battle, is girl barely able to even control her sword -- and this imagery is not for nothing. There is bloodlust and battle-rage within her, and if it is allowed to grow out of control, her ability to distinguish between enemies and hold herself in check diminishes significantly. Were something awful to happen... this horrible trait might even come to engulf her.

For now, at least, Mikoto may be shaken from her terrible berserkergang.
|}

== History ==

=== The Shrine Maiden Of Minagi ~ 'Duty' ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPS0wH8zUqs i don't know what's wrong with us, they just made us this way]]''
|-
|
A great shadow stretches over the Minagi shrine -- the shadow of the Obsidian Lord. His grip is felt in the blood of every legitimate heir to the name, and in their isolated mountain home, they serve him in all they do.

Mikoto is a HiME. She has known this for as long as she could remember. But she is different to the other HiMEs, those people with Elements and Childs. Mikoto doesn't think about it. Mikoto wasn't told about it.

Mikoto wasn't told that her claymore was the vessel of the Obsidian Lord. She was simply told to keep it with her always -- to guard it with her life. She didn't know that other HiME's Elements disappeared when not in use. She didn't even question it.

She questioned very little, because she was raised to obey, and to fight.

She came to know her claymore as Miroku, the force of destruction which she felt lurking always at the edges of her mind. Miroku, which was in truth the Obsidian Lord's Child, was simply another weapon to her; they were all her weapons, all things she would use to destroy the enemy. Her Child was Miroku. Her Element was Miroku. That neither could be called hers -- that she was more likely -their- possession -- escaped her.

She sought the approval of her Lord Brother, doting on on his every footstep. To serve and love only her brother was the law of the shrine, and she did not question it.

When he told her to fight without hesitation, she fought without hesitation.

When he praised her, her heart swelled.

When he left, she was crushed.

Because he did. He left without warning, without a word. Her grandfather consoled her, and she continued to learn under him, Miroku never leaving her side.

But...

She never forgot her Lord Brother.

That she was intended to serve him was a promise and a contract and a binding force around her soul.

Her grandfather, ever sly and wise, taught her well. He reinforced the ideals which had been planted in her mind, but left enough of himself open to her that she would come to rely on him and to love him...

... so that he could destroy that, as well.

It cost him his life; he did not even falter. That is the way of the Minagi family. Their lives are nothing but pawns on the board.

She didn't falter, either. Miroku cut her precious grandfather open and exposed his insides to the world. And as the killer's remorse hit her, as she knelt beside him and cried, he taught her the lesson which cost him his life.

She was only to love and serve her brother. No one else.

He was in the land of Fuuka, and she was to go there and find him.

The shrine maiden of Minagi left the mountainside that day. Though she could not even properly recall his face, she would find her brother.
|}

=== In Delible ~ 'Homura' ===

''let's do the time warp again''

=== Our Shining Days ~ 'Beginning' ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aFied2YYVg won't somebody come take me home?]]''
|-
|
On the way to Fuuka, she encountered an enemy. And she fought -- she fought bravely -- but the enemy was too much for her. She might have died, but instead, she woke in a bed. She had been saved, and it didn't occur to her to think about it overmuch. Instead, she confronted the enemy again.

Miroku thinks little of steel; even the steel which comprises a ship. Even so, Mikoto could not defeat her enemy.

She was saved again. It was fortunate. She left as soon as she woke.

...

But she was really quite hungry. She hadn't eaten for quite a while, after all.

She smelt food, and took it.

No one on the mountain told her that food could be an enemy too.

Water defeated the enemy which burned her mouth and her throat, and then she came upon another -- one who seemed at first to be an enemy, but who was, on closer inspection, the one who helped her. Mikoto didn't get any further time to consider her course of action; she fainted from hunger.

When she woke, she was in a bed again. The girl was there. She gave her food.

Valhalla's gates opened; the angels flooded forth around Saint Peter's stand; ambrosa stood there in her mouth. It was the best thing she'd ever tasted. It was heaven. It was better than heaven. It was delicious!

(It turns out that in a strict shrine, where cuisine isn't valued beyond its ability to keep someone alive, tasty food isn't a great concern.)

The girl was called Mai, and she was too nosy, but she was very kind. Mikoto liked her. Still, she had to go, and find her Lord Brother.

So she left.

Later, during the night, when she could smell nothing which would lead her to her brother, she met that kind girl Mai again. Mai was being attacked. Mikoto, who liked that kind girl, deemed the attacker her enemy. It was good! She discovered that kind Mai was a HiME, and she also met the enemy who had attacked her before. It would have been a wonderful turn of events, had Mai's enemy not been so relentless.

She had to divert her attention to it, and even Miroku's strength was not enough. There, Mikoto met Mai's strength, a strength called Kagutsuchi. It was an overwhelming strength. Mai was not only a kind person, but a strong person. It was amazing!

Mikoto went with Mai to speak to a girl she called the director, who led the school. According to Mai, that girl would pay for her to live there and allow her to study, despite the fact that the closest thing to study in this place was a club where they only studied with practice weapons. Mikoto didn't like her. But she could stay in Fuuka that way, and search for her Lord Brother.

She went back with Mai, and that kind person allowed her to stay. It meant far more than any vague words about being paid for, about some custodian footing her bills. Mai cooked her food!

Mai took care of her, and so she took care of Mai. Because Ohtori was in Tokyo, and Tokyo was a hotbed of spiritual activity. The Orphans which threatened humanity were the HiME's specific problem, but there were more, more and more - monsters and gods and dark things which smelled of ash and rot. Without her Lord Brother to guide her, Mikoto fought for Mai.

There were others. Not only HiME, but Sailors and Knights and Puella Magi. Some of them became her fierce friends, others she knew only on the battlefield. One, in particular, she grew close to - Eri Shimanouchi, who loved plants as she loved cats.

And there were other HiME. Natuski Kuga, who was her enemy, was someone Mai insisted was a friend. Mikoto was reluctant, but Mai eventually succeeded in getting her to like the other girl. There was Nao Yuuki, who told her things Mai never would; later, Kozue Kaoru would take her position of devil's advocate, first known to Mikoto only as Cassandra. Midori Sugiura, of course, was Midori Sugiura.

But Mai was the most important HiME, because Mai made her good food, and Mai slept with her at night, and Mai supported her when she was unsure. Mai made stir-fry, with meat and onions and bell peppers. She made rice balls, and vegetables, and miso soup. She made Italian pasta. She made fish, freshly-caught by Mikoto herself. And, of course, she made ramen, and Mai's ramen was the ''best.''
|}

=== Love Is A Word You Can't Take Back ~ 'Alyssa' ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYRqIAuY9IQ do you understand that we will never be the same again?]]''
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It was the HiME who SEARRS targetted, a year after Mikoto had arrived at Ohtori. Cassandra's identity was revealed to her, and her identity was revealed to the world. In a tattered ballgown, she went underground with Mai and Natsuki, and found herself summoned by the Headmistress in order to defend the populations of the Sister Schools. Miroku cleaved tanks in half, but it was Mai's power, Kagutsuchi, which truly stole the stage. Upon it, Mai took Alyssa's Child's blast, and Kagustuchi transformed, and took them to space.

But when they fell, Mai was not with them. Mikoto cried out, and in her grief, forgot her most important lesson. 'I love Mai!' The words she couldn't say when Mai was with her, she said as she watched the sky for any sign of Mai's body.

With that admission, it became easier. Mikoto realised she loved so many people. But Mai was gone.

Eri stayed with her, in the days afterwards. She cried on her, often. Eri, who had viewed Mai as such a close friend as well, was the closest thing Mikoto had to guidance in those days. It forged their bond stronger, closer. Eri became the most important girl in Mikoto's world, simply because Eri was there for her when she needed her.

And then Mai came back! It was the best day in Mikoto's life, and she cried happy tears instead of sad, and didn't let Mai go for so long because she was terrified of her leaving again.

Mai had come back, and Mai was safe, and Mikoto didn't want her to be in danger any more. It was easy, when Eri started sharing her problems as a Puella Magi with her, to justify keeping Mai out of the loop. Mai wouldn't understand. Mai would be in danger. Mai, who had come back to them safe, who Mikoto loved and didn't want to see hurt...
|}

=== A Monster Made Of Love And Obsidian Blades ~ 'War' ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReA_3z4gl5s these nails in my hands, erasing all the lines in the sand]]''
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... Mai couldn't know about Mikoto's hunts with Eri. And when Eri's problems with other Puella Magi came to a head, Mikoto found she couldn't tell Mai that she was fighting for her friend, either. Because a war was brewing, and Mai would be sad, and disappointed, and in danger.

Mikoto had to do it on her own.

So she did. She aligned herself with Eri, followed Eri's example, and beat Eri's enemies. She came home to Mai at night, and said nothing about the battles she had fought. It was a conflict she struggled with, her obligations to Mai and her obligations to Eri tearing at each other. She tried not to think about it, and justified it to herself, and kept fighting.

In time, it changed from being a question of Eri's life to a question of all life on Earth. It became a question of defending Mai, and a question of safeguarding her Lord Brother. These threats meant much more to her than the lives of so many strangers, and it was these threats which spurred her to commit even further to her bloody path. She hated hurting people who weren't warriors, but what choice did they have? The stakes were too high. So much was at stake. ''Eri'' was at stake.

