1160/Overlord Diaries: Crisis

Overlord Diaries: Crisis
Date of Scene:	22 February 2024
Location:	Dorms #3
Synopsis:	CW: Past abuse. Natsu Oukanno is facing a crisis of the highest order. To solve it, he needs to assemble a crack team of his two best friends, and this girl he met, so that they can all play fighting games. Wait, what were they trying to solve again?
Cast of Characters:	Natsu Oukanno, Kano Watanabe, Amanda Faust, Jin Kishimura

---

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    A spotlight turns on, shining down on a young woman sitting in a swivel chair, one leg over the other, arms folded, shirt partially unbuttoned because of how ill-fitting it is, and a serious expression on her face. The rest of the room is in shadow. She opens her formerly closed eyes, and the bright red makes them practically glow as she says gravely, "Gentlemen. We have a Crisis on our hands. These circumstances are unexpected, and we are going to need to adapt quickly to succeed. I won't lie or sugarcoat this. Many of us likely won't survive this. But at stake is a cause greater than any other we have ever known, or ever will know, down to our descendants' descendants' descendants."

    Whipping one arm out, the redhead says, "I have full faith that you'll execute my orders to the letter. If there's anything that formative years spent watching anime, reading manga, and sword fighting with sticks has taught us, it's that we must be prepared for anything -- especially the unknown. And who else in the world is better qualified for that? Therefore, in the name of our friendship, our future, and the restoration of my proper sex, I command you to go forth!"

    The other arm is whipped out, and the two limbs are held aloft as though offering supplications to a deity, and that deity is herself.

    "Find the one solution among the many false leads that will be the salvation of that most treasured of treasures..." Natsu clutches her shirt with one hand and clenches the other into a fist as she turns away dramatically and emotionally, "...My family jewels."

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano doesn't know why his friend had a spotlight on a... Not a tripod. Some kind of hydraulic stand thing? Did Natsu steal it from the drama club? Anyway, it was in Natsu's closet, and now it's here, and he helped set it up specifically for this. He is sitting seiza style in front of the transformed Natsu, and now claps energetically as the speech ends, occasionally stopping to wipe a tear (real or imaginary) from his eye.
    As a former (and perhaps still) Chuunibyou and lover of theater despite being so ignorant about it, the white-haired young man is eating this up. "A worthy cause, a worthy cause indeed!" Then he pauses and raises his hand. "Hai! Natsu-sama, shouldn't we begin with you transforming back and then reverting again, to see if that fixes things? We should probably try that first, right?" Yes, he literally just suggested turning the henshin item off and back on again.
    "Also, do we really have time for this? Jin might be back at any moment! As happy as I'll be to see him again, I'm not sure he'll be happy to see you! ...At least not looking like that!" Pause. Kano looks Natsu up and down. "...Well, maybe, but that isn't the problem here!"
    Kano hops up to his feet and goes to the window to turn the little rod to make the blinds open and look outside, as if expecting there to be secret spies trying to sneak a peek at what's going on in the room. Which would only be made easier by opening the blinds. Also, it might draw attention, since there's a spotlight shining brightly in a very dim room, and that definitely isn't a normal reading lamp.
    "Also, hang on a sec, I just realized you're that hot cosplay chick I have on my phone that I don't remember taking a picture of!" Kano says accusatorily as he turns around and points. "If I hadn't seen you transform both times, I wouldn't have put it together!" He sounds more aggrieved that he was left out of this since September more than anything else. Just think of all epic things he could have been doing during that time??
    Paranoia mixing with delusions more appropriate to a middle-schooler than a high-schoolar motivates Kano to hurry to the door, unlock it, and poke his head out into the hallway to look up and down, and make sure nobody is coming. This definitely isn't suspicious, and seeing an unfamiliar boy behaving so very not-suspiciously in a dorm room that definitely doesn't include Kano as occupant will be just fine, it's all fine, it's okay, it's fine.
    "Look, I'll just open another gateway thingy and you can transform in there so that no one senses anythi--" Kano grasps the pendant hanging from around his neck, and Dark Energy begins to flow outwards rapidly and in large volumes.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    "Absolutely not!" Natsu snaps in his--her high-pitched new voice. Shielding her eyes when the blinds are open as though daylight is going to turn her to ash when she's sitting under a literal spotlight, she continues on talking, unaware that Kano had gone to the door. "What happens if that makes it worse somehow? What if that makes it permanent!? What if it messes with my brain! You noticed it too, right? How we talked was being restricted, and even my personality and clarity of thought were being distorted. Eff, do you think I'd have exposed my Overlord to a horde of Heroes in an unknown situation like that if I was thinking clearly? That was so dumb! We should have observed secretly, stayed in civilian form, and learned what we could about the Heroes and other combatants to use against them later! Oh my God, I've violated so many rules of the Overlord List now, this was a disaster! And now my henshin has junked my junk!? At least that one dude has no clue who we really are or where we live."

    Then Natsu finally notices Kano peering out in the hallway in the most sketch manner imaginable. She jumps up, nearly stumbling and falling on her face, unused to the height difference (hey, as Maou she is wearing high-heeled boots!), and quickly scrambles over to try to grab Kano by the collar and yank him away. "No. Stop. Do not pass 'Go'. Do not collect anything. Stop right now, and do not transform! Are you insane?? This is one of the most basic of basics! Don't do anything that could link your true identity to your alter-ego! That includes any usage of powers anywhere NEAR where you live!"

    "Anyway, I need you to go get some clothes that can fit me, a hoodie, sunglasses, and so on. I need to exfiltrate from the hot zone here. As you may have noticed, we're in the BOYS' dorms. This... Is not a good place for me to be seen. And, as we have both noted, Jin could come back at any time. So, like..." She makes a shooing motion. "Stop using your effing magic, and go buy me stuff!"

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano is not easily pulled by the considerably shorter girl grabbing his shirt collar, but she is stronger than an average girl her height, so he still winds up being choked slightly by his own shirt. He lets go of the pendant, causing the Dark Energy to retreat back into its magnifying lens of a magic item, and scowls at Natsu during this tantrum. "So what you're saying is..." He puts the pendant back inside his shirt as he strokes his chin with his other hand. "I have to suppress the forbidden power of the demon king and obtain vital supplies for the resistance while behind enemy lines? That this is a job only I can perform?" His blue eyes are focused, his expression determined.
    "I, Kano Watanabe, Hero of Darkness, shall get you what you need." Then he pauses as he is turning around again to go out the door, and looks back over his shoulder at Natsu. "...Aren't you going to give me some money to buy you things?"

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    "No! Fuck off and hurry up about it!" Natsu yells much more loudly than a girl should be yelling in the male dorms, and slams the door shut. He isn't sure if he's fortunate or cursed to have someone immediately available who knows his true identtiy and is on enough of the same wavelength that they can communicate with just a look. He scowls as he leans his--her back against the door, staring up at the ceiling. What was all that 'resistance' stuff about? The idea of aiding a rebellion leaves a sour taste in Natsu's mouth. Maybe it's a rebellion against the existing, conformity-focused 'Good' society? A grassroots Legion of Doom? Yeah, that sounds legit.

    Then the scowl deepens. And what about this 'Hero of Darkness' bullshit!? God. His best friend had to decide to be a 'hero'. Why not 'Champion of Darkness'? 'Lord of Darkness'? 'Shogun of Shadows'? Anything but a hero!

    Natsu is chewing on his thumbnail while pacing up and down, having to occasionally stop to pull his pants up as they try to slip off his body. The nearest place to get clothes is probably the gift shop here on the academy grounds. Maybe he should have given Kano some money to make sure he can afford something appropriate.

    Pause.

    Wait. That line about 'behind enemy lines'. What did THAT mean?

    The hairs on the back of her neck stand up as Natsu realizes she failed to properly understand her best friend whom she can communicate with through only a look.

    Kano is totally going to go to the girls' dorm for clothes, isn't he????

    Natsu quickly evacuates the dance floor, and his dorm room, as he rushes out the door, into the hallway, and barely takes the time to lock up before racing after Kano. She has to catch up to him!

    Clearly, the best way to do this, running around with one hand holding up her pants, flip-flopping around with shoes that fit like diver's flippers, stealthing down stairwells and hopping railings (and banging her head on the flight of stairs above her, ow, not doing that again), and then dodgerolling away if it looks like an elevator is coming or a door is about to open.

    She is a master of stealth and subtlety. She infiltrates the girls' dorms, and then tries to figure out where Kano would even go and to whom. Does Kano even KNOW a girl? Does NATSU even know a girl??? Deliberately avoiding forming attachments or relationships while self-isolating from social interactions for years has made Natsu realize that he really doesn't have much of a support network... Or many friends...

    Hm. Maybe he should just knock on a random door? That seems logical. He resumes Mission Impossibling deeper into the Girls' Dorms, forgetting that he is, presently, a she, and that aside from her clothes no one would really question her presence here.

    (Though they might question her sanity.)

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano, a comparatively normal and well-adjusted human being, from a certain point of view, headed for the giftshop and is wandering around trying to figure out how to determine what size clothes will be needed. For obvious reasons, he has never had to shop for girls' clothes before. Also this is a gift shop so it's not like they have a wide selection. Plenty of shirts, hoodies, jackets, knick-knacks, a Polywag that some kid left on the shelf by accident probably, which he pockets, so he can return it to its rightful owner, but no pants or anything.
    God, this is going to be such a pain in the ass.
    Maybe he'll just go ask the attendant at the counter. He walks over, tall, white-haired, with intense cobalt-blue eyes, and without any emotion on his face, as is usual for him since he learned to contain any hint of individuality or self-expression and channel it all into violence. He isn't sure why the girl seems flustered when she looks up at him.
    That seems to happen a lot for some reason. He thinks that's what's known as 'hot flashes'? Or maybe the heater is too high, he is roasting alive after sprinting to the nearest elevator, riding it down leisurely, and then sprinting to the gift shop.
    "May I ask for your help?" he asks politely. "My friend is visiting and she had a bit of an accident and has no change of clothes. I am here to buy replacements, but I have no experience in that department. Could you please help me determine what would fit and best suit her?"
    "Oh, uh, yeah! Of course!" the teenager says, some part of her expression seeming to now include disappointment, right around the time he mentioned a friend visiting him and then that friend being female.
    Why would that be a problem? Weird. Girls are weird.
    "Also do you happen to sell any pants?" Pause. "It was a rather extensive accident."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy is sitting in the girls' dorm common area, reading on her phone.

