1683/Eat, Prey, Die

Eat, Prey, Die
Date of Scene:	19 June 2024
Location:	Mitakihara Ward
Synopsis:	Thetis is a hard working youma who just wants to run laser tag and get energy with a lazily made youma from Inhuman Resources. In walk Sailor Uranus, Tuxedo Kamen (Sorry, T-SHIRT KAMEN), Kunzite, the Back Street Slasher, Katsuko, and Naru. Naturally, the operation doesn't last very long.
Cast of Characters:	Beryl, Mamoru Chiba, Naru Osaka, Taro Yamada, Haruka Tenoh, Kazuo Saitou, Katsuko Takezaki

---

Beryl has posed:
What's so old school but still making a comeback? Why, laser tag of course!

In Mitakihara, where everything once cool is cool again, it's only natural that laser tag is making a comeback. What's more fun than running around through a haphazardly constructed maze of walls, shelves, and boxes with holes in them, ducking through the dark under a black light, squinting through the pumped in mist from a fog machine as your friends try to laser you to death.

Sorry, to 'death' - of course no one will actually die.

Of course.

This laser tag arena has been advertising their location for the last two weeks, and today, like every day for these last two weeks, it's packed full of people excited for the chance to shoot their friends. It's cheap, there's a different food truck with delicious deals outside every day, and of course, it's got a gimmick. Two of them, even!

The main gimmick, the number one thing that separates it from other laser tag venues, is the variable weaponry - sniper rifles with real scopes (and of course fake lasers) for picking off folks from afar, instant kill shotguns that only work if you fire the shot from within four feet of the enemy, and, for the basic and casual among us, the usual standard laser rifle.

But the second gimmick? It's the Enemy To All.

That's right at this arena, players go in separated into two teams with the goal of getting the most shots off on each other, but, hidden among them, is a secret player: an Enemy who's goal is to outshine every last player by getting the most kills.

Thalia, a blue haired girl with blue eyes and a bored expression, mans the register as she chews on a piece of bubble gum. As players come up to pay, she hands them a clipboard before taking their money -

"You have to sign this liability waiver before you can go in," she says, popping a large bubble, every bit the bored young adult. "It's saying you forfeit your right to sue us if you stub your toes or trip over a wall or, I don't know, stab each other with something you snuck in, or pass out, or whatever. We use a black light and a fog machine, so if you're allergic or epileptic or asthmatic or prone to fits or whatever, you've been warned and still can't sue us. Gotta sign to get in."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Kazuo," whispers Mamoru urgently while they're in line, tugging at the other boy's sleeve, "that's Thetis up there with the clipboard. I'm gonna try something stupid, okay?"

In cargo shorts and a blank white sleeveless t-shirt and velcro back-strap sandals and prescription sunglasses today, he doesn't look exactly like Mamoru does he? He could be any overheating teenager in summer weather. Any. Truly. He leaves the line.

(In an alley nearby: "Earth Prism Power, Make Up!")

In that same alley, more quietly, "Holy shit it worked."

Sauntering back toward the line is a tall young man in an even taller-making top hat, a tuxedo t-shirt, white kid gloves with roses painted on the backs, ripped jeans, spiky combat boots with checkerboard laces, and a lollipop stick hanging out of his mouth like a cigarette.

As he approaches Kazuo, he takes off the hat and ostentatiously rolls it to his elbow then sleight-of-hands it out of sight. "Frontsies?" he asks Kazuo, smirking.

Naru Osaka has posed:
What's old is new again, and so it is for laser tag. There's a reason it was super popular in the dark ages (aka the early 90s) and it's really only the vagrancies of fashion, even in pasttimes, that rendered laser tag obsolete.

Naru is in shorts and a cute little lace blouse (lined, no peeking!) and she is totally texting. Probably Adrien.

She turns as Mamoru re-approaches in a /ridiculous/ verion of his henshin and she looks to Kazuo and then back to Mamoru and then she starts to giggle. "Very subtle."