It hurt, not being able to talk to Mai about it. But she loved Eri, too, and didn't want her to die. She didn't want Eri to burn out in a blaze of glory. She didn't want Eri to suffer. So Mikoto pushed herself harder, and harder, and harder, all so Eri wouldn't have to expend so much magic, so Eri wouldn't need quite so many grief seeds. Mikoto didn't need grief seeds. Mikoto could do that much for Eri. It was Endo Naoki, in the end, who dashed her hopes and dreams for Eri's shining future. He and Fallen Stern demolished her twice in a row, defeating her utterly.

But when he struck her down her the second time, with a mighty blow which ought to have felled her even were she healthy instead of almost past her limit, she didn't stay down. Fearing for her friends' safety in the face of someone who could destroy ''her'' so reliably, Mikoto convinced herself Miroku was necessary, though she had always been taught to use his power alone with caution. She summoned her Child, and destroyed Endo, in turn. If not for Ren Aizawa's timely interlude, she would have surely killed him.

Instead, it was Eri who killed. Mami's soul gem was shattered, and Mikoto convinced Miroku to reveal itself - a ''conversation'' strange to have, thoughts not quite her own - so that it could rescue Eri and the other Shepherds from Chevalier retaliation. It was against the idea. She persisted. Sayaka's darkness was too wrong; Eri's anguish, too deep. She had to get them away.

So she did.
|}

=== Devastation In The Wake ~ 'Falling' ===

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQtzSmv_9D4 i am letting myself look the other way]]''
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And when next she woke, she found herself attacked in such subtle, terrible ways, with cables in her flesh and horrible beeping machines. She tried to flee, remembering old instructions to survive - but she was too weak, and they captured her and bound her. Yumi explained, when she came to, that she was in hospital. Hospital... the same place Takumi so often went. Mikoto hadn't realised how torturous it was.

Mai visited the next day, and her grief and her worry and her anger were so overwhelming that Mikoto's world was shattered in an instant. Everything was for naught - because Mai was crying. Mikoto realised, all at once, that her efforts were meaningless, because she had made Mai go through the same horror Mikoto went through when she thought Mai was dead.

And in Mikoto a darkness flowered, so unlike her obsidian edges. Because she had no way to make Mai happy, and make Eri happy as well. She loved them both - served them both - and they would never, ever agree. Mai wanted them to be normal high school students. Eri was embroiled in a war. Mikoto knew the warrior's path she must lead, saw it leading away from Mai -

- it wounded her, deep inside her heart. She struggled even to enjoy food, for the joy of food was something Mai had shown her; she felt so undeserving of delicious things. A terrible guilt pressed down upon her, as she struggled to reconcile her two closest friends. She couldn't be what Mai needed her to be - but she couldn't be what Eri needed, either, because her body was broken. She was not smart enough, or good enough, or strong enough, to find a solution which would make everyone smile. Worse - asking for smiles only brought wooden, stiff things.

But Mai was the girl Mikoto loved most in all the world, so Mikoto tried anew to be what Mai wanted. She tried to attend normal school functions - they went wrong. And then she tried to make Mai happy by staying at home and recovering, even though there was so much danger she felt she had to confront.

She just wanted Mai to smile. She knew that soon she would be called on to fight again, and she would not be able to resist the call, because Eri loved her - really, really told her she loved her, unlike the Mai who never said those words - and Eri needed her strength.

And all Mikoto could do was fight, as the war so clearly demonstrated. Fighting was all she was good for. Destroying enemies was her singular purpose, and Eri had so many enemies, and Mai increasingly few...

... but Mai's sadness hurt so ''much''. So Mikoto tried to stay still, tried to do normal things.
|}

=== A Thousand Enemies And The Lighthouse ~ 'SPACE JAIL' ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zMrL6N3GDA stay with me, this is what i need, please]]''
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It didn't last. The one time Mikoto decided it was safe to take a normal walk, without any intention to fight... she saw a menacing ship approaching, and was drawn into a battle anyway, because it threatened the Earth - where her Lord Brother was, and Mai and Eri, too. They were threatened with vaporisation, but Steven Universe's shield saved them. They then fought a ferocious warrior, Jasper - who thrust a gem destabiliser right against Mikoto's heart.

Her connection with Miroku was temporarily disrupted, and for the first time, she couldn't feel it at all. It flew into the ocean; she hit the sand. Stripped of her powers, she could do nothing as she was kidnapped by Jasper and Rubeus into their spaceships. She awoke in a room with ''Endo'' - and no one else at all. When Mikoto realised, she wanted to kill him - but a previous conversation with Kasagami Araki stayed her hand, because she'd told her that she was breaking too much of herself in her anger, neatly coached in the metaphor of broken chopsticks. Forced to inaction, she was stuck in a hateful room. The only way she could tolerate speaking with him was to educate him on their enemy's weaknesses. She found a surprising amount of excuses to do so - because the loneliness was just too much to bear.

But she was rescued by Steven once more, and he led her to her obsidian pendant, stolen from her person when she was imprisoned. She separated from them to find Miroku - and after fruitless searching, eventually it was able to reach out to her. She took it in hand, and met with the others, where Ruby demanded help, because Sapphire was being menaced by one of Rubeus's black crystals.

They were stopped by Peridot, in a robonoid mecha. Mikoto went to struck it down - and was met, face-to-mechanical-claw, with an industrial destabiliser, designed for things much ''larger'' than girls. And for the first time in Mikoto's life -

- she froze. She couldn't move. She had no options. She was still injured; she wouldn't be able to leap away in time. She couldn't possibly block something like that. And attacking it would be fruitless. There was nothing, ''nothing'' she could do. She couldn't even ''try,'' as her warrior's training and Miroku both demanded of her, because fear flooded her, locked up every limb.

The destabiliser terrified her that much. And Steven saved her, a third time, shield to destabiliser. Through Ami Mizuno's direction, they were able to destroy the mecha, exposing Peridot. Mikoto would have executed her despite being already defeated, moved both by her terror and Miroku's terrible anger - but she disappeared. There were few things which could distract Mikoto from her rage, in that moment.

An honest, unfiltered show of love and affection and romance between Ruby and Sapphire turned out to be one of those few things. In the brief moments she saw them reunited as a pair, Mikoto found herself thinking of a certain face. Is that what being attracted to girls meant? And why, then, would it make her think of...

Questions which were quickly ignored and suppressed. Ruby and Sapphire fused together, became ''Garnet,'' her enemy. She directed them to the prisoners still captured... and they walked right into a trap. A trap which they had no hope of defeating - but they didn't have to. There were others, who had come to save them. Lancelot had come to save her. ''Mai'' had come to save her.

And Mikoto, who had felt so despondent over Mai's coddling, despaired so much over Mai's inability to return her love, was overjoyed to see that Mai cared so much. Surely, this meant Mikoto was still important to her! Because Mai wouldn't let anything hurt her - not even the words of an enemy. But Mai was hurt, in the fight against Rubeus, where Mikoto fought so hard because Mai bid her to destroy her enemies. Never mind that Mikoto's healing injuries were also aggravated - Mai was hurt! It was through Lancelot's help that they were all able to flee; it was through the efforts of several that they were able to escape. (Notably, Steven's bubble protected them from the impact. That's four times he saved her.)

Jasper survived the crash - but she didn't survive fusion with Lapis, who dragged her into the ocean as Malachite. Mikoto used Eri's words, to try and convince Lapis not to do it; words she didn't really believe herself, but the only ones she could think of which might not have made everything worse. But in the end, Lapis's own feelings made even the threat of their fusion a distant thing, lodged at the bottom of the ocean.

The aftermath of her second space adventure left Mikoto more scarred than she'd like to admit. She dreamt of the annihilation of destabilisers, even alongside Mai's comforting presence. And the fact that Mai was hurt while rescuing her weighed on her, especially as she saw how much it hurt Mai to have to stop, too.
|}

=== Secret And Known Things ~ 'Reinforce' ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt09n4O-OrE everything is balanced here, and on an even keel]]''
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It was in trying to help Mai, by going out and getting ingredients for dinner so she wouldn't have to walk on a hurt ankle, that things became worse for Mikoto again. Wounded and weak, she was targeted for harvest by Vita - and though Vita found her a dangerous beast to back into a corner, Mikoto ultimately couldn't face up to the other berserker. Though [[Lera Camry]] tried to intervene and save her, the Book of Darkness drained her of her magic and left her defenceless.

Lera took her to Nishitama Park to try and help her recover, and Mikoto's stubbornness saw her not only hiding the fact that it was Eri's territory, but also saw her stalking off alone as the guilt overwhelmed her. She had to kill Lera's friends, after all - even if Lera was a good person who saved her and tried to convince her she had worth beyond the fight. It was a foolhardy decision, because Mikoto was a normal girl, and normal girls were Witch food. She found herself caught in a Labyrinth, and was almost torn apart by Familiars before Eri intervened.