    Ooh, someone found an FTM one? That's a rarity! I doubt it'll be as good as that one I found the other day, but hopefully it'll be better than Cute x Guy or Half-Prince. Let's take a look.

    Tap, scroll, tap. She starts reading. Tap next page. Tap next page. A few pages of a high-school girl's normal life. And then one day she wakes up to find...

    Well, so far this is standard enough stuff going either way. But, Amy's getting kind of thirsty. Guh. When she was younger, she made sure to always carry a water bottle in her big bulky backpack. Now she'll have to go to a water fountain, or grab a soda or water bottle from her and Mio's mini-fridge. A nice cold drink sounds really nice, actually. She stands up and walks, phone in one hand, towards the hall...

    There's the 'ding' of the elevator arriving on this floor as Natsumi passes it. To avoid being seen, to ABSCOND from SIGHT, he must do a YOUTH ROLL!

    It is a well-executed roll, no doubt, except that Amy rounds the corner just then.

    "Ow!"

    Her phone drops to the floor in a clatter, and she falls back on her butt.

    Natsumi sees a woman in an RHA uniform skirt and a green T-shirt, the T-shirt is adorned with a design of a chibi stylized tiger meowing with 'nyo' printed in romaji above its head.

    In his current state, the thought that (hiragana:niyo katakana:taiga) sounds a lot like (3 kanji: woman, body, becoming -- read "nyotaika") might come to mind.

    Amy is very proud of coming up with this subtle pun that would never mean anything to anyone unless they're in the same situation or obsessed.

    if Natsumi glances at the phone, he'll see it's fine: It's in a completely un-stylish ferretbox case that can survive far worse than that drop, and is presently open to a manga page in which a doctor is telling a teen of indeterminate gender that they have sudden sex-change syndrome.

    The teenage girl sits up and looks him over.

    A guy's uniform... that doesn't fit... with no bra. Come on, this doesn't really happen to anyone else, does it? She wondered, at first, but she hasn't been that secretive in magic circles and not a single one has appeared. Just her. A couple months ago she started going so far as to wear this shirt sometimes to see if anyone reacted, but no bites. She had resigned herself to no one else truly understanding.

    She shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet, though.

    It may perhaps seem odd that, in this situation, the other girl looks at him in concern, and asks: "Are you alright?" Holding out a hand to help him up as she herself stands.

Jin Kishimura has posed:
    Oblviious to what all has been going on, Jin has been attending classes and keeping a bit to himself. The dorm has been cleaned and well with it having only been him, he's proving to be a good room mate. Granted he hoped Natsu was alright, it's been years and when they finally meet up again, POOF! GONE! That's been Jin's life really. People come and go, good people, dick head bullies, though those seem to never be out of supply.

As he is about to head to his dorm, he thinks and wonders if anything new was at the gift shop, he's been pretty frugal about his money but you know what, it's just been him why not. He grins a little, maybe there is some new manga. He makes his way to the gift shop, he did hope there was something new, he's been slowly building up on a few he likes. He pushes up his glasses as he gets to the shop, he checks his pocket for his wallet, the last time he was here he forgot the darn thing. Yup, it's there, score! He grins as he walks in and begins looking around.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsu is normally about as blank-faced and emotionless as Kano. Slightly less so, but he opens up a lot more around his best friend. This Natsu, however? This form he is stuck in? SHE has emotions all over the place, and expressing them is kind of a feature not a bug. "Aw, geez."

    The red-eyed redhead gets up after waving off the hand offered. "Sorry about that. Wasn't looking where I was going. Had a bit of an accident that ruined my clothes, and I had to borrow these while trying to find some replacements. I was avoiding being spotted, because, you know, obviously."

    Standing up fully, even after losing over 10 cm of height, she's still taller than this other... Red-haired... Red-eyed... Girl. "I should be asking if you're alright. That was a bit of a fall." Wait, why is he even asking? Or talking? He has to stop Kano before he gets in trouble for being here! He doesn't have time to check-up on strangers, whether they were rolled into or not! Politeness is something he had to choke down until it stuck in order to 'fit in', but that doesn't mean he needs to be so... So... 'Chivalric' about it. Ugh. Bile is rising in the back of his throat.

    "Anyway, have you seen a tall guy with short white hair and bright-blue eyes around here?" Natsu isn't sure if bringing Kano up will help or hurt matters, but at least a confirmation that he WASN'T encountered will be confirmation that the alarm probably hasn't gone up. Though if the alarm went up, wouldn't Natsu know by hearing the alar--

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The hand is snubbed! Amy picks her phone up instead, sliding it into a small bag like one might use to carry a small amount of money to a festival.

    An accident that ruined clothes, and you borrowed this? Amy looks over Natsumi again.

    "I'm fine. 150cm and barely weigh anything, not much to fall, you know?"

    White hair and blue eyes? She hasn't seen someone like that around the dorm, and starts to shake her head... then pauses. Wait. White hair and blue eyes? "How tall? A student, or a staff member?"

    And then something jumps out at her.

    "...Why the tie?"

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano, himself very oblivious to social cues at times, is glacially calm as the female attendant shows him around the store and helps him try to guess at the sizes needed. Girl clothing sizes are way different than for guys, so Kano is lost. Despite the higher-pitched almost lilting voice the gift shop worker is using, Kano is more concerned with what to do not just about clothing, but about his friend's current state. He still thinks a reset would fix things, but he's only been doing this for less than 24 hours, and Natsu's been doing it since September.
    A fact he is still annoyed about.
    Oh, well. At least he's the first and only person who has been entrusted with this secret, and he was also brought in on the Dark Power that he must keep sealed to prevent the destruction of the world that he has always wanted. He can't be mad about that.
    Natsu was probably just making sure it was safe to use first, and the real deal, so he didn't get Kano's hopes up. Yeah, that's probably it. Even though the safety is now clearly a matter needing review.
    Turning to look over the shelves thanks to being taller than average for a Japanese teenager, Kano looks upon Jin. He stares for a few moments, before recognizing the dark-skinned teenager for who he is.
    He, Jin, and Natsu are all the same height, so it should be easy for Jin to see Kano as well if he looks. But he doesn't need to look, because Kano's icy exterior melts away as he says, "One moment, Princess of the Gift Shop." to the girl, making her both confused and very red-faced, he calls out, "Hey, Jin, why are you buying manga in a gift shop? Don't you know the prices are jacked up crazy high? You always pinch your yen and then you blow it on stupid things with an insane mark-up you could get cheaper elsewhere! What are you even doing, dude?"
    He's just talking like they had never been separated. He anticipates surprise, maybe confusion, slightly likely some anger at being ridiculed. But what he's hoping for his recognition, and a return of the smile on his face.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsu is not in the habit of staring at girls' chests, or strangers' phones, so both go unnoticed and unremarked upon, at least until the phone is retrieved. "AND I made you drop your phone? Geez, this day just keeps getting more and more 'interesting'. Is it damaged?" She is proceeding with her pleasantries even after being informed Kano hasn't been spotted.

    "A little short of a hundred and sixty eight centimeters, definitely a student. Probably has a face like an ice statue and about as expressive as one. Like he was carved to be brutally handsome and then given a chunk of ice for a heart. But don't let that fool you, he's actually super chill--okay, wrong word to use, not a pun--and goofy, he just needs to be around someone's he's comfortable lowering his guard for. So, like, if you see him, please don't freak out, he was just going to try to retrieve some clothes for me, but I realized too late that he might get in trouble for being here if he was spotted, so I wanted to catch up to him and tell him I can deal with being seen far better than he can deal with being expelled or arrested or whatever."

    Natsu rolls her eyes and pulls her pants up one-handed as she shifts her weight to one leg and puts her other hand on her hip. She smoothly answers the question about the tie with a calm expression and a deadpan tone of voice, "The tie is part of the dress code, of course."

    And then she just leaves that statement there.

Jin Kishimura has posed:
    Jin does a little happy dance, yes, it's a dance Kano knows well and even as tall as he is, that dark skin and white hair shift. Though when he looks at the prices, he smiles thinking this is good, and he blinks when he hears his name. Manga in hand, an hero series he's been getting into. "Huh?" he asks as he turns and sees Kano.

Kano's anticipation is correct, confusion on his face and a bit of surprise as well. Jin blinks a moment, why is his head hurting all of a sudden. "Uh..hello..." he reaches up and rubs the front of his head. It takes him a moment and something shakes loose and he sees Kano and after a moment, recognition shows on his face and now a bit of embarrassment. "Uhh..well, I'm still new around here and thought this was a good place." he offers a smile. "Kano right?" he asks as he brings his hand down from his head and he adjusts his glasses, "Hi....you, me and Natsu were friends?." he asks and says. He quickly covers it up and smiles.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "It's fine. I got a good case on it."

    Oh, another student. This isn't someone, somehow, looking for Mallory. But wouldn't a girl have borrowed another shirt to put under the button-up shirt?

    Looking for a student this person seems to have feelings for, given the details of that description. She rolls her eyes as he goes on and on about Kano. "No, I haven't seen your boyfriend."

    Wait, 'expelled or arrested'?

    The other red-eyed redhead gives him an odd look. "You think a boy would get... expelled or arrested just for visiting the girl's dorms to help. ...Have you ever even talked to a girl for more than a few seconds?" and then the moment passes and she shakes her head. What a silly question that must have sounded to another girl.

    ...Another girl who borrowed a tie but no undershirt. She quirks an eyebrow again. "...We don't have to follow the dress code outside of class."

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsu waves it off. "Just my best bud, friend. I just think he looks super rad. Like he'd make a great super villain. Anyway, I'm used to very strict rules, I don't know what happens if someone is caught where they aren't supposed to be. I'm just concerned. But, you said you haven't seen him, and I'm not going to keep standing around here in this state of undress, and as you have pointed out I don't have to maintain dress code outside of class, so I'd better go change."