And so Mikoto found herself powerless again, so soon after the destabiliser severed her. This was not the same feeling - Miroku was still there, but it was distant, foggy, and she could not handle her sword at all. It was as if she'd been taken by some terrible sickness. Her friends tried to reach out to her, to convince her there were still things she could do, even when she couldn't fight. It was difficult to convince her, but Eri and [[Yumi Ohzora]] eventually made some progress. [[Kasagami Araki]], on the other hand, declared Mikoto her knight in her enthusiasm while reassuring her - and Mikoto found herself rankling against the girl again. There was something threatening, about Kasagami's aspirations. Mikoto tried to tell her she could only be her friend... ''tried.''

But it was Mai who saw how much being drained wounded Mikoto, at night, as she slipped away to try and reach out to her sword. And it was Mai who sat with her, under the night sky and a glimmering star, and listened to her woes. It was Mai who reminded her of her resolution as a HiME - to protect someone precious. The most important girl in her life... well, wasn't that Mai Tokiha? The knowledge brought Miroku back to her, and Mai congratulated her for it. Mai supported her. That Mai did not condemn her - that Mai was glad for her - was an incredible healing force, for Mikoto.

Were this a happy story, Mikoto would go forward with the power of love and fight for justice.

This is not a very happy story.

Eri called a meeting of the Shepherds, and Mikoto found herself reminded of the guillotine hanging over the head of the ''third'' most important person in the world. She reached out to Homura, offering to hunt Sayaka with her. She couldn't leave it to Eri, not after seeing how much defeating Mami hurt her hunting partner. Mikoto was not affected by Mami's death like anyone else - she was a natural choice to kill the next one. She had the strength to do it, so she had to do it. If she didn't, Eri would die. She did not tell Mai, when she got back. She was ashamed. And death, besides, was a secret thing, though she did not know why she felt so.

She was interrupted from a nap by Nagi, informing her that the final fight for control of the World Tree was beginning. And Mikoto, though she was still hurt, had to respond: its power could threaten the world where her Lord Brother lived. The Protodaimons proved horrific foes, however, especially as they tore through her mind's defences instead of her body's. Terror took her, and she fled from her allies and her enemies alike.

It meant she was not by their side, as Dark Fall seized victory and opened a yawning portal to the Dark King. All the most terrible servants of darkness responded to his clarion call --

-- including Mikoto Minagi. Her necklace glowed with sickly purple light, and she was possessed by a dark shadow which veiled her identity and every soft part of her. That terrible force rampaged in a completely unguided fashion, activated with no orders to follow. It sieved the love from her heart and made her strong again, so that she might destroy them all. Destruction was all she knew. It was only luck which saw nothing cross her path to be annihilated.

But the Kiryuu Sisters sacrificed themselves to stymie the Dark King's coming, and the golden light of their love settled in on Mikoto, and the dark shadow faded and she found herself standing alone. Alone and confused, because she didn't remember the Dark King's call at all. She thought she must have just gotten so frightened that she forgot. She thought the Kiryuu Sisters' light must have revitalised her. She ascended the tower from her low point, all alone - and was caught in the process by Mai and Kagutsuchi. Mai was there for her in her dazed bewilderment.

Mai took her to the husk of the World Tree, alongside [[Takeo Akamizu]]. There they found the Wolkenritter, using that hated Book to drain the Dark King's portal. But Mikoto could not lay aside her grievances - she attacked Vita, alongside so many others. It would have been a terrible fight, had the Book of Darkness not activated itself. It absorbed the Wolkenritter in an act of violence which even disturbed Mikoto, and it captured all those girls and sent them to a perfect world of dreams.

Mikoto wished so much to be back with her family. And since her Lord Brother never left - Mikoto never went to Tokyo at all. But she couldn't forget her love for her friends, and so in her dream she attracted the monsters of Tokyo to her mountain instead, to defeat them alongside her Lord Brother. She would fight all the battles - and the people below would be able to live peaceful lives. And the only things she ever fought... were monsters. She didn't know how to hurt humans. She didn't need to know.

But still her heart yearned for what she had left behind, and so the Book's Mai climbed the mountain, and Mikoto defended her from the terrible creatures there. It was in delivering her back to the train station that she found Eri - and she was not of the Book at all. She weaved a hundred little questions through Mikoto's mind as they climbed the mountain, and after so much subtlety applied the force of a sledgehammer to one final question: What was her Lord Brother's name?

It shattered the Book's hold on Mikoto, and she knew nothing of Eri's conversation with the image of her Grandfather. She was having her own conversation, after all - with her Lord Brother. She realised it was wrong. He would never act the way he was. He would never fight as her partner, like Mai or Eri. And his training was not just focused on monsters at all.

As she took through the Book's worlds awakened, she was all sledgehammer. She burst into Mai's world and reminded her of how the world truly was by getting into trouble immediately - it was in anger that she tore down Kasagami's illusions of being Mikoto's 'Lord Sister'. In the visage of the Belkan Knight Golf, Mikoto even ripped through the memories of the Wolkenritter's past to inform Vita so bitterly that she was dead and gone. She could not abide the lies.

And when it came time to escape the dream... the world was shattered. The World Tree crumbled, and not every civilian had escaped the massive barrier erected around Tokyo. Amongst so many people to protect were Chie and Aoi, Mikoto's stalwart social defenders at school. She called Miroku's obsidian spires to their defence, to help stop the World Tree's boughs from crushing them - perhaps the only time those jagged things had been employed to any other purpose than destruction. They had questions, and Mikoto had scarce few answers for them, but she knew she must protect them.

The Book of Darkness faced them, and Mikoto found herself facing off against the attacks of so many foes again as it employed all the skills it had absorbed from the magical community. Worse than that, however, was the way she summoned ''Miroku'' - and empowered her profane copies of the weapon with Fallen Stern's offensive magics. Mikoto would have torn her apart, falling on her with all the force and fury of a freight train, had [[Fate Testarossa]] and [[Nanoha Takamachi]] not blasted her from the Book's form.

And so the Book was named 'Reinforce', and the forms of [[Hayate Yagami]] and the Wolkenritter resolved again. Mikoto could not trust Vita, but in the face of the threat of NachtWal, she followed the instruction of a girl who had been so sickly before. She fought with Takeo against the threat, joined at points by Steven and Sailor Pluto - but in the end, as NachtWal crumbled into a mass of flesh and misery, she was alone. It was there that Lera called out to her, and showed her a path through the horror. And as they held the line against NachtWal, to keep it from the civilians, Lera spent every ounce of magic and found herself without her Barrier Jacket at all - and Mikoto, without thinking, stepped in to shove her aside and cut down the flesh which meant to take her.

She would make a thousand excuses, later, for why she did it. But the truth was, she had already decided Lera was a good person, and it was difficult to convince her mind that a good person could be an enemy. Lera had never attacked her, after all. Lera tried to help her, after all. Lera said kind things about her, after all. And, after all - good people were always worth protecting.

Through Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate's combined efforts, NachtWal was destroyed, in a storm of destruction she felt pressured to describe as 'beautiful'. And in the end, a wizened woman appeared to instruct them to plant the seeds of their hope and their dreams. And [[Setsuna Higashi]] approached her, and shared with her her own struggles - and in that vulnerable moment, tired from the fight, Mikoto took her hand and let her lead her to a site to plant a seed. She spoke of her own realisations, her own hopes, her own fears. They helped to nurture the seed into a tree - the new World Tree.

Were this a happy story, this triumph of hope and compassion would pave the way to new friendships and understandings.

This is not a very happy story.
|}

=== Blood In The Water ~ 'Sayaka' ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlvJC0FUuKU every broken dream that i leave behind]]''
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She left the World Tree, and she knew only one thing: she must find her Lord Brother. She must pour all her energies into the search, to find him, to apologise for her perfect world being different from the vision he had for her. To bring that perfect world into reality - the true perfect world, the one he desired - she must find him.

Mikoto dreamt again, that night, abstract black-glass nightmares as her brain struggled to comprehend the darkness which had consumed her on the tower. Within it was a command, issued from her darkest parts in recognition of the dangers presented by Eri's questions: she must destroy.

It was this onus of destruction which saw her descending on Vita, fully intending to take her life. The decision was barely conscious; in her battle-fugue she stalked and apprehended her in broad daylight. But Vita would not fight - and as a civilian, Mikoto found she could not lower her blade onto her. People who couldn't attack her could not be her enemies. She tried to incite Vita to violence, and failed. It was Vita who incensed her, instead, as Mikoto felt her words of triumph were a scathing indictment of her failure to keep her Lord Brother safe and happy. She might have felled her regardless of her feelings, then, if a bystander had not rounded the corner - so instead, she swore her vengeance and left.

She was not the only enemy Mikoto spoke with, though Eri's injunction not to fight the Chevaliers without reason held fast. Cure Passion tried to understand her, only for Mikoto to end up screaming at her. Nanoha found Mikoto in her bakery - and Mikoto tried to behave herself in the enemy's territory, but regardless abjured any attempt to call her a friend. Fate tried to reach out, and her familiar history wounded Mikoto deeply before she pushed the nascent realisation away. Her enemies were wearing her down, inch by painful inch, and she hated feeling so weak in the face of something she could not call an attack at all. But it was difficult for enemies to reach someone like Mikoto, even as she tried to kill [[Westar]] for trying to get her help in dragging Setsuna back to Labyrinth.

A friend, on the other hand... would have much better luck. For at the same time as Mikoto struggled with the words of her enemies, she listened wholeheartedly to the words of [[Homura Akemi]], a girl she trusted well. Homura had defeated Mai's murderer, after all. And Homura took the belief Mikoto had forged for herself, that little scrap of ethics she had fought for under the cover of her Lord Brother's brutal instruction - that people who couldn't fight her could not be her enemies at all - and she shattered it unblinking. They had to kill Sayaka as a civilian, and Homura could not have Mikoto flinching out of a misplaced sense of honour. It hurt, and yet Mikoto discarded the belief without hesitation, because she loved Eri, and she wanted Eri to live.

It was Mai Tokiha herself who almost lifted another of her self-imposed limitations. She shared her fears with her as they tried to take a Golden Week holiday, how battered she felt by the barrage of words she could not defend against, and Mai told her the one thing she had denied for so long: words could be an attack, too. But if words were a method of fighting, Mikoto would have to fight so many more people - including the bullies of Ohtori. Mai struggled to reason with Mikoto that words ought to only be fought with more words, and told her to ignore them, or shout or call to Mai for help before she drew her blade. And yet, she said that sometimes, there was no other choice... and Mikoto knew well what she meant. She felt foolish, for not realising that she was being attacked. Now she knew.

She spent the Darkness Festival with Eri, and at first it was a pleasant thing. But with the realisation that Miroku could be called a vessel, the tone changed. Eri eventually came to share that Puella Magi's bodies weren't alive like hers, and Mikoto shared her own conflict about not remembering things, recalling the way she attacked Vita in fugue. It was not a concern she articulated well, and Eri led her stumbling onto a hot plate, just as the other girl tried to explain to her. It led Eri to take her to a ruined church and share another tale of touching hot stoves... which only made Mikoto feel more isolated, unable to comprehend Kyouko's betrayal when she had only known love from her family. She might have locked Eri out, then, had Eri not tried so hard to reassure her they were the same in all the vicious ways which mattered.

Though she had good times, shopping with Mai and karaoking with her and Ye-jin, and insightful times as she learnt of the woes of Takeo's family, there were other people she'd rather keep at arms reach. Lera tried and failed to reach out to Mikoto, again, though Mikoto realised with relief that Lera had not meant to leave her in a Witch-infested garden. Perhaps that much she could tolerate, but Setsuna Higashi tried, too - and the two of them found it so hard to communicate that they ended up fighting. Mikoto decimated her, and might have destroyed her, if not for Fate's swift intercession. And as she came to her senses in the ruins of the battlefield, she realised she'd messed up.

Kasagami found her in the boughs of the tree she had cut down, exhausted but largely unharmed. She had a great amount of criticism for Mikoto's actions and attitude, which Mikoto absorbed without even trying to defend herself, because even if Kasagami was hurting her with words she had brought it on herself. Despite her frustration, Kasagami nursed at the scrapes and scratches Mikoto had accrued, and perhaps in a better world Mikoto would realise that her words not lining up with her actions spoke to a deeper love than her irritated admiration. Instead Mikoto was sure she had erred -- a certainty which weighed her down as she helped Kimiko hunt, and finally came to a head as she joined Eri for her own gardening. Miroku's blade carved close to Eri as she cleaved through the familiars, and when Eri pressed whether Mikoto was really all right, she flinchingly confessed her sins. Eri reassured her that she'd done the best she could have done, and that it was the Chevaliers' fault for pushing her. Mikoto finally told her about the way the Chevaliers had been targetting her -- and Eri both explained the way they saw the Shepherds as weak and in need of salvation, and defended their enemies as not truly wanting to weaken her for an easy kill.

When Fate tried to engage her on what she had done, as she and Arf happened upon Mikoto during Children's Day, she denied any wrongdoing at all. But she remembered Kasagami's frustration, and so she tried to warn Fate away. Fate asked whether Mikoto enjoyed killing, and it was not a question she could fully answer. She tried to say her feelings on the subject didn't matter, and Fate again told her they did. As she stalked from Tama to the heart of Tokyo to get away from her, she found someone else who considered her thoughts: Sailor Neptune, who had been troubled by visions of Mikoto. Unlike Fate, Sailor Neptune was a friend, and so Mikoto smilingly answered her questions -- though she talked often of Eri, and little of herself, a thing Neptune soon remarked on. Mikoto did not ask Neptune in turn who she was or the details of her purpose: instead she simply wanted to know how she could pronounce Linden Baum's menu so aptly.

It took her a while to remember /why/ she'd gone to Tama: the Children's Day sports festival, where Takumi was volunteering. She and Mai spent a while there, but their day was interrupted as Esmeraude summoned one of her dark minions to the field. Following Mai's lead, Mikoto leapt into battle; she desperately wanted to be able to act in the defence of civilians, for once in her life, and her wish and wholehearted devotion to the fight was rewarded with their safety. And as Golden Week drew to a close, Mikoto searched out Yumi, whom she had not been able to locate through the holidays. They got excited for normal things, like scones and swimming, and did not talk of the dark clouds on the horizon. The only hint was the way Mikoto ended up napping on Yumi, trapping her on the couch, because she'd been doing so much.

It was nice to do something inarguably good for once.

But Mikoto had promises to keep.

Homura came to her without warning to tell her the time had come, and Mikoto followed without question. But though Homura left a hole where Sayaka's heart ought to be, she did not die, and Kozue would not allow Mikoto to kill her. She ground down her feelings for Kozue with each heft of her blade, realising that being a warrior who could defeat any enemy did not mean she had to be stronger - only that she was willing to go further. (Realising, and pushing aside the realisation, that she did not enjoy it at all.) This was a sentiment she followed to its conclusion as Kozue's child Cassandra trapped her with no hope of escape, and she called Miroku to shatter them all. But Utena swept in, ever the valiant prince, to rescue Sayaka - and Kozue was retrieved by someone so much more familiar. Shizuru. She stood with magical weapon and spoke with nobility, every inch of her designed to communicate how much higher she stood. And Mikoto, who recognised that manner so instinctually, knew fear. She could not hope to fight someone... like her brother.

Shizuru bid her to see to Eri, insinuated that perhaps her enemies had the same idea they'd had, and Mikoto ran.

With Homura's help, Mikoto was able to track down Eri, and she found her safe - but not all right. Motionless, Eri told her she deserved better than being her assassin, and Mikoto despaired, because what else could she do to make this better? She wanted it to be fair, though Eri shut down those hopes as she loomed. She told Mikoto about her own hopes - and how impossible they were. She'd need a miracle to fix her life, and she'd used hers already. And she dragged Mikoto's own secret dreams from the place she had tried to bury them, her wish to be with Mai and to fight Orphans instead of girls.

(Her wish that her Lord Brother would respect her and listen to her, even if he didn't like what she had to say.)

It troubled Mikoto, and like all things which troubled her, she tried to push it aside and not think about it. She dragged Mai and Eri to one of Ye-jin's parties - only for the cake to disappear as the lights went out! No one believed Mikoto at first, who smelt the frosting slip away, and saw no hands moving it illuminated by everyone's mobile phones. Eri eventually realised she was telling thr truth, and Mikoto left her two most important girls to take care of each other in Ye-jin's improvised courtroom as she slipped away to address the problem. With [[Georgia Jenks]] and Steven Universe, she found the cake -- and when she did, she found that Georgia, too, was HiME. (They would later resolve to fight monsters together, a gloriously uncomplicated proposal which delighted her.) She did not share her revelation with Mai, afterwards; she was too busy testing the waters of Mai's anger towards Eri. She found that Mai felt little animosity, and confessed the weight of Sayaka's wrath which hung over Eri like a guillotine - as well as a few things she didn't mean to say, as she insisted that she wouldn't give up on Eri.

It was that refusal to give up which drove her to confront Setsuna Higashi, instead of monitoring her like Homura had told her to do with the Chevaliers. Setsuna was still injured from their conflict, and so Mikoto reasoned it would be easy to scare her away from Eri - and in this way prevent further bloodshed. Instead she learned that Setsuna wanted to protect Eri, too... and she learned Setsuna's name. It was a moment of surprising openness, but she realised at the last moment that she could not rely on her enemies to help her - even though Eri's words about what the Lotus world meant still rang in her ears. Conflicted and confused, she fled.

Midst her tireless searching and the remnants of war, of course, there was still class to take care of. Mikoto actually attended the cooking class she was supposed to take part in -- only to test out an incredibly spicy sauce Usagi and her friends had made. The Demon Cat of Ohtori rampaged through the halls of Infinity Institute, only stopped by the famed Michiru Kaioh, who just happened to have milk on hand. Usagi came by Mikoto and Mai's dorm, the next day, with a box of Makoto's cookies to apologise. Their conversation turned to romance, and when Usagi asked if Mikoto had ever wanted to kiss anyone she realised what she had not quite managed to put together throughout a thousand subtle hints: she was sweet on Mai Tokiha. But she knew that if she told her, Mai would run away -- and besides, Mai treated her like a kid, not like a fellow girl. Usagi suggested proving she really was a girl just like Mai, and Mikoto immediately took the suggestion on board as she dragged Usagi into a plot to make more cookies. (It did not work out well, but at least they had Makoto's cookies to ply Mai with in the aftermath.)