    Then she gives a flippant, two-finger salute for some reason, and starts navigating around Amy. She turns as she does so, and says, "Oh, and sorry again. And thanks for the help. And I hope I didn't make you lose your place in your manga, because that always sucks." She's still talking and calling out as she backs up, nearly tripping over the cuffs of her pants while not looking where she's going, and settling for shutting up and heading down the hallway and around the nearest corner so she--he can get the Hell out of here. Oh my God, why is he even here? Why would Kano come here? He second-guessed his best friend for no reason! This is a magical transformation, don't tell him it came with magical hormones or something too!

    This needs to be fixed fast.

    And he needs to get back to his dorm room before Kano gets there, if he's not already, and wait for rescue. And hope Jin doesn't come back before this is all remedied, because as he good as he is at weaving a compelling, if barely-plausible story on the spot, he doesn't want to have to when this is clearly temporary, and he won't have to maintain the story around Jin, so why come up with one?

    He just assumes that Amy isn't, like, following him or anything. Because why would she? To see if she catches the weird girl doing a henshin? Puh-leeeez. No one would actually suspect that kind of thing in real life, that's why Natsu memorized the Overlord List to begin with, so he could actually be the one to do these things that are so obvious but that nobody ever does.

    Someone would have to be a real headcase to take anime so seriously.

    ...Present company excluded.

    Where even is the exit anyway? Shit, is he going to have to turn around and go back?

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Pffffft. A happy dance over over-priced manga. What an absolute nerd. Just like Natsu and Kano. "Still are friends, unless something's changed, Captain Nakama." He folds his arms on top of a shelving unit and leans on them like this is just some convenient thing to lean on instead of for displaying merchandize. "How you been? Still keeping on keeping on?" Then he turns to look over his shoulder. "You mentioned there were athletic pants for the track team in the back? Are there any spares? I'll pay full price." And get reimbursed from cheapskate Natsu. That's another thing they have in common, but in such a weird way.
    Jin is frugal, but then winds up wasting money unintentionally.
    Kano saves his money, and is conscientious about what he spends it in.
    Natsu is somehow always bereft of money, despite being so evasive about spending it that you'd think he's allergic to the very idea.
    Still... Splurging for a friend in need? Practically his brother, right alongside Jin? Yeah, he'll empty his wallet for that, and his piggybank too.
    "I hear you're sharing a dorm room with Natsu! Congrats, man! I'm still in a single-occupancy, but I'm on the floor below yours so visiting is going to be easy from now on. Hey, after I'm done here, do you wanna' go back? I brought my GameStation from home. We can set it up, and play Tech-Ken sixteen. Or maybe Ultimate Fantasy? There's a multi-player mode that allows for up to three players, and I have the controllers for it so--" blah blah blah.
    He is absent-mindedly paying for his purchases after turning around to return to he counter. He gives a smooth, polite smile to the poor girl who helped him, and thanks her, again calling her the 'Princess of the Gift Shop'. She looks like she's going to melt.
    Kano doesn't notice, too hyped to run over and hug the hell out of Jin after all this time.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Best bud. Who looks like he would make a great supervillain. Used to strict rules (but not the academy's.) Something weird is going on.

    "I'm fine. Do you need more help? You forgot to roll up your pants. And now that you're inside you may as well just go barefoot rather than try to walk in guy shoes."

    'Go change' he says, and he's heading out of the dorm. "Do you need help finding your dorm room? I haven't seen you around here, and I think I'd remember another girl with red eyes and red hair besides me an' Lulu, so I guess you recently transferred in?"

    "...Or do you, perhaps, want to go to the nurse? She knows about some weird stuff, if anything impossible happened to you. ...I do, too. And..." Amy rubs the back of her head a bit awkwardly. "I'm sorry for bein' weird. I just thought you were like me for a moment, there. But I really do wanna help people, and like... You're clearly in some kinda trouble, and alone."

Jin Kishimura has posed:
    Jin shakes his head a little bit, it hurts. He hopes this isn't an ongoing thing, like it hurts. He continues to smile at Kano, he does see the price, he kinda spies Kano who is leaning against the shelf. Still a smooth dude, something he admired about Kano and Natsu. Jin is still a nerd, that much is obvious, he still is kinda bouncing where he is.

Nodding his head, "I've just recently gotten here, and yeah, now roomies with Natsu, but he's been gone for a while." He shrugs, "Kinda my life I think, people come and they go, don't tell me nothing, but then again no one has to tell me anything." he says. Looking at Kano as he asks about track pants, "You like track clothes?" he asks looking at Kano curiously.

Quirking a brow up, "Oh that's cool, we can meet from time to time." he asys as he looks at Kano. He grins and take the manga, though when he's invited to hang out with Kano, "AWESOME!" he exclaims and that dumb dance he does starts. "I've not played either of those, when did they come out!?" he asks. "With you staying close we can meet up to hang out." he says. "If you want..." he says as he looks at Kano hoping he wants to hang out, he did invite him. Jin does look back at the manga in his hand, "I'm getting it! I've not bought much." he says.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Right. So, this has become even more awkward. Something Natsu would normally just stone-face through and disassociate over until he could move on and just continue as though it never happened. Turning around and coming back towards the other girl with the matching hair/eye combo, she sighs and says, "Look, it's complicated. I can't exactly say, 'I need your keys, your clothes, and your motorcycle.' Like, even if we weren't literally strangers and even if you had a motorcycle, because that's not socially acceptable, and they probably wouldn't fit me anyway." This is so not going according to plan.

    "...But I guess I won't turn down help offered, even if I still feel like I'm the one who should be trying to help you as an apology. I don't fancy treking all the way back to, uh, my brother's dorm room. Or risking encountering his room mate, who I'd have to explain this all to as well, which would just be absolute ass." She rolls her eyes.

    Definitely, definitely, defnitely not lady-like in manner or speech. At all. Form, certainly, but not on the social level. "Look, would it be more believable if I just said someone thought they had found a fool-proof method for gaining ulti--Uh, the perfect cosplay for Ultimate Fantasy, and it turns out the 'one weird trick' was really just a weird trick that didn't agree with me on the physiological level, and now I'm suffering the consequences? And I don't want to draw attention to my brother by him having to have my clothes washed here in the dorms, and then explaining why his sister is hanging around in a state of severe undress, when she's just supposed to be visiting? Like. This is already so bullshit that I wouldn't believe it if someone told me it, so I don;'t know why I think a stranger would, but, you know."

    Finally his mouth stops flapping. With a slight blush across his cheeks and nose, he says, "I have a difficult time asking for help. But you offered. So..." Awkward shuffle, as Natsu's voice drops a bit into something more shy and 'girly' than how he has been speaking so far.

    "...Please help?"

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    "Tech-Ken Sixteen? Came out just this year! Ultimate Fantasy is from twenty-sixteen, man. You're behind the times." He steps back and allows Jin to come to the counter. With both Kano and Jin there, this poor, poor, poor girl keeps darting her eyes around while still trying to ring up the manga, face red as a tomato. She has to scan it multiple times because she keeps messing up and fumbling the keypad, but eventually, she mumbles out the price.
    It shouldn't take long before these two are on their way with their newly bagged merchandise, and that young woman can get some room to breathe before she gets a case of the vapors.
    "That sucks, man." he says of people not even telling when they're moving out of someone's life. In Kano's experience, people leaving his life usually accompanies him beating the shit out of them. But he has stopped that. Well, no, he is now doing it in a club setting, but even there he is restraining himself. He can't get expelled from another school. He might even be arrested if he uses the same level of violence as he did a few years ago. Besides... He's managing his anger issues a lot better now! ...Really!
    "I can't wait to crush skulls and drink my enemy's blood! Just wait until you see the finishing moves in this game, dude. The clothes are for Natsu's sister. There was a bit of an accident and her clothes got ruined so she needed emergency replacements. This was the closest plate, even though they are price gouging SO HARD." Best friends for a reason. Can communicate with nothing more than a look. Of course his story would match up with Natsu's. They're like brothers. Or brother and sister now, but that's temporary obviously.
    Slowly, a sinister smile creeps across Kano's face. "Really. You won't believe the detail on the finishing moves. They make me feel like a goddamn super villain."
    Elevator is already on their floor when they enter the boys' dorm, so they have to take a lazy ride up and they'll be there! Of course, Kano has to get off the floor before Jin's. "It's so great to see you again, man. This is going to be just like old times!" He holds up a hand to give Jin a high-five. Then he's off to his dorm room to get his GameStation. Hm. Why does he feel like he's forgetting something?

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy looks down at herself, and then back at him, and opens her mouth, but Natsu rightfully points out her clothes wouldn't fit.

    Ultimate cosplay and one weird trick, huh?

    She's certainly seen costumes do it, albeit usually in Tweeter-posted oneshots rather than longer-form stories. "Like what, you thought it would be really funny for a guy to cosplay as Tiffany Heartlock and it turns out you can but now you're stuck?" She taps her chin. "Although, with the hair this looks more like a gender-swapped Renaeu design. Actually yeah, I can really see it, if you had a suit jacket over that and clothes that fit, you got the manner of speech down pat, yo."

    She takes a breath and looks at him awkwardly asking for help.

    "Well. I don't have clothes that will fit you, besides my old jackets and my favorite old shirt, which I'd want back eventually... well, no, those are gonna be too big and not fitted to you at all."

    A thought comes to mind. "Wait, hang on, how'd you do this. Maybe the same thing can reverse it?" She makes a 'turn around' gesture and goes to inspect the back of his neck and just under the collar, looking for something and not finding it.

    "I can't give you a motorcycle, but for someone in such dire need, I can call you a Ryde. I installed the app on my phone for emergencies, and I have some money saved away from... before. Although uh. Do you really want to be sent off alone like this? Like... whatever happened to you, I mean."

    "...No one is going to care about clothes being washed. There are not police looking for... whatever happened. What exactly do you need? ...What's the problem?"

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    ...What?