Mikoto found herself pulled into the preparations for the Kanda Festival. Her enemy, Vita, was there - and Mikoto reached out haplessly to Yumi for guidance, only to be reassured that it was all right. With Yumi, and Signum under the name of Yagami, Mikoto filled the hot air balloon which would become the parade float Majestia. She realised midway through that Signum, too, was an enemy - but Signum insisted she was just here for the celebration, and so haltingly Mikoto reached out for her assistance in their preparations.

When the festival started in earnest, Mikoto was there to help support Yumi, in case the crowds got too much for her. But it was not the people who were overwhelming: it was the float, Majestia, animated by magic and acting in destruction. At first, Mikoto was incensed to see her magic hijacked in such a fashion; it was only as the fight stretched on, and Majestia was pierced to reveal a great malevolent eye of magic, that she began to realise perhaps it was a true reflection of her power. Rather than fight what felt like Miroku, she ran; she did not run far enough. It was only the purifying magics of the likes of Steven and Yumi which saved her.

The events troubled her, and as she searched later, she took refuge in the boughs of the World Tree to think. There she met [[Soular]], who pressed upon her the urgency of her search. He forced her to confront the fact that she had not found her Lord Brother, though she had searched for two long years. She realised it was still the most important thing, to her - and resolved to redouble her efforts, though she was already running at breaking point.

She was not the only one. The conflict between Eri and Sayaka boiled over as Sayaka, Kozue, Endo, and Tsubasa made an assault on Kyouko and Eri; but the Shepherds were there to intercede, and so, surprisingly, were the splintered Chevaliers, now led by [[Nori Ankou]]. Mikoto's battle with Kozue found itself interrupted by the other obsidian-wielder, as la Sirene de Diamant struggled to reach out to Kozue. In the end, Mikoto found herself working -- if not with her -- at least towards a similar purpose. It was a strange partnership which advanced as Sayaka and her friends converged on the Labyrinth Eri and Kyouko were in, Tsubasa blocking the path. Mikoto expended herself, summoning a great and towering blade to split the one Tsubasa wrought: they were things stories tall, built to bisect buildings, not people. As they carved into each other, hers instead became structurally integral to the terminal they had ravaged; she had to sustain the spell. It was an unfortunate situation, as they rushed into the flooded building, and she found Eri and Kyouko about to be washed away. It was all she could do to summon a cage of obsidian around them, and beseech her friends for help.

Once everyone was extracted from the terminal - when she could finally release her magic - Mikoto was exhausted, bereft of the will to fight. In weariness she heard Homura's revelation that Eri was a gem, and that the end she was meant was only to become a Witch. She did not struggle to accept it as much as others did. She knew, already, that there could be dark things inside girls. She had seen how her own power looked to everyone else, after all. Mikoto reaffirmed her dedication to Eri, even knowing what she would become.

The Chevaliers and Shepherds both realised that the witch which was Sayaka had to be dealt with, and some of each of their number agreed to watch it, together. It was Mikoto who first checked on la Sirene, the next day, and ushered her out of her vigil so that she could see to her wounds. La Sirene blamed Homura; Mikoto could not bring herself to do so. Homura knew something which no one could know. Mikoto felt some kinship to that struggle, as she realised that she could not tell her friends about her own worries without putting herself at risk.

She shared what she could with Mai and Natsuki, and when she came to support Eri, she found herself put in a strange position: taking responsibility for Eri's wellbeing. Seeing the other girl's desperation, she stepped, uncomfortably, into command - and told her what to do. It was this responsibility which pushed her to go further in assisting Eri, maintaining her territory, failing to warn innocents away from Familiars. She took responsibility, too, in failing to tell Eri about the way she no longer protected anyone in her garden, so that Eri would have enough to eat.

It was another thread of desperation which defined the way she pushed herself, further and further, as she sought to intensify her search, and see to the thing which was Sayaka, and take care of Eri. Amongst the many people who saw the way stress winnowed her was Madoka - and Mikoto realised, as the other girl brought her a bento just for her, that her anger was misplaced. Madoka was not unlike her, even if she was not a warrior.

It was Mai, in the end, who provided Mikoto with a light in the dark. Following Usagi's advice, Mikoto asked to help prepare bento in the mornings with her; another promise, one to keep her from disappearing in the early hours of the morning to search. It provided some scarce reprieve: Mikoto could, at least, wake up with Mai and spend time with her, before the constant grind of her innumerable tasks overwhelmed her for the day. Mikoto could not express how important it was to her, even if she made a poor assistant in the kitchen.

A point of stability was important, with the way her world was changing rapidly around her. The Chevaliers and the Shepherds were working together, now - a union expressed succinctly as the two factions joined each other for karaoke. Mikoto felt her fears that Eri was condemned were only confirmed, but in truth, it was not only fear which led her to pledge her strength to Kozue's plea for help. She could not make herself reach out to a girl who had once been her friend - but she would help her, and perhaps in this way her feelings would reach her.

Kozue hoped that their feelings would reach Sayaka, too. If they could help her, they could break the ignoble fate which awaited Puella Magi. But as they fought into the heart of Oktavia's labyrinth, it became clear that their mission was fraught. Oktavia was a monster, and did not listen even to her closest people. Mikoto, deep in berserkergang, could offer no words of solace. In desperation she called on Miroku to breech the ground with its club, but it was not enough to save Kozue and Cassandra. As it became clear that the two would be killed, in fact, Mikoto dismissed her Child from the field. She could not risk Miroku, no matter her feelings for Kozue.

And Kozue died, and took the Witch with her.

Mikoto would never know if she could have stopped it if only she fought a little harder.
|}

=== Moored to Paradox ~ 'Fallen' ===

''here's the story about how mikoto fucked up cooking breakfast so hard she RUINED HER ENTIRE LIFE''

== Powers/Abilities ==
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkENkfrQChY here by my side, you are destruction]]''
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[[File:Mikototracking.png|200px|thumb|right|Sniff sniff sniff.]] Mikoto has senses as sharp as any animal's, and much sharper than most of the girls around her. In particular, she has a much stronger sense of smell than humans ought to have, and she is able to get a lot of olfactory information from the world; she's even able to track things just by their scent. Her sense of taste allows her to detect even small variations in food, but also makes her much more vulnerable to spicy dishes - instead of being pleasantly painful, it's instead agonising. (Keen hearing and scent is also occasionally more of a hindrance than a help, in the city; Mikoto hates taking the train because it's such an overloading experience.) 

[[File:Mikotoeyes.png|200px|thumb|left|That's a normal thing for eyes to do.]] Her eyes are of special note, because being a little too bright is the least strange thing about them. Bizarrely, she at times seems to have a layer of tapetum lucidum which gives her eyes an odd shining quality in the dark as it reflects the available light; it contributes to her superior night vision. Stranger still is something even more rarely seen: Mikoto's eyes have vertical pupils which can slit to a narrow point, not unlike the cats she's so fond of. It is the most obvious clue that Mikoto is a little more - or a little less - than an average teenage girl. 
[[File:Mikotofeats.png|200px|thumb|right|She knows she's good.]]
Mikoto is alarmingly acrobatic, even as a civilian; she's leapt out of third-story windows only to bound into the bushes unharmed. Parkour comes as naturally to her as going the normal, boring route, and she can often be found leaping across rooftops rather than walking on the pavement. She may not be able to fly, but she is very, very good at jumping and climbing. She has an excellent sense of balance, too. 
[[File:Mikotoneedsfoodbadly.png|200px|thumb|left|Hunger: the enemy which can never be defeated.]]
However, the cost of these abilities is significant: in order to fuel her enhanced capabilities, Mikoto has an extremely fast metabolism. She goes through energy very quickly, and while she can tough out low energy levels for a time, when she inevitably runs out, she's completely useless. She needs to eat often and heartily in order to avoid collapsing from hunger, a state which looks alarmingly similar to a dead faint. 
[[File:Mikototackle.png|200px|thumb|right|Never not dangerous.]] [[File:Mikotosfriendlyswordadvice.png|200px|thumb|left|Miroku's advice is predictable, but solid. Surely there's nothing else going on here.]]
Her abilities are no less striking in combat, because Mikoto has been training for battle from a distressingly young age. Aside from her natural aptitude with her Element, the obsidian claymore Miroku, Mikoto is also competent in unarmed combat - just in case anyone ever manages to disarm her. It's something very hard to do, because not only is Mikoto's grip on Miroku as strong as iron, if she ever does lose it, she can summon it back to her side simply by reaching out and speaking its name. This method of summoning stands in contrast to most HiME, who summon their Elements with a thought, and it is strange to note that despite supposedly being a piece of highly-advanced materialising equipment, Miroku never seems to ''dematerialise.'' It's always located somewhere in the physical world - though it can teleport to Mikoto at her calling. When not in use, she generally carries it around in a stiff black case which suppresses its powers and allows her to enjoy the benefits of Recognition Inhibition. (Civilians tend to classify it as a golf case, hence Mikoto's reputation in Ohtori as Mysterious Golfer-chan.) Strangely, it seems to take an active role in communicating with Mikoto, though she often mistakes its influence for her own thoughts or feelings... and it's usually telling her to defeat her enemies. 