    Where is this girl going with this? Honestly, it sounds like she has read too much manga and watched too much anime. Not that Natsu is one to talk.

    Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, and trying to sound sincere, even if her language has shifted back to rough and unmannered. "More like, 'the latest and greatest in Victorian era organ displacement technology' and it wound up displacing a lot more than my organs, and now my clothes need cleaned thoroughly. And my brother does NOT need this shit even being hinted at, and neither does his room mate, and especially not Kano, and I should probably stop talking about that." She looks up towards the ceiling with an arched eyebrow as though mentally chastising herself in some kind of mental monologue.

    "Honestly, at this point, a coat long enough that it can cover everything important until I can get back to my d--darling brother's dorm room would be perfect. I might need to go bare foot, it's true, but... I can't go anywhere else dressed like this. And I don't need a Ryde. I'll return anything I borrow so just... Please, even a really big towel or a blanket. I could fake that I'm going towards one of the shared showers right? The girls' dorms have those?" Why would he assume they have those? Maybe he's been watching too many movies.

    "That would explain being in a towel even if, uh, that would still be difficult to explain why I'm going to the other win--Actually, ignore that idea. A really big coat if you have one would be great. And thank you for offering." So much talking. Natsu's throat is going to be sore. She--he should ask for water too, but as stated previously doesn't have an easy time asking for help. This is already pushing the limits of even this weird defective version of himself's comfort zone.

    God, he really hopes the other two aren't back at the dorm right now, waiting for him.

    "By the way, can I ask what your name is?" Natsu asks, the words spilling out of his mouth right before he realizes he'll be expected to introduce himself in turn, what the hell dude, why are you doing and saying such ILL-CONCEIVED THINGS right now? These are NOT MISTAKES AND DECISIONS HE SHOULD BE MAKING.

    "Natsumi by the way," he gives in that deadpan, totally serious expression again. He lies so casually. He doesn't even think about it any more.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The girls' dorms have those? "No? Do you not have individual shower cubicles in the guys'? Ugh, I always hated that at gyms... Anyway, come on." She motions for him to follow, taking the elevator up to her and Mio's room and giving him an oversized winter coat, grabbing a lighter field jacket and a scarf for herself. Both coats are for men at least a half-foot taller than them at the moment. Also, she gets a nice, cool water battle -- one of a few, and some Dr. Peppers, the only proper drink for a MADO SCIENTISTO -- from the fridge, taking a long sip and then slipping it into her pocket.

    "I'm Amanda Faust. At least, I am now." She retrieves something from a desert camo US Army surplus backpack and stuffs it in her pocket too.

    She holds out a hand to shake. "Natsumi, huh? Wasn't that the protagonist of Kampfer, too?" She shakes her head. "Never mind, that one was horrible. Don't watch it."

    "D'you wanna exchange phone numbers?"

    "So, what's the plan once you get back to your brother's dorm room?" She makes conversation, possibly as they're already walking out again. "I can't go back to 'my uncle's' apartment any more. Someone else lives there now, since he... mysteriously disappeared several months ago. Nobody else seems to even remember 'him'."

Jin Kishimura has posed:
    Jin walks over and gives Kano a hug, a big hug. When Kano tells Jin that the Tech-Ken sixteen came out this year, Jin gives a helpless shrug, "I didn't know, I'm sorry." he says as he hates that some things are forgotten and only some things have been coming back to him. He hears the beeping of the girl scanning their items, "Hello." he smiles, his golden eyes look to her through the lenses of his glasses, he reaches back to rub the back of his head and gives her a cheerful smile hoping to calm her a bit.

Jin blinks and his eyes widen a spike a pain hits him slightly. "Natsu has a sister?" he asks. "I didn't know he did....maybe I just forgotten or something. I wouldn't put it past me with my memory." he chuckles. As they leave, "Hey Kano, I think she likes you." he gives Kano the wink, "You ladies guy." he laughs as he looks back to see the girl looking back at them. "See, I told you, I told you." he is an absolute idiot as he points at the girl to show Kano! He waves at her and turns to look at Kano.

He follows his friend, though when Kano speaks that it sucks no one told him they were leaving. Jin sobers up and shrugs, "It's ok. I'm not getting beaten up any more." he gives an empty smile. "No one is taking my things, well yet anyways." he says. "Though I..." he sighs. "Keep to myself most of the time unless in class." he says to Kano. "I've gotten better and.." his voice shifts just a bit, a little deeper and his eyes seems to sharpen, "I've been taught how to defend myself." and as quick and I mean quick as his deneanor changes, he's back smiling. Maybe just a trick or something.

Grinning as Kano speaks about the combos and techniques he can do in the game, Jin grins. He doesn't know about this, though he doens't want to upset a friend, nope, just like Natsu, who now is gone. Maybe he really didn't want a roomate, 'No! Stop that Jin!' his inner voice scolds him. Then Kano is being creepy causing Jin to take a few steps back, "Uhh...OH!" he half laughs, Why does him and Natsu do that and what's the deal about super villians. "Dude, you too are still on this Super Villian thing, that's not changed." he says.

Jin follows Kano back to the elevator, "OK, I will head up and get things situated." he calls and pushes the button for his floor. The elevator goes up another floor and the doors open and Jin walks to his room, a big grin on his face an dhe has his manga out of the bag, checking out the art work. He gets to the door and unlocks it and walks in. "Yay, got it, can't wait to..." he looks up an dhe sees a spot light, a swivel chair. That wasn't there when he left this morning, he looks around after puttig things down. "What the..." he rubs his head, and he frowns, "Come on, I've not messed with anyone." he says as he looks around to see if anyone is in here and how the hell did a stage light and tripod get up here. Jin looks thoroughly confused, he sees a few buttons on the floor, annoyance shows on his face but also confussion and slight worry.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    "I wouldn't know what's standard in the boys' dorm. This is my first time as a visitor." he says as he follows after Amy. Which is true enough. He has never been a visitor before now. "Were you implying that I spend a lot of time using boys' showers?" he asks with an arch of the eyebrow and a neutral-and-yet-somehow-threatening tone. Just a little something to throw her off the scent. Because he is increasingly getting the impression that he is speaking to a Hero who is onto him, and he doesn't know HOW he could possibly know that, it's not like there's any indication of it, and he's behaving just as weirdly if not weirder so maybe he's overthinking things. Yeah, let's abandon that train of thought entirely.

    Like, what if he's talking to a Villain instead, huh? That could be a good thing! And even if not, alienating someone she just met could cause undue stress and unforeseen problems down the line. It's just not good business to poison the pool. And after she had yelled at Kano, no way is she leaving anything to link her to her other identity--not Natsu, but Maou. He could always just insist that he has no idea what this crazy girl is talking about if confronted as Natsu, and discredit her with the power of second best poker face in the school and the ability to casually lie and manipulate the truth as easy as breathing. Yeah, she--he can just--

    "Oh, hey, cool coat!" she exclaims. She slips into the heavy winter coat, glad it's long enough. Even if she's practically swimming in it. More so than the clothes she was already wearing. Who did this even belong to? An older brother?--Ahhh... An uncle. That explains it. Yeah, hand-me-downs can be hit-or-miss.

    Once wearing the coat, Natsu kicks off the shoes and steps out of his true self's pants, and bundles the latter around the former to carry back. It's just easier that way. He has never been in a girls' dorm room before, and has never considered what one would look like, yes, really, so he wasn't sure what he expected. Perhaps he didn't expect anything. Even so, it's very strange. Incongruent with assumptions he wasn't even aware were in place. That kind of bias is the sort of thing he has to practice eliminating from his thinking and behavioral patterns. It can blind him to possibilities, and that can give a Hero that gap they need to slip past his defenses and cut off his head.

    These thoughts are keeping him centered. Reminding him who he truly is, and about his objectives. There's still far more expressiveness on his--her face than would normally be there as she curiously leans to see around Amanda. Then she looks directly at Amanda. She isn't missing the subtext. Not entirely. But she deflects and avoids like a pro. Not dealing with her problems was one of the first skills she mastered. Lying was second. Not emoting at all came last, and it's still a work in progress. But she can at least smile sweetly, or perhaps devilishly, and say, "You do realize that we Japanese don't just name our kids after anime characters, right? I'm not sure how common this idea is in your country, but--" Nah, rant terminated early. Not needed. Again with the not poisoning the pool. Or was it poisoning the well?

    Shit, whatever it is, it's a bad idea.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    "--But I suppose anything is possible! It's not like I have anything close to a comprehensive knowledge of other countries." Beyond strategic maps, resource sites, invasion plans he has drawn up himself for an invasion that he never actually expected he could carry out. He was like twelve when he realized that if he wanted Evil to be done Right, he had to do it himself. And none of those plans came to fruition. Obviously. How could they?

    Well, 'find a magic artifact that has trapped him in a girl's body' wasn't on his bingo card, but score he guesses? He has never played bingo before.

    "While I wouldn't mind trading numbers, as you may have guessed, I didn't exactly put my phone in my brother's borrowed clothes before running off after someone I thought was doing something very stupid, but which was actually just a stupid idea that I came up with all on my own. So... It'll have to wait, sadly." Wait until forever, because she's not getting a separate phone under the name Natsumi just to perpetuate this story. It's only needed until this wears off. Which is definitely going to happen. Obviously.

    "Plan? Well, if all goes--" she has to bite her own tongue to stop herself from saying 'Just As Planned', that's asking for trouble and is so identifying it's not even funny. "--ow, bit my tongue. Ahem, if all goes well, then I'll just sit there and wait for ONE of the three men in my life to bring me some fuc--functional clothing that I can wear until the, uh, substances are cleared from my own clothes. Didn't think I'd need a second outfit, you see. Wasn't staying the night or anything. That would be weird."

    She appreciates being walked to the other building, honestly. She doesn't want to have to explain to anyone else, and having someone with her will hopefully dissuade people from approaching. Normally his height and demeanor do that for him, but he can't rely on those now that he--she--goddammit this is so needlessly complicated.