[[File:Mikotosummoning.png|200px|thumb|right|Now you're thinking with dark portals.]] [[File:Mikotoexplosion.png|200px|thumb|left|It's easy to open doors in life when you can just destroy the wall.]] Mikoto's powers with Miroku tend to be shockingly direct. Wielding it, she is staggeringly powerful; she has carved trees, trucks, tanks, and even a cruise liner in twain. She builds up momentum by running, twirling, and jumping - something which makes her hit even harder, but which can also be exploited by girls who prefer finesse over force. So, too, can her lack of defences and stamina be exploited by canny fighters, because while Mikoto is quick and strong, she isn't very sturdy, and she tends to pour all of herself into her attacks, seeking to end battles quickly. It is undeniable that she does one thing - hitting enemies with her sword - very well, and generally, it's what she'll stick to doing in a battle. But at the peak of its destruction, Miroku is also able to empower its attacks with explosions of energy, red sigils alighting on its blade before it glows blinding white; it assaults its target with spider-cracking malevolent energy, and floods those cracks with a pale red light before it explodes. By bringing Miroku around in full revolution and stabbing it into the earth, consumed by a dark portal and enveloped by white light, Mikoto is able to access the powers of her Child - which is also called Miroku. 

[[File:miroku.png|200px|thumb|right|It's a bit ogrewhelming when it does show up.]] [[File:Mirokuspikes.png|200px|thumb|left|Miroku is shy, and doesn't reveal itself often.]] Miroku, the Child, is known to most of the magical community only through its obsidian stalagmites. While most HiME would summon their Child to the field upon calling its name, Mikoto's remains hidden beneath the surface, only attacking with its elemental aptitude. It has emerged, rarely, at Mikoto's behest. Those few warriors who saw it know it to be an oni, stories tall - not quite as long as Kagutsuchi, but much broader and sturdier. It is a fearsome creature which can attack at range or up close, well-defended with its spiked armor and yet no less agile for its size and bulk. While its magic tends to take the direct shape of jagged obsidian spikes, it is also capable of other magic, such as summoning unsettling spires of darkness or a giant version of Miroku the sword. 

[[File:Adarkshadow2.png|200px|thumb|right|Spikes and swords, oh my!]]There is, however, another unsettling ability Mikoto possessed - or rather, which possessed her. Through a transformation apparently controlled by her obsidian pendant, the Power of Darkness infused her, reducing her features to a Dark Shadow. It fell over her upper half, and at times over her entirely; it was impossible to know the Dark Shadow was Mikoto, without seeing the transformation firsthand. In this form, there was little of Mikoto left in its mind. It invoked Miroku's magic silently, and did not utter a sound as it cleaved across the battlefield with overwhelming velocity and force, seeking to end lives through sword and stalagmite. This was an effective way to override Mikoto's objections over the violence she had to enact in Dark Fall - and it was only when the magical girls of Tokyo destroyed the pendant hanging around Mikoto's neck that she was able to free herself of the Dark Shadow's influence.
|}

=== Talents and Weaknesses ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYcS2Rl6XNc feline, fearless, faithful and true]]''
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Mikoto is a finely-tuned food-destroying machine. So long as it isn't spicy, and the food is otherwise pleasant, she can tear through it as if inhaling. Due to her senses, she's also very good at figuring out whether food has gone bad!

Mikoto grew up in a mountainous shrine, and so she is adapted to outdoor life. She's so good at climbing trees that she often takes naps atop their branches! In the city, she's translated these arboreal skills to roof-hopping, jumping from awning to sign to fire exit with aplomb.

Also due to growing up in one, Mikoto knows her way around shrines. It's one of the few areas where she knows the social rules well enough to not shock anyone.

Mikoto was tutored in Japanese history as part of her studies growing up, so it's one of the few school subjects where she ''doesn't'' flounder. While she can only hope to get Ds or Cs in most of her subjects, she's consistently a B-student in Japanese History. It's the one thing - aside from her good PE scores - which saves her from cram school!

Mikoto is good at calligraphy, another thing she learned growing up, and her handwriting is surprisingly pleasant because of it. Her penmanship earns her a few more points in Japanese class, despite her poor grammar, letting her scrape by a 'poor' grade average in that class.

Mikoto has gotten better at speaking Japanese, over the time she's spent in Tokyo. Grammatical things like articles still elude her a frustrating amount of the time, and she still prefers the most simple and direct way to say what she means, but she understands a lot more than she did when she started. If she puts the effort in, she can almost talk normally... but it ''is'' an effort, and one she doesn't always care to make.

And while Mikoto may not always speak Japanese perfectly, she's fluent in cat body language and their various meows. She learned from the shrine cats at a young age, after all.

However...

Mikoto wasn't raised with an eye towards social skills. She knew very few people growing up, all part of her family, and her training was focused heavily on fighting and topics adjacent to the fight. Her speech wasn't corrected, and she wasn't taught about many fundamental topics. It means that she's terribly unbalanced; even though she's a fright on the battlefield, she often seems ignorant outside of it.

Mikoto is an extremely sensory person, and has trouble thinking of words to express her thoughts, a problem compounded by her life growing up. She's grown better at it with time, but she still needs a calm atmosphere to be able to speak precisely. Sensory overload troubles her, as well, a problem most succinctly expressed by her reaction to spicy food.

Mikoto remembers little of her childhood, and nostalgic reminders can often shut her down while her brain struggles with connections it can't quite make. She has traumatic reactions to many things, though she doesn't recognise them as traumatic. Even in the present day, if something happens which is too difficult for her to absorb, she will just dissociate from the knowledge so that she can keep being the cheerful girl she is.

Mikoto is self-centred, though not in any malicious sense. She understands people through her own reactions to them, and usually falls prey to the typical mind fallacy, thinking that other people must feel the same way she does. Though she genuinely cares about her friends, her attempts to fix their problems often amount to telling them to 'just smile!', and she's troubled when the advice which helps her doesn't help others. She's realised, now, how useless that advice is... at least in regards to Mai Tokiha.

Mikoto tends to decide whether someone is good or bad upon meeting them, in an easily-predictable and easily-manipulable way. She shuts herself off from people she considers bad, and doesn't guard herself around people she considers good. There are a few people who have switched categories, so she's capable of changing her mind, but it takes a great effort to do so. People who skirt those categories are extremely frustrating to Mikoto, and she tends to react by even more firmly categorising them as 'good' or 'bad'.

Mikoto is bottom-barrel in all of her ''other'' classes, only managing to escape abject failure due to Mai's heroic efforts. At times, her scholarship seems thinly-justified, because she's simply so ''bad'' at things like mathematics and science.
|}

== Rumours ==
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWLRYlG-KUU you know what simon says, he tells you what to do]]''
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'''Around School:'''

* She's a transfer student who came here in the 9th grade! 
... ''I'' heard no one knows where she came from, and even her school records are a total mess! 
... ''I'' heard it couldn't possibly be Juuban, even though she's so simple! 
... ''I'' heard she's actually a delinquent who was sent to such a civilised place as one last chance for redemption! 
... how terrible!

* She's a terrible student, especially in science and maths! 
... ''I'' heard the only reason she doesn't fail is her roommate! 
... ''I'' heard she's actually really good at Japanese history! 
... ''I'' heard she skips class a lot! 
... how terrible!

* She can be so rude! 
... ''I'' heard she never says more than three words to anyone! 
... ''I'' heard she looks down on everyone, and that's why she's not in any clubs! 
... ''I'' heard she doesn't care about our money or status at all! 
... how terrible!

* She really doesn't understand social interaction! 
... ''I'' heard she just doesn't care! 
... ''I'' heard she doesn't use honorifics and always calls people by their first names! 
... ''I'' heard she's totally unaffected by hot guys, and, scandalous as it is, hot girls too! 
... how terrible!

* Some of the girls kind of pick on her, huh? 
... ''I'' heard she's a little kid who somehow skipped enough grades to end up in high school! 
... ''I'' heard she's a total weirdo who stares too much! 
... ''I'' heard she's a totally oblivious and ignorant country bumpkin! 
... how terrible!

* She's the demon cat who lurks in Ohtori, running around the rooftops and through the trees! 
... ''I'' heard it has terrible glowing yellow eyes, and it's wreathed in shadow! 
... ''I'' heard that it spit fire and smoke, and it wouldn't listen to reason at all! 
... ''I'' heard it just stares at all the boys like it's trying to figure out who to eat! 
... how terrible!

* She's a mysterious golfer-chan who always carries her clubs with her! 
... ''I'' heard she's bound by oath never to play again! 
... ''I'' heard her abilities are so amazing, she's just waiting for an opponent worthy of her skill! 
... ''I'' heard she's actually awful at golf! 
... how terrible!

* She has this weird ability to make friends with any cat on campus! 
... ''I'' heard it's because she's really a cat in human form! 
... ''I'' heard she's a cat priestess - I saw how she acted at a shrine once! 
... ''I'' heard she's amassing a cat army, and when she reaches her full power, she's going to take over Ohtori! 
... how terrible!

'''Magical Girl Rumours:'''

* Oh, Mikoto? She's a HiME, I learned that when Ohtori was taken over!

* Didn't she used to fight for the Shepherds? You know... before.

* She wields this giant black claymore, and she never, ever lets it go!

* She used to never talk in a fight... but she's been saying more these days. She still reminds me of a berserker, though...

* She's got some big family connections to Dark Fall, but apparently it wasn't all her choice. Everyone got through to her, and now she's fighting for Tokyo's sake... right?
|}

== Relationships ==

=== Family ===
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAK681fF4ac you will destroy in my name]]''
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'''Lord Brother''': ... what I had to do was hurting me a lot. I guess that was the point... Lord Brother needed suffering, and I was suffering. I don't understand how he could do that to me! But I can't believe Lord Brother was all happy with it, either. He was always so sad when I was sad, and he really did try to make me feel better. But Lord Brother only wanted me to love him, and, it wasn't good for me when I felt different. I was so scared... I felt so small. I guess I'm still scared, but one day I'll be strong enough to save my Lord Brother, just like everyone saved me. We were told this was our destiny, ever since we were kids. It's not fair... not to either of us. But, I don't think he sees any other way out. I know how that feels... but there's always another way!

'''Grandfather''': I finally got to say goodbye... and forgive him. 'Cause in the end, Grandfather let me down. He raised me, so he should've kept me safe, but... maybe Eri's right, and the only way he knew how to do that was to have me kill him. It still wasn't good. But I love Grandfather. That isn't bad. I still feel bad for killing him... but I guess I'll always feel bad about killing people I love. That's normal, right?

'''Miroku''': Miroku's like me. We served Lord Brother... but Miroku's old. How long has Miroku had to do it? It only took me a month to hurt people as much as I did... Miroku's much older than that. It's old like my family is old. Look... I know Miroku isn't very nice. Miroku fits in at Dark Fall really good. But, we share the same heart! If I can show Miroku there's a better way, I think Miroku can change, too. No one gave up on me, so I don't want to think there's no hope for Miroku, neither. ... plus, I need to keep Miroku safe from Dark Fall. It would be really bad if someone who wanted to hurt people convinced Miroku to work with them. I bet it'd be bad for me, too, since we're connected. That's why I never leave Miroku alone, even now. It was a promise I made... but I can make a promise to Tokyo too, right? I want to keep everyone safe.
|}

=== The Adopted ===
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuGUUZqNfjE i always fall from your window to the pitch-black streets]]''
|-
|
[[Mai Tokiha]]: In the end, Mai made me breakfast, even after all that... Mai's food is really the best. Mai's the girl I love most, but it's not like everyone else I love. Maybe one day I can tell Mai how I feel... but I think I'd better give it some time. I did try to kill Mai, back then... let's get back to normal first, okay? I wanna learn how to love without getting all twisted up.

[[Eri Shimanouchi]]: No matter what happened, Eri was loyal to me. Eri wouldn't even think about... stopping me, not like Mai did. She always believed, I could be saved. And everyone did save me! Actually, even though we acted like that, I'm older than Eri... don't tell anyone, but I kinda feel like she's my little sister. So I gotta be a good example! ... but I'm not gonna be one all the time. It's fine not to be a good person ''or'' a bad person!
|}

=== CAT FRIENDS ===

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb9RLG6vxZQ i tell you: a cat must have three different names]]''
|-
|

''Ohtori''
: '''Mori''', '''Momo''', '''Fuku''', and '''Kita''': Yearlings! Mori's black and white, doesn't like people, but she likes me. Momo's brown tabby, and she's so playful! Fuku's orange tabby, sleepyhead, he likes strangers. Kita's calico, polite refined lady, just like Ohtori.

''Outside Linden Baum''
: '''Umeko-momma''': Umeko-momma has a good colony, so she'll be okay with her kids. Silver tabby, very pretty!
: '''Haru''', and '''Cho''': Haru and Cho are sisters, brown tabbies, from same colony. But they're still little. Haru's good hunter, and Cho's really smart.

''Whiskers on Kittens, Harajuku''
: '''Minoru''', '''Isamu''', '''Toshi''', '''Yua''', and '''Kichi''': Minoru, Isamu and Toshi are stripey boys, ginger and brown and grey. Minoru's chatty, Isamu's real serious. Toshi's playful, likes climbing people! Yua's calico, she's more quiet, and Kichi's black cat, she loves to be brushed. I found them work in cat cafe! Now they have an all the time home!

''Tokyo Bay''
: '''Lion''': Steven's friend! Pink, and a lion. Lion is magic, but Lion's still a cat. Really big cat. I want to nap on Lion someday. Fluffy mane...
: '''Yakitori''' and '''Yakisoba''': Ginger cats! Yakitori doesn't like loud people. He loves chicken the most! I met him when he stole my yakitori... but Yakisoba likes noodles better! I think they're brothers..?

''Asakusa''
: '''Ichika-momma''', '''Tomomi''', '''Nobu-kun''', '''Sakura''', and '''Kayda''': Ichika-momma's calico, and so are most of her babies! Except Nobu-kun, he's black and white. Boy cats aren't usually calico. Ichika has lots to worry about, 'cause her kids are small, but Kayda loves exploring and getting into trouble! That's why I help. Sakura likes eating the most, and has long hair like Kyouko, so that's her name now!
: '''Kana''': Tuxedo cat! Tuxedo cat! Kana's ''shrine cat,'' so she's special. Sometimes I don't see her for ages, but she really likes me!

''Infinity Institute''
: '''Tama''': Yumi's friend! She's black cat. Tama doesn't like it when I do bad things, but at least she's forgiven me, right? She's older cat, so I can learn a lot from her too. Sometimes I bring her fish!
|}

=== Friends (Non-cat) ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eW07wD_bzA my people, right or wrong]]''
|-
|
'''Castmates'''

: [[Ai Yamamoto]]: Just transferred... Ai's not from city neither! She's lots of fun! I guess I'm the one teaching now... but should a new HiME really listen to me..?

: Chie and Aoi: Mai's normal friends. I hang out with them sometimes! Chie knows lots about everything in Ohtori, and Aoi is very kind.

: [[Georgia Jenks]]: Is it really okay for us to fight monsters together..? I'd like that!

: Nao Yuuki: We haven't really talked about it, but... maybe it's still okay.

: [[Natsuki Kuga]]: We're worth more than what we can see what the softer people can't. If we look for trouble, we'll just find trouble, Natsuki. Isn't it okay to not find trouble now?

: [[Midori Sugiura]]: I'm really working on my grades! Really!

: Yukino Kikukawa: Yukino's the Disciplinary Executive now... sorry, but I'm still sneaking in after dark! Though, I bet Yukino knows about it anyway. Yukino might be quiet, but I know she notices things.

'''Cross-Cast Combos'''

: [[Chitose Shiratori]]: Chitose taught me a good lesson... I'm kinda worried about her, but so long's she knows we're her friend, it'll be okay. Right?

: [[Endo Naoki]]: I hated Endo so much... I wanted him to die. But then Endo died, and I wasn't happy. I didn't understand why Endo let me go at all... but trying to figure it out helped me lots, I think. 'Cause of that, I didn't hurt people as much as I could have... and in the end, Endo fought for me, even though I was so mean. Endo knows a lot about fighting, huh?

: [[Fate Testarossa]]: Fate convinced me it mattered, and that means a lot. Fate really was like me, after all... but I'm worried about her now. That man is using them like puppets... I hope Fate will be okay.

: [[Fuu Hououji]]: I remember being worried about Fuu when we were fighting too... maybe it was hard for her. But Fuu's really a nice person! And now I get winds of... um... making me feel better! It's good!

: [[Haruka Tenoh]]: Lots of new things about Haruka... but why does she keep turning everyone red? I don't really get it... is that stuff really that embarrassing?

: [[Haruka Tenoh|Sailor Uranus]]: I'm glad I never had to fight her!

: [[Homura Akemi]]: Just watch me, Homura. I'll prove I can do it. I'll prove it to Homura... and I'll prove it to Miroku, too. There's a better way, and, I can show you! The way I want to fight for Tokyo...! Even if it's someone like me, I can do it!

: [[Kasagami Araki]]: Kasagami's the Secretary now?! Doesn't seem like Kasagami's type... but, maybe it's like training? Since Kasagami wants to rule, still. That stuff is important, too, I guess. But Kasagami, why am I 'delinquent'? That sounds like a Linden Baum snack!

: [[Kimiko Akane]]: Kimiko's okay! After all this time... I'm glad she brought cookies.

: [[Kyouko Sakura]]: I'm glad I couldn't track Kyouko down. It's better to eat Kyouko's snacks! There are always more Kyouko snacks! Don't worry, I won't waste any!

: [[Lera Camry]]: I was so scary to Lera... but I guess it's 'cause I was scared, too. I was acting out, but Lera still tried to be my friend... and in the end, Lera helped save me! Lera's really impressive!

: [[Madoka Kaname|???]]: It felt different, when I killed Eri, but I'm not sure why. ... I guess it's 'cause I was helping Eri. That makes sense.

: [[Mami Tomoe]]: Can I really be friends with Mami? It feels kinda weird... but I'm happy!

: [[Michiru Kaioh]]: I guess Michiru was involved..? Well, it doesn't matter now. Michiru's a nice person! Gave me milk when my mouth was burning!