    I, OVERLORD MAOU, WILL ACCEPT THIS ESCORT BY A PEASANT WOMAN IN ORDER TO GIVE CREDENCE TO MY ALREADY MASTERFUL DISGUISE AS A SIMPLE REFUGEE SEEKING FOOD AND SHELTER. THIS COVER WILL BE MAINTAINED UNTIL THE MOMENT IS RIGHT, AND THEN MY REVENGE WILL BE COMPLETE! THAT KISERU-SMOKING WOMAN WILL RUE THE DAY SHE EVER ATTEMPTED TO SWINDLE THE GREAT RULER OF THE DUSK KINGDOM! ALL SHALL BOW AND-- "Oh, hey, we're here." Natsumi says as they reach the elevator. Now to just ride it up to the correct floor. Natsumi is about ready to tell Amanda that she can take it from here, but something in the back of her mind tickles her honed Trope Savvy instincts. "If you could plesae make sure I reach the door? We need to exchange numbers anyway, right?" She asks as she turns to look at Amy while the elevator comes down to their floor. ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ I am very kawaii please do as I say. ^_^ ^_^ ^_^

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano has been so appalled at Jin pointing at the poor girl, that what his friend said to him didn't click until they were already apart.
    Hang, on.
    Processing.
    "...Wait, why would that girl like me?"
    Data compilation fail.
    Kano finishes unhooking his Game Station from his television, collecting the games, controllers, and other paraphernalia, stick it in the bag he just used to buy the clothes (but not the Game Station, obviously, that would be dumb, it can't fit in there, he'll just carry it under his arm). He is totally blanking on something really important. He's just SO EXCITED to see Jin again. To have all three of them together again! All... Three... Hm. What the hell is he forgetting?
    He stands in the hall, and managed to poke the elevator button with a free finger. Of course it would get called down to a lower level in the two or three minutes he spent in his dorm, getting ready. Of course. Well, nothing for it but to wait for it come up. All the way from the bottom floor. Sigh.
    Maybe he can remember whatever it is he's forgetting while he waits.

Jin Kishimura has posed:
    All alone in his room, "Not this again." he is angry and his head starts to hurt again, old memories start to surface of him getting bullied and he clutches his head. His head is throbbing and hurting badly, why is this happening, what's going on. He moves to his bed, flashes of memories, not a lot just a few of the bad ones. Kicking off his shoes, hopefully whoever done this, will not come back. Please don't come back, 'Leave me alone!' is thought. He brings his blankets over him hiding himself away under the blankets, he lowers his head as sleep claims him. There is a slight sniffle, maybe whoever comes in will hear it, a slight rocking of him as he starts to fall asleep and after a moment, his body goes limp and he's out. His glasses still on his face a little blood comes from his nose.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    (Of the two desks, one is expectedly girly, and the other is clearly a gamer's battlestation, with a nice computer chair, a desktop tower, two monitors, and 5.1 surround speakers.)

    Every time Amy says something like he's a guy, Natsumi doesn't refute it... well, he catches the assumption that he's been living in the boys' dorm. Hmm.

    Cool coat? "Oh, thanks!" She smiles reflexively at the compliment--

    And then Natsu TAKES HER FREAKING PANTS OFF. "What are you doing?! You can't run around with no bottoms! I know it looks like that with the boyfriend shirt look, but we're always wearing shorts under!"

    Natsumi says in Japan they don't name kids after anime characters. "That's not what I-- ugh, nevermind..."

    "...Right, yeah, your generation doesn't memorize phone numbers, huh. Here..." She pulls a pad of paper and a pen from her backpack and writes her number down, handing it to him. Or stuffing it in the pocket of the borrowed coat if he doesn't take it. On a whim, she smiles and says, "Well! You got a girl's number."

    If Natsumi actually leaves the room pantsless Amy reminds him again to please put something on. If he keeps heading for the exit, her rambling gets weird again. "Look, I dunno how my life turned into something out of a manga, but the ones where someone thinks it's a good idea to run around with no pants on do not go well and I'd really rather not put whether it becomes reality to the test!" She looks around anxiously. "I don't want you to become a TS musume who really did lose everything!" what.

    She's not 100% sure, but she's more concerned about solving this person's problem, even as her mental model wavers between seeing Natsumi as a transformed guy, a person who might be one, or some student's really weird sister.

    If he absolutely insists on going outside, she'll try to pull at the coat and hold him back, but ultimately decides escorting him is better than letting him go.

    At the request to escort him to the door, she nods. "Yeah, no shit. You're finally taking this seriously..."

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    With much eyerolling and gnashing of teeth, of course Natsu put the pants back on and tied them as tight as they could get around his waist with his necktie as an improvised belt, because his actual belt doesn't have enough eyelets to fit this stupidly narrow waist. This is a genius idea, and he will definitely be replacing that tie out of his own pocket. Ugh. Maybe he can borrow from Jin.

    Natsu has been quiet for a bit, ever since Amy put up such a fuss. Stuffing the paper into a coat pocket got an eyebrow raise, but he has been remarkably quiet aside the previously mentioned small talk and then the request to be escorted to his--her--their destination.

    Finally, he sighs as the elevator comes down to their floor and the doors open. "Look, I'm... Not the best with politeness or manners myself. Yes, despite being Japanese. I'm not sure why, they just never clicked. And I've substituted manners for very formal speech, until recently, and that has its own problems, but the point is... I can't really fault you for any... What's the term... 'Faux pas'? Because I make them all the time, assuming I'm using that term correctly. And you've been helpful and generous and kind to me, when you didn't need to be, and I appreciate that."

    Now standing in the elevator with very baggy pants that are still somehow staying on, with only a little bit of tugging, and shoes under her arm, Natsumi says, "That said... I'm not sure what you're implying about me, but I think I do, and if it's what I think, then... You know... Please stop?" He is not confirming or denying anything still, except for the things he confirms or denies because they help him somehow. And... And technically he didn't need to say anything in this instance. Remaining politely silent instead of correcting the other person would be the proper Japanese thing to do. But ever since getting this body, everything has been wild and different and he can't tell where half the things he's thinking are even coming from.

    For instance, why the eff does this even bother him? Who cares, right? He's going to change back, and he'll never see this girl again outside of in his true form, at most, and then this will be a NON-ISSUE. Why does he feel more confrontational as a girl than he does as a man? Shouldn't it be the reverse?

    Is it being confrontational though? Or just... More open. About what? Eye-Dee-Kay, emotions or whatever? All very interesting philosophical things to consider at a time that is not now. Not with the doors closing, and the elevator lurching as it goes up a floor, and then the next floor... And stops. And the doors open.

    And Natsu is stuck standing there, staring up at Kano, with his shoes under his arm, some strange coat, baggy pants, and some girl with the same eye and hair color right there too.

    Natsu pauses. Stares. Then he slowly reaches across to try to hit the close-doors button over and over, as quickly as possible once his shorter fingers are in range.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Hm. Something he's forgetting. Three of them. Him... Jin... And Natsu... And... Wait, didn't he buy these clothes for--
    The elevator reaches his floor, and the doors open. He stares at the pair of redheads and their red demonic eyes, in very different outfits, and the one he actually knows dressed very decidedly different from, uh, anyone he has ever seen.
    While he's carrying a gift shop bag stuffed with electronics, and a game console under his other arm.
    Right.
    He sticks his foot in the door just before they can close, forcing the elevator doors to open back up, and stares in annoyance at Natsu. "Hey, sorry I took so long. I didn't think you'd need to go mug someone's grandpa for their coat, but I also didn't think you'd be leaving the dorm room." His usually placid, #1 poker face in the entire school (as far as he and Natsu know. Kyouka Inai might be above him), has a hint of a smile on his lips, but it's a forced one. And just as icy as his blue eyes, white hair, and statuesque frame, his tone is very... Frosty as he goes up to the next floor with the two girls. "Did you really need to mug someone's grandfather for his clothes though? This isn't The Eliminator, you know. You could have just waited." He doesn't sound or look angry, but that's the vibe coming off of him. Like, he went through all this trouble, spent all that money, just for this dumbass to go find clothes anyway. Great. Wonderful.
    If Natsu wasn't one of his two best friends in the world, the presently much shorter 'brother' would be getting a lot more than just a frosty tone. Kano can ice someone out hard when he wants to, without doing anything more than speaking slowly and carefully, and staring unblinkingly with no expression.
    It's a super power that he must use wisely. The heritage of the Demon of Darkness that dwells within him. Okay, so going back to CHuuni territory is making him cool off (or warm up?)
    As he walks out into the hall and over to Natsu and Jin's dorm room in silence, he eventually says, "Jin went on ahead. Unless he's not where he said he'd be either, he should already be inside." He remembers he doesn't have a key for the door, so moves to stand aside.
    He takes another nice, slow breath that makes him push out against his kendo outfit that he's still wearing, looking like he's going to 'Bulk out' of it, before releasing the air just as slowly, and shrinking back to a more reasonable size, and a more reasonable level of intensity. He finally acknowledges the other girl. "Hello, my name is Kano Watanabe. Thank you for helping my friend's sister get back here safely. Her lack of common sense in some situations is... Troubling. It's as though she doesn't even realize the kind of dangers that surround her."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy actually looks mortified when told to stop implying what she's implying. She hangs her head. "I'm sorry. M-maybe I was projecting. I just..." She starts to actually kind of look sad. "It's a lot for someone to go through all alone. And even if my situation's a lot better than it could be, it's still... lonely..." She sighs.

    As they ride in the elevator, she does mention one last thing. "...Did you tell your friend what size to get or is he guessing? Most guys don't know how persnickety women's clothing sizes can be."

    The elevator opens and she looks up at a dude with stuff. "Oh sweet, is that a gamestation? You guys having a tournament? Can I play after I see my friend here off?" She isn't really in the mood for gaming right now, weirdly enough, but maybe it'd lift her spirits from the melancholy of having been extremely weird to this poor girl and foolishly thinking she wasn't alone in this.

    Mug someone's grandpa?! "HEY, I'M NOT THAT O--" she starts to object, reflexively at the direly insulting insinuation these kids will one day experience for themselves in 15 or 20 years, "--I mean, my uncle's not THAT old!"

    'Jin' went on ahead. "Wait, there really is a brother? And he's named Jin? Uh... damn. Sorry for all the trouble, miss. Remember, my number's in the coat pocket for when you can return the stuff."

    Kano introduces himself. "I'm Amy. Um... it's nothing, I like helping people." She kind of wants to just go be alone and escape this awkwardness... But then she'd be alone with her thoughts. "Are you having a gaming tournament on this floor?"

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsumi's expression remains plain and neutral as Kano enters the elevator, with his sharp comments, and icy demeanor. But her red eyes are getting wider and wider, and her face is going red to match. What in the hell is Kano's problem, and why is he doing this in front of this poor girl he just met? He'll save that for when they're somewhere more private, but the embarrassment is not okay to inflict on him, not in this body, not with these absolutely stupid hormones in what's supposed to be a magical transformation. If they have an argument or disagreement, they handle it rationally, privately, and constructively, like men. And women, and non-binaries, but he has never been a woman before, so he hasn't had the opportunity.

    Natsumi is absolutely mortified to find hot tears welling up in her eyes. Oh, come on, this is so stereotypical. Natsumi is looking away from Amanda, waiting until the elevator reaches the correct floor, and Kano steps off and heads over to the shared dorm room to make a quick swipe with the back of her borrowed coat's sleeve, hoping it looks like she was just rubbing an itch on her nose. Which, you know, isn't necessarily more polite, but better than being seen as overly emotional.

    Why, though? Why does that bother him? Because it's been the source of so much angst, suffering, and alienation in his life thus far? Because he has had to master taking all of his problems and putting them in little boxes, and then sealing them up in cement and dumping them in the bay where they'll stay in the muck and never see the light of day, forever and ever, or else go FUCKING INSANE and do something... Something drastic! Something...

    Not exactly something a Villain would do, but maybe a troubled kid, yeah? No, Villains have done worse, actually, but Natsu isn't sure why that comparison bothers him, or why acknowledging Villains are worse people is such dangerous emotional territory that after just approaching it accidentally he's already backpedalling away from it and leaving it alone, to come back to later, or maybe never.

    Either way, she mutters a somewhat stuffy, "His name is Natsu. Jin is his room mate." Having to sniff hard to clear his nose so he can speak clearly, which he hopes only adds to the impression that he has something going on with his sinuses or something, and not that he almost cried in front of his best friend because the dude got a little testy...

    God, the labyrinthine walls that are going up between Natsu and his problems just keep getting more circuitous, don't they?

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    "My brother went to get my clothes washed off-campus. Like I said, he didn't even want the implication of impropriety being associated with him. Thus why he's not here, and I am, and my clothes aren't." A well-thought out impromptu fiction he has woven with Kano without any coordination at all. With Kano addressing Amanda, and Amanda's words echoing in his--her--they... In Natsu's mind, rather illogically given the circumstances, as he just opens the door because apparently Jin didn't lock it (why would he? He was expecting Kano at any time), he has the desire to return the gesture of kindness and charity shown to him. "You got enough controllers, Kano?" he asks with a grin, his mood improving as he feels like he's starting to be his usual self again: the self that only his best friends see, and those fortunate enough to be nearby when he's with them.

    He bows in the doorway as he holds the door open for both Kano and Amy. Assuming they both enter, Natsu closes the door, and finally sees the lump on Jin's bed. Effff is it the headaches again? With perhaps undue haste, he hurries over to Jin's bedside, trying to get a look at his other best friend, and make sure he's okay. Out like a light, apparently. Frowning, Natsu reaches over and pulls a tissue out of the box resting on the desk under the window, which has a pair of laptops, a gaming rig, some decorations (mainly of collectible figurines of various villainous characters, which are a tiny, tiny, TINY fraction of Natsu's true collection, most of which is at home), and on the opposite side of the extra-wide desk that can support two chairs, Jin's space might... Be mostly empty.

    Natsu frowns as she puts the tissue to Jin's nose, to soak up the blood, hoping that it will stop on its own so she won't have to wake him up.

    His other hand runs through Jin's long white hair, trying to soothe him in his sleep. He continues to sit there, frowning, having already forgotten about the spotlight and tripod and swivel chair and scattered shirt buttons and all the rest. They're already erased from his consciousness.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    It only takes a look shared between Kano and Natsu for the message to be passed along. He grins the grin he shows with his closest friends and no one else, aside those lucky enough to be nearby when he's with them. "Why? So you can break your controller when she kicks your ass and still be able to play afterwards? No dice, buckaroo. I have enough for three players. Don't break my stuff just because you suck at fighting games." He heads inside, getting all the electronics out of the bag after setting down the Game Station.
    "Not a tournament, just best friends hanging out. I haven't seen Jin in years. He and I will have to catch up later. We're only a floor apart after all."
    Back to steady, neutral tone, as much like a verbal expression of the color grey as one can get. Calming, like rain fall. The kind of voice one can fall asleep listening to, not out of boredom, but because a story teller has sent you off to dreamland. In this instance, he isn't trying to put anyone to sleep though. So there's a bit more energy about him.
    "Jin Kishimura over there. Natsu's sister--" he looks at Natsu, and without asking, guesses what name Natsu would have chosen for a girl-version alias. "--Natsumi. They're twins, and their parents were apparently awful at picking names. But it's great to meet you, Amy. A friend of Natsumi's I take it?" Such a carefully casual and neutral question. But one that Kano is paying close attention to.
    He is keeping his voice down for Jin's sake, but he has to project slightly to get Natsu's attention, most likely. "Hey. Got those temp clothes for you. Might want to switch into them, unless you were gifted her uncle's coat instead of it being lent out. And sorry about the grandpa comments. I know, not everyone can afford new stuff, and sometimes the old stuff is actually better."
    He flashes the kind of thoughtlessy kind smile that made that attendant at the gift shop look like she was going to melt. Honest, and genuine, but with no consideration for the effect that smile will have on others.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Woah what the shit the not-a-TSko-after-all-maybe-a-trans-boy-or-something-Amy-doesn't-know is crying. Uhhh... Amy's not sure how to comfort them.

    Natsumi offers up some information. "Natsu and Natsumi? Really? Err, sorry." She looks away awkwardly.

    Awful at choosing names? Okay, that's fair, most people don't pick their own, after all.

    Do they have enough controllers? Amanda smiles and perks up a bit. Videogames are just the thing to take her mind of all this awkwardness!

    She returns the bow with a curtsey and walks on in... "Is that a spotlight? Do you do lighting for drama club or something? What play are they putting on this semester?" She steps on something, and looks down.

    Are those... buttons?

    And Natsumi's shirt buttons were missing, as if... well, she's read that scenario countless times.

    Natsumi was insulted, though, and didn't seem to appreciate her reaching out and letting 'him' know 'he' wasn't alone... So she was starting to think she read things wrong... he couldn't be that embarassed, though, right?

    Like if it was a guy he'd be super curious how this happened to someone else and if she knew more about how one might change back... Amy nods to herself at this reasoning.

    "She was clearly in distress, so I helped her. I guess I'm a bit of a meddler like that, heh..."

    'Not everyone can afford new stuff'. "They're not that old... He got them when he was younger. Uh, apparently once you become an adult you don't keep growing so stuff just continues to fit, ya know?" She smiles awkwardly back at Kano, apparently unaffected.

    Amy stops and looks at Natsumi a moment, caring for Jin like that. "Should I uh... should I go?" she asks, softly, hoping not to wake him.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsu can feel Kano staring at the back of his head, and without needing to move, or speak, or do anything at all, his best friend guesses the name he picked out on the spot. And even makes a verbal jab at him about it, that has him rolling his eyes. He turns to give a sour look, but isn't sure what kind of effect it has with this face. "Yeah, well, those are valid points, but here's my rejoinder: Go fu--" Then he stops talking and remembers to keep his volume down. Making sure Jin's nosebleed has stopped, and that he's sleeping soundly, Natsu gets up slowly and comes over to see what he's going to be stuck in until they can fix this.

    Though, honestly, he could just ask Kano to go transform somewhere far away from campus and steal any clothing Natsu needs. But like. He's not going to be like this that long. So there's no need for THAT much clothing.

    Some stretchy pants? Like for the track team? The female track team?? Natsu looks at them dubiously, unsure they'll even fit with how small they are, but combined with a t-shirt, that Natsu belatedly remembers to say, "I did not, in fact, tell him what sizes to get. Like a foolish fool, I just assumed he would get a girl to help him figure it out. He's good at getting girls to help him, you see."

    That calming voice that Kano is using, so different from the cutting ice or frostiness, has Natsu's irritation over his situation gradually mellowung out. He has the power of an Overlord. There has to be some way to fix this. Even if it means turning back into Maou and just using magic to change himself back. He can probably do that.

    It's the mental aspect he's most worried about.

    While heading towards the bathroom with his new haul, Natsu notices the buttons on the floor. "My brother's going to kill me for ruining his shirt. I was in such a hurry to get out the door because of my very unfounded concern about Kano's actions I just grabbed it off a hangar and tore all these buttons off. Such a clutz, I swear." Natsu sends his eyes heavensward. "No need to leave, Amy--Oh, I should be calling you Faust-san, right? Just feels odd to be so formal after you've helped me out." 'Out of the goodness of your heart' runs through his mind, and he imagines himself gagging over the phrase. There is so much that bothers him about this situation and his own behavior, but he's not going to expose that anything is wrong. Not in front of a new face. As much as it would be SMART to say, 'Yeah, maybe you should leave.' that isn't viable. For reasons.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    As he closes the door and locks it behind himself, his voice calls out, "Think on how you'd like to be referred to." That's a very wide-open request. Neutral language, with a lot of room for interpretation. He was HEARING what Amy was saying, and getting the implications, but wasn't sure what to say, because he usually avoids supporting or helping people. He tries to be as bland and neutral as possible, so people LEAVE HIM ALONE. But that's... Not working at the moment. And the wound to his pride for being called out about videogames is aggravating!

    Just you wait, Kano. Natsu Oukanno isn't beaten yet! One day he'll win at a fighting game!