: [[Michiru Kaioh|Sailor Neptune]]: She's still kinda scary next to the ocean... but it's okay now! Sailor Neptune doesn't have a reason to splash me any more!

: [[Nori Ankou]]: In the end, she was the Siren I was so angry at... but Nori reached out to me. She likes cats too! Nori's really nice!

: [[Ren Aizawa]]: Ren isn't so scary when I'm not fighting her! We both like cake!!

: [[Setsuna Higashi]]: I guess Setsuna kept trying to be my friend 'cause Setsuna knew what it was like... it was a big relief when I found her and we didn't have to fight. I guess I said a lot of things she could have argued about... but she gave me a break. Now we can protect Tokyo together! I like this better than getting punched by Cure.

: [[Setsuna Meioh]]: Maybe now we can eat snacks again..? I'd rather eat snacks with Setsuna than fight her.

: [[Steven Universe]]: Steven was right! I can express myself in other ways than fighting! I'm not very good at drawing yet... but it's kinda like calligraphy!

: [[Takeo Akamizu]]: I guess those things I wanted... Takeo was always there. I mean, it's not the same, but... Takeo's looking out for me, right?

: [[Usagi Tsukino]]: I never ended up hurting her. What a relief!

: [[Utena Tenjou]]: I was mad at Utena, but it wasn't for good reasons. Utena was acting for good reasons! And now, I'm glad Utena did. I wanna be like Utena, too!

: [[Vita]]: Vita and I didn't get on good for a real long time... but Vita broke the stuff which was hurting me. I'm grateful for that. I'm worried about Vita, too, but... I'll fight, too!

: [[Yumi Ohzora]]: Yumi's from an old family, like me... so she gets things other people don't. It was threatening, back then... but I'm glad she gets it, really. She helped me reach out to Miroku after everything... I won't forget that.
|}

=== Acquaintances ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiumBwlr-CU i had your number quite some time ago]]''
|-
|
'''Distant Battle Allies'''

: [[Niramo Umokeshi|Sourisi]]: I should really tell her who I was working for at some point... I think she might be kinda confused.

: [[Signum]]: I wonder if Signum would eat ramen with me again now..?

: [[Usagi Tsukino|Sailor Moon]]: I guess I'm lucky it turned out that way... I know what happens to dark things what fight Sailor Moon. I never could answer those questions too good... but I'm glad she asked.

'''Totally Normal Girls'''

: [[Anthy Himemiya]]: Chu-chu must answer for his crimes.

: [[Chibi-Usa Tsukino]]: Brave little girl!

: [[Niramo Umokeshi]]: Feels like Niramo doesn't fit in too good around Ohtori... but that's okay! Ohtori's kinda weird anyway!
|}

=== ... It's Complicated ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8heQ0t48SL8 save your own, 'cause i don't wanna be this]]''
|-
|

: [[Kozue Kaoru]]: We're not really friends... but we're not enemies neither. There's some stuff we can't move past, but it's okay for it to be kinda complicated. I don't want bad things to happen to Kozue. Especially not now she's normal.

: Lapis: This feeling must be... caution. Lapis gave up. But Lapis still consumed Jasper. ''How?'' ... Lapis is dangerous.

: [[Sayaka Miki]]: ... I don't think we could have been friends back then, but maybe we could have been friends now.

: [[Westar]]: Westar-senpai helped teach me how to get along in Dark Fall... and I think his advice helped me hurt people less than I would've if I was doing it on my own. I feel bad about leaving Westar, too... but I can't let my guard down. Westar's still loyal... and even if other people think he's not too good at fighting, I know he is.

: [[Ye-jin Song]]: So... Ye-jin can't forgive me, after all. I'm sad about that... I hurt her 'cause I was hurting.
|}

=== If I Don't Call Them Enemies, Is That Okay? ===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dao5P8Mqkzw i aim to break not one but all, i'm just a big ol' wrecking ball]]''
|-
|
'''Castmates'''

: [[Ye-jin Song|PRiNCESS Ye-jin]]: She's mad at me... but I don't really know what I did. I must've done something.

: [[Shizuru Fujino]]: Oh... I told Shizuru... that's not too good. But maybe it'll be okay? Shizuru is just Shizuru, right?

'''Miscellaneous Miscreants'''

: Jasper: Trapped in ocean's better fate than Jasper deserves. But... I guess Jasper's gone now. Beyond reach. Ocean's too deep, even for me, Miroku.

: Peridot: I don't really know how to feel about her now. I'm still mad, and I guess Miroku is really mad too, but she seems so... desperate. I don't know...

: Rubeus: ... I'm uncomfortable. ''Better'' be dead.

: [[Soular]]: ... I guess I see what Soular saw in me now. Maybe it was that obvious... I don't know.
|}

== Trivia ==
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6ijQpWABAI oh, you dark one, eternal outsider]]''
|-
|
* The kanji of Mikoto's last name, 美袋, are difficult to read for anyone who hasn't heard them said out loud, because their reading is decidedly non-standard. She shares her surname with the Minagi village in the Okayama Prefecture - but even if there's any relation, Mikoto herself never spent any time there, sequestered up in her mountain shrine as she was.

* Meanwhile, the kanji of Mikoto's first name, 命, references the Shinto concept of ''mikoto mochi'', a medium who receives the honourable words (''mikoto'') of a kami. Unfortunately, the so-called kami of the Minagi Shrine is not very nice.

* 'Lord Brother' is a fanciful translation of the formal and archaic term Mikoto uses to refer to her older brother, ''aniue'', and obliquely references his true identity as the Obsidian Lord.

* Aside from the Mai-HiME anime, Mikoto's history draws from Mai-HiME EXA canon.

* Mikoto's first-person pronoun is the relatively polite 私 (''watashi'') - a perfectly standard way to refer to oneself, commonly heard amongst girls. Because she's a girl, it's seen as appropriate both in formal and informal contexts.

* Conversely, when she's not just calling people by their names, Mikoto's second-person pronoun is the informal お前 (''omae''), which is usually - though not exclusively - used by men, and generally paired with the informal first-person pronoun 俺 (''ore''), rather than Mikoto's feminine ''watashi''. ''Omae'' is regarded as a self-assertive or even aggressive pronoun, which expresses higher status than the listener, or a very casual relationship between peers; it's only appropriate in informal contexts, such as between friends or siblings. To apply it to strangers, or less informally, is insulting - especially if applied to elders. Of course, strangers are the ones most likely to hear ''omae'' from Mikoto.
|}

== Gallery ==
{| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjf2FKlZl9M her little whiskers are stained with the blood of those that she has slain]]''
|-
|
<gallery>
File:Mikotosdarkfalldigs.png|Mikoto's current uniforms: nighttime and daytime editions!
File:MikotosVIPs.png|Mikoto, as she looked at the end of the civil war, feeling troubled about her most important people.
File:mikotosketches.jpg|Character studies! Mikoto is in a high school uniform now, though.
File:mikotobest.jpg|All ready for school! Cats are an important part of school life.
File:mikotouniform.png|... and here's Mikoto in her high school uniform! She does that to Mai a lot.
File:mikotoprofile.png|Mikoto has two modes: fighting and everything else.
File:mikotosniff.png|The Demon Cat of Ohtori.
File:tinykoto.png|Mikoto was given the responsibility of Miroku at a very young age. Look at how happy she is!
File:mikotobirthmark.png|Mikoto's HiME birthmark is located on her upper arm.
File:maikoto.png|Mikoto always ends up sleeping on Mai.
File:mikotomiroku.png|Mikoto napping with her obsidian blade, Miroku. She's very small, and it's very large.
File:mirokuobsidian.png|Mikoto and Miroku are associated with obsidian spikes which make a real mess of the ground.
File:mirokusigils.png|The sigils which have begun appearing on Miroku. It was actually serious.
File:miroku.png|Miroku is also Mikoto's Child! There's nothing weird about that.
File:mirokukagutsuchi.png|Miroku, again, with Kagutsuchi for size reference. They're both kinda big.
File:Mikotoeyeshine.png|So it turns out Mikoto's an agent of Dark Fall.
File:Obsidiancourt.png|The Obsidian Lord, lurking in the background, and his court: Nagi, Miroku, and Mikoto.
File:Mikotospendant.png|The Obsidian Pendant, Mikoto's precious gift...
File:Mikotosglowypendant.png|... which glowed when issuing 'guidance.'
File:Adarkshadow.png|This pendant infused her with the Power of Darkness. It has since been destroyed.
File:Mikotoprofile2.png|She can get pretty grim.
</gallery>
|}

== Logs ==
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s6epkl5HM0 i'll get it wrong 'til i get it right, at least i'm making scenes in the meantime]]''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
|}

== Cutscenes ==
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:2px solid #444444;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="color:#444444;background:#ffffff;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 800pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_dOfPljDCI i need my role in this very clearly defined]]''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = cutscenes
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = logs
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no cutscenes on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
|}
[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Ohtori]]

File:Adarkshadow2.png

2020-09-27T22:21:10Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: mikoto your magic is supposed to have a vocal component stop cheating through evil

mikoto your magic is supposed to have a vocal component stop cheating through evil

File:Adarkshadow.png

2020-09-27T22:20:23Z

Nyaaahhh!!!: SPOOKIMUS MAXIMUS

SPOOKIMUS MAXIMUS