    For some reason, being back in his own dorm, with his two best friends, has made certain things that were confusing or uncertain for Natsu become clear. He knows who he is, he knows how he sees and hears himself in his own mind, and he just feels stable and secure. Back in his fortress of... Not solitude. Citadel of Silence? Yeah, that works. Menacing and cool. He likes it.

    Also, he has to give it to these pants. They fit better than he had expected. The shirt, on the other hand, is a bit large in some areas and very not in others. Sigh. It's temporary, Natsu. Don't worry about it.

    It only takes like maybe five minutes tops, and another minute in front of the mirror trying to get his unruly girl-mode hair under control (why does it have to be so LONG?), before he's opening the door and emerging. "Who's ready to get their ass kicked?" Natsu asks with a grin that exposed that fang this body has for some reason. He sounds so confident. This has gotta' be the day, right?

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano waves off Natsu and his boasts and snippityness. Normal bickering between them. He does seem a bit baffled by that one comment though. Looking honestly confused, the white-haired boy says, "Why would girls be more likely to help me?" Baffling, truly.
    "So. The nurse, huh? Is she more than just a nurse?" Kano inquires as he dismisses the subject the same way he always does. Totally oblivious to the girls in his life. He clarifies a moment later. "Like, nurses are great, couldn't function without them. But is she, like, also a surgeon or something? I've heard her hyped up a lot, but never had a need to go see her." Because he took care of cleaning and bandaging his injuries on his own, until he became so strong that he stopped getting injuries.
    "And sorry about the trouble." he says as he looks at the quickly-set-up console. He should probably get the game going while he waits. He kneels down and puts Tech-Ken XVI into the machine, so his back is turned initially when Natsu emerges. When he stands up and turns around with his own smug, confident grin on his face, he is not expecting what he sees.
    He chokes and starts coughing, covering his mouth after the first one to avoid spraying anyone. He keeps coughing while heading over to dig into Natsu's mini-fridge for something to drink. Anything.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Amy's fine. More natural, I'm American."

    Why would girls be more likely to help Kano? Amy shrugs. "I dunno."

    While Natsumi's in the bathroom, she offers some advice at the door: "Hey, in case I have to go suddenly, while it's on my mind: If you struggle with fasteners on the back of things, some girls put things on backwards, fasten them in front, then twist them around. And really, if you have any... health problem, you can tell the nurse. She saved me a lot of bloody trouble."

    And then she walks back over to Kano and the game console to see what the selection is and what they might be playing.

    Is the nurse more than a nurse? "Maybe." A surgeon or something? "She might be."

    Amy thinks back to confronting the tiny, youthened Nurse Meiou in her office. She capitulated right away and they worked together to gather supplies from her office. If Natsumi really is transformed, would he be so stubborn?

    "Tech-Ken is still going, huh? Damn. I haven't played this since the demo disk on the Saturn... that my uncle had when we were back in the States."

    Natsumi walks out, tight clothes hugging her figure in a way they will never hug Amy's. Amy feels... mildly annoyed at that.

    Ready for an asskicking? "I am! Like, I'm just happy to have someone to play fighting games with, although I'm more into 2D fighters than 3D. Unless you have Virtual On or something... but I'll give it a shot!"

Jin Kishimura has posed:
    Flashes of memories streak through Jin's mind, he shifts in his bed. He turns on his back slightly and a slight whimper escapes him from under the blankets. A cold shiver runs up his back as he sleeps, he's not waking up. Natsu would, but Natsu isn't here. Jin could feel his head pounding, as if someone was slamming spikes into his head, he coughs a few time andhe turns his face into his pillow and he curls himself up inot the fetal position. Natsu would have seen him do this not a lot but only during certain bad days.

A flash of him younger walking up stairs and then like an old tv when the channel goes out, his vision fritz and it goes away and he shivers and sits up slowly. Jin sits up and leans back against his bed, his blankets keeps him covered but he looks out at the others, though not really looking at them but he's looking out the nearby window. His nose slowly clotted, he feels something on his nose and he reaches up and cleans his nose. He pulls his legs up and he buries his face into his knees while the others play and have fun.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    "...You alright, dude?" Natsu asks with concern towards Kano as he chokes on nothing. Then shrugs and focuses on Amy. "I'm ready if you are!" He does not, presently, comment on the 'advise' that was given through the bathroom door. Not because he doesn't understand why it was being given, but because he's still avoiding confirming or denying anything, and also he's just plain not sure how to respond. You think he knows much about girls' clothes? Heck no! He hasn't touched them since back when he used to cosplay as a villaines--Ahem, not relevant.

    "Anyway, we should lower our volumes, we don't want to wake up Jin. I know, I'm the one who was beinmg loud. Sorry." He looks worriedly towards Jin. Bleeding from the nose isn't generally a good thing. He left that tissue to soak it up, but he starts to wander over to examine his buddy and make sure he seems like he's resting well.

    "And... Virtual On? What's that? I've never heard of it." There have been hints dropped already. 'Your generation', for example, that make Natsu believe that neither he nor Amy are who they appear to be. I mean, yes, obviously Natsu isn't who he appears to be, but... You know!?

    "But I stopped playing videogames several years ago. Only started up again recently. I probably just missed it." he--she says with a smile. Oh damn, his thoughts and emotions are getting jumbled again.

    Natsumi hurries as she sees Jin moving around, making noises of pain, and then eventually sitting up. She's sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to comfortingly pat Jin on the shoulder as she asks, "Do you need me to get you anything? Maybe something for the pain? You should really see the nurse. Everyone says she's really capable." Red eyes flash to Kano and Amy, since they were both just talking about said nurse.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano steals one of Natsu's Gatowade bottles since his friend is right there and not objecting when he went for the mini-fridge. He twists off the cap and gulps a third of it down in one go. Then throat clearing. "Demo disk, huh?" he asks hoarsely. And quietly. "I think I have Virtual-On in my room, but I didn't bring it. Sorry, Amy. Next time?" Then he goes to the Game Station and plugs in the controllers. Virtual On. A very elderly title at this point, isn't it?
    He thinks about it as he starts to sit on the floor in front of the big screen mounted on the desk, and then he thinks about it some more. Eventually, he turns to look up at Amy calmly. "One of those 'retro' kids, huh? My dad started me out on the oldest systems he could get and then exposed me to more and more advanced machines in a titrated manner, letting me get used to and mastering one system and its games, and then crossing what had to be decades of tech development. So..."
    He focuses back on the screen with controller in hand. "...I understand the allure of the classics. I don't have a 2-D fighter specifically, but there is an 8-bit sprite mode for Ultimate Fantasy we can do later." Then Jin is coughing and rolling over and looks like absolute ass. Alarmed, since this isn't something Jin used to do when Kano knew him, he leaps up. "Yo, do you need, like, an ambulance?" There's the nurse, yes, but that doesn't look like a normal headache. Even if Natsu is over there looking after him, he isn't about to let one of his best friends suffer like that and do nothing.
    Perhaps not so much of an ice statue after all.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods at the suggestion to be quiet. She sighs a little at the 'never heard of it'...

    'Retro' kid? Is that a thing? "Eh... yeah, kinda. Grew up with the Wii and everything before it... finally got a Switch after the new Smash came out. But, you know. I can have hundreds of classic games emulated on my computer, and they're still good! But I mostly... read manga and stuff, these days..."

    She trails off as she realizes the last game she had time to really play that wasn't just jumping in for a few rounds of some online shooter or something, was Thanksgiving weekend when she got that... well. It's not something she can talk to these kids about. Heaven forbid anyone see her Steam profile now... u_u That trailer theme was a bop, though...

    "Oh, it's uh... it's not about the aesthetics, necessarily. New games are good too. 2D fighters are just a seperate genre... Oh hey, speaking of, I see you have the crossover DLC!"

    Amy selects an... under-clothed, in that the front and back of her outfit are present but her sides are not, woman with a long blue ponytail tied by a yellow bow, wielding a red spear from the character select screen. Mai Natsume. "I dunno how to play her game either, but if she follows 2D fighter rules like Terry in Smash, that might make things a little easier on me. Hey, her name is kinda like yours--" Amy turns to Natsumi, but sees her standing over her friend.

    "Woah, is he OK?" At the suggestion they take him to the nurse, she nods, "Yeah. Did something impossible or magical happen to him, too?"

Jin Kishimura has posed:
    Jin's face is covered, his snow white hair, pure snow white, and it looks like parts of his hair is wet due to sweat. He shakes his head slowly, and he sniffles. He hears voices, he only knows Kanos, he's talking about Virtual On. He had that game, he was really good at that game, he even was able to unlock something in the game that not many knew was within it. He winces as another spike of pain stabbing into the front of his head. His eyes widen a little, and at the motion of someone sitting on his bed.

Jin looks up, his golden eyes fall on a red-headed girl. She's really cute, Kano said Natsu's sister was here. His eyes widen suddenly when he hears if he needs a nurse. His eyes go wide and looks wild and he scrambles back, "NO!" he shouts.

He hears Kano, he knows Kano, his friend, yes, kids, friends, yes! Then he sees Kano but then he hears him asks if he needs an ambulance, "NO! PLEASE NO! THEY'LL HURT ME AGAIN!" He scrambles back again falling out of his bed. He's visibly shaking, tears threatening to fall from his face, he looks around quickly. His eyes are wide, as he fell over, the blankets opened enough and his shirt just happened tobe open enough to see s long scar that is quickly covered as he went over. Blankets wrapped back around him.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsu turns back around when Jin speaks, their faces momentarily only a few centimeters apart, before Jin looks like his head is exploding and he starts yelling and backing up. Natsu holds up his hands, eyes wide, in a 'okay, okay!' gesture. "Don't worry. We're not gonna' let anyone hurt you. You're with friends now." He... Natsumi turns back towards Amy and stares a bit about the question about 'magic' or 'impossible'. "...I don't know what happened to Jin. He was away for a few years. Clearly something happened during that time."

    It's way too obvious now. Amy is either a magic user or the wrong kind of weird. Though basically everyone who has ever met Natsu and heard him rant about Villains would say the same about him. Natsumi though? She... Hasn't been filtering her emotions at all since getting stuck like this. And all the 'What Would Griffith Do?' and Evil Overlord rules she memorized suddenly seem way, way less important than Jin's safety.

    When she agreed to be a villain, she never agreed to be an asshole who abandons her friends.

    She turns around, spotting the scar just before Jin covers it up, but not saying anything about it. "Buddy? You don't have to say anything you don't want to, but you need help, and we'll do what we can to give it without involving anyone else. Natsu is... Off-campus at the moment. On an errand. But he'll be back soon. Is there anything, anything at all, we can do until then? Pain relievers? Hot towel?"

    After weaving this story, maintaining it, expanding upon it by adapting to each new seeming discrepency or flaw, and tieing it all together in a neat package, Natsumi didn't think she'd need to worry about it any further. But Amy has been picking and tugging at the ribbon on that package periodically with comments for a while now.

    And this is at least the second time the other redhead brought up magic.

    Not turning to look at Amy, Natsumi says hesitantly, "Hey... Amy? If magic was real -- and I'm not saying I believe it is -- and could help Jin, would you know where to get it, or someone who can use it?"

    The girl who has wanted to be a ruthless evil ruler since that boy's early childhood just picked friendship as their priority. Goddammit.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    All videogame discussion has terminated. Kano's focus is on Jin and Natsumi. Best friends so close they can communicate with just a look. A split second of eye contact is all they need. Kano heads over to join Natsu by Jin's bed. He didn't see the scar, and isn't going to pry into personal business unless Jin's life is at stake. He stares down at the other white-haired boy with this cold blue eyes, while behind them is worry and conviction. Eventually, he says, "Amy, if you know something we don't, please don't hold back. Jin is one of the only people I actually care about in this world. His safety, well-being, and happiness, come first." Then he turns to look back at Amy with that same glacially calm voice and face, while his eyes say, 'I'm willing to do anything.'
    "Please."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy sets the controller down and stands. "I know a couple people with healing powers. Nurse Meiou probably knows if there are any more." Her manner is suddenly serious business.

    She walks over to Jin. "Is it magic, whatever happened to him? Or is it mundane? How long has this been going on? What are his symptoms? Hey, buddy? Are you lucid? Can you describe your symptoms?"

    She noticed that scar, but. It could be surgical.

Jin Kishimura has posed:
    Jin's eyes are wide and wild, he begins to rock slightly and the blankets are around him as if protecting him, that little kid who used to get bullied shows, but at the same time something different, something or someone who has been trying to recover and fight back. Tonight, too much, too many memories, his head hurt, why does it hurt, he grips his head. "No hospitals, O..." he stops, he can't say that. Why did he almost say something..

Jin hears Natsumi, "He didn't leave me like everyone else has, not just left?" he asks. He looks towards Natsumi, his eyes still wild, but starting to calm. Kano may remember what he said earlier in the might. "Nurses and doctors don't like me, they had to make me sleep to do my physical." he says. Remembering a few other things , or is he remembering something or trying to figure it out himself. Jin looks to Kano when he hears him, "Hey, where you been, I didn't see you at school.." he lopsided grin shows on his face. He closes his eyes, "SChool....wait..grrrr..." he holds his head. His breath quickens and as Amy speaks up, "M....y, head, they hu....rt me....fire, I fell....where's my parents!" he starts to cry as if he's seeing something, but his eyes grow wetter as he looks like he's trying to fight back tears. "Why they die, where are they....." he's starting to talk gibberish.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsu is, like Kano, very calm in expression despite having turbulent emotions going on inside, as she nods along understandingly to Jin rambling, patting him on the arm, assuring him it's going to be okay, that Natsu didn't leave him, and wouldn't ever, that they'd make sure nobody hurt him. Then she turns to look back at Amy. "He's not lucid. He's hallucinating, has a major headache that has persisted for weeks now, doesn't show awareness of when or where he is, and was having a major nosebleed earlier. I don't know the cause, and I don't know how long this has been going on overall, but as far as I'm aware it wasn't happening when he was in middle-school."

    She gets up off the bed and says, "Kano, you cool to carry him if we can't bring someone here? Also, can someone please turn off that spotlight, why is that even here, it's a waste of electricity." In her head she's just remembering that one movie, Jimmy Mnemonic, where the guy had a bunch of memories shoved into his head, way beyond his capacity, and kept getting headaches, nosebleeds, nearly passing out, information overload, etc. She really hope that it doesn't end for Jin the way it did for Jimmy.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano just nods firmly in answer, and goes to start trying to wrap up Jin in his blankets securely without restricting his ability to move or touching anything he doesn't want touched. "Jin, buddy? Amy knows some folks who can help you out. Stay with me, and hang on if you need to." Then, unless prevented, he'll grunt and try to scoop up Jin and princess-carry him in his arms towards the door. "Turn off the damned spotlight yourself." he mutters back towards Natsu.
    "Alright." Kano says and takes in a deep breath. Then he lets it out. "Let's go."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "No, Natsu didn't leave. He stepped out to take care of something, and I'm sure he really wishes you could see him at your side right now." She glances at Natsumi, then back at Jin, who may not even be able to hear them anymore.

    "Chronic headaches, and now hallucinations and nosebleeds?" Amy looks even more serious. "Even a layman can tell that sounds like it could be brain stuff, right?" She shakes her head. "That could be something we can leave for awhile... or he might need help within hours. There's no way for a non-doctor to know."

    She thinks.

    The thought does cross her mind that like. If she starts begging healers to heal every sick kid, where does it end?

    As Mallory looks up from Jin, Mai's smiling face looks back at him from the screen in the corner of his eye. She wouldn't let that stop her, would she?

    Even if these were villains out to kill her a moment ago, they're people in need of help now. She'd see that they're scared and need help, and she'd help them.

    Her pre-game story was a dumb, fanservicey manga but that stuck with Amy. It probably seems like a really dumb source of inspiration, but...

    It showed that even someone like him... her could be a heroine that wins with friendship, rather than Making Hard Choices and killing all opponents with super powers.

    Amy would really like to be able to do that, as a magical girl.

    And speaking of taking third options, one pops into her head now. "There may be another option you're missing, although the price might be dire, and life afterward hard, I am given to understand that it is manageable."

    Amy turns and looks up at Natsumi.

    "If I was right... did you have any health issues that are gone now? Nearsightedness, a finger that never healed right, a weak heart, even just old scars or something? If you got an entirely new body, could whatever did it work for him?"

    Of course, Amy got an entirely new body too, but whoo boy. If that's even an option... well, let's not think of that just yet.

    If it were, the little white cat-fox would probably already be here, anyway.

Jin Kishimura has posed:
    Overload, exhaustion it's showing, too much, and when lifted up, he's not a damsal....is he? Wait! His body is rebelling, he's fading pretty quickly too many questions. "I just want to sleep. Please just let me sleep." he asks. Jin has bulked up quite a bit, but he's still a light weight. Jin is out, no more questions, his breathing is fast, the look of fear and confusion is etched on his face and he's out.

Much has happened to him it would appear, Kano will feel his weight as his body goes limp, over stimulated. He was happy to hear that Natsu hadn't left him and Kano is here, but there is more and as he is passed out, he looks calm. Something has happened, that much is very easily seen now, he can't deal with it, over stimulation could be seen.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsu stares at Amy. Wheels are turning in her head. Despite what she has just decided is most important, there's that part of her that would stay awake at night, scheming of all the things she would change. Now that she has the power... Were those all just dreams after all? Admitting to Amy that there's anything going on at all beyond the purest of mundanities is a step backwards. And killing her Natsu gets what he wants from her would be a really bad idea. Might as well be leading Heroes right to his door.

    He doesn't know what Amy's talking about, but at the same time she knows exactly what Amy is talking about.

    And the wheels keep spinning as Kano carries Jin towards the door. Natsu stalls for time by going over to turn off the spotlight before it starts a fire or something, unplugging it too just to be sure. Because that WOULD happen while he's out. Gawd.

    After she straigtens back up, and turns around, Natsu says, "I don't know if what I can do is sufficient." And I'd rather not reveal it to you anyway. "But I can try something." She starts patting herself down before remembering what she's looking for is in her pants in the bathroom. She hurries back in there, roots around until she finds it, and then pulls it out. A black rock in a gold setting that resembles the horns of Overlord Maou.

    She stares at it for a moment. Thinks about the YEARS of wanting to be something that now... She's not sure about. Then she turns around, drops those pants on the floor and comes back out, with the item in her grasp. Dark Energy is swirling around her hand already, as she closes her red eyes and very reluctantly chants, "Oculus Obscura."

    A bolt of darkness strikes down clear through the roof and ceiling of the building, though without damaging anything, and engulfs Natsumi. When the miniature explosion of Dark Energy finally clears, she's standing there in what could be interpreted, at BEST, as a Dark Magical Girl outfit. At worst, something much, much worse.

    Curled black demon horns and all.

    She walks over to Jin, sorts through the mental instruction manual, looking for something related to healing. All that comes up is self-healing, and that happens automatically. Not even a method to speed up the process. Goddammit. "...That is not within my purview." she says as she watches Jin pass out. Good. At least it's only Amy he saw that.

    "Kano?"

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    "Shiiiiiit." Kano hisses out as Natsu is forced to transform right here on campus. Anyone who can sense that kind of magic is going to be fully aware and even those who can't probably saw that lightning bolt of darkness strike a room in the boys' dorm. Then Maou informs them she can't do anything. Kano sees that hopeful, desperate look in Maou's eyes, and is pained to have to shake his head. He doesn't even need to transform for this.
    "I can only heal myself." He hugs Jin tighter as his friend passes out. Then turns to look at Amy. "What now?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's eyes go wide and she just stares at what is clearly a Maou transforming right in front of her. "...You realize you could have just done that in the bathroom and I wouldn't have seen, right? Or you coulda asked me to step out of the room for a moment." Not that it would have stopped me from sensing that.

    She takes a breath, pulls out her phone, and starts sending texts. Magda, Mamoru, Meiou... one of them has got to be able to help, right...?

    ...Why do all of their names start with M...?