Taro Yamada has posed:
The boy who signs up for laser tag is non-descript, with a grey hoodie on despite the heat and long bangs that hide his eyes. The signature on the liability is basically indescipherable with how bad the kanji look; even if they can be read, 'Taro Yamada' is the John Doe of Japanese names. In a crowd, he's basically invisible.

Which is perfect. After all, Taro isn't here for fun. He's here because there's been trouble and more trouble and it's been a while since he fed properly - those little witchlings were good for a quick bite but didn't last all that long, and it's been some time since he fed on Naru. Time for a nice bite of energy in the mist and blinking lights!

(Jack in his jacket sighs happily at the fog. It's nostolgic for the wooden doll.)

And as he gets his equipment, he glances over at - holy moly it's Tuxedo Guy? And Naru?? And some pretty boy with beautiful hair??? Oh, he's gonna try not to eat them unless he has to, Naru asked him to not nibble on her again and she was so polite he had to agree, and he doesn't want Tuxedo Guy's two girlfriends to annihilate him with tears (Usagi) and lasers (Sailor Moon.) Wait, were they both his fiancees now? How did that engagement he managed to eavesdrop on change things??

Uhhhh he's not. Gonna ask. He will just fade back into the shadows and wait for a place in the darkness to transform.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Laser tag is, at least, more likely to be fun for Haruka than sitting in a chair and pretending to aim with a controller or mouse. That physical activity part is important to her, and it's why instead of passing by the place earlier she ended up stopping and considering it.

    What's the worst that could happen, anyways? Well, besides having to wait for a while in a line.

    At least, though, there is someone she recognizes - in a... t-shirt version of his henshin? Really? But she supposes she can't talk.

    So instead she kind of just moves up nearby him. IS he being silly or are there actual Bad Guy Things Afoot? The wind isn't being helpful, today. So she just stands out, dressed in the female version of the Radiant Heart Uniform and quite tall for it.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo doesn't appear to believe in heat. Okay, granted, he's rolled up his sleeves, but otherwise, white buttondown and black slacks, and irritatingly comfortable in them. He is less comfortable at the information Mamoru whispers to him, but that's primarily evident though a blink at the sleeve-tug and then letting Mamoru go, settling back in to bored linesitting teenager in the company of a Naru texting somebody else -

- annnnd then there's a return.

Kazuo eyes Mamoru. Frontsies. "Do you need to take your teddy bear in with you for reassurance, too?" he asks, but he's making space in front of him as he teases. "Or somebody to hold your hand so you don't get scared of the dark?"

The commentary would be much worse if Mamoru didn't know what Kazuo's summer job was last year.

... it also ends as they have someone else in a Radiant Heart uniform step closer, because that being overheard is entirely unnecessary. Waiver. Waiver ... does not look cursed. Okay.

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    One of Katsuko's classmates had asked Katsuko to come do laser tag. Alas, said friend caught the sickness, but Katsuko already planned to go. So now she's here on her lonesome. She stamps the paperwork with her personal stamp. She doesn't know anyone here as far as she knows, but she's sure it'll be fine. She waves to the other players signing up, "Hey, let's have a fun game." She offers excitedly. Sure, laser tag isn't a real fight, but it's close!

Beryl has posed:
Subtle or not, Mamoru's henshin trick works. Thetis looks at him only for long enough to hand off a clipboard with liability waiver, before moving right along to the next customer. She looks like she truly isn't being paid enough to be here, and once everyone is signed up, she claps her hands once for their attention and then starts promptly explaining.

"Alright everyone, thank you for signing up for Snipe and Strike Laser Tag! The ten people I just had sign the waiver will be going in for their game in Arena 2. First, you'll go through the locker room, and stow away any purses, backpacks, wallets, or other handhold items that might get in the way of shooting. Second, you'll grab your weapon of choice and put on your vest. Third, your vest will light up with a color, showing you what team you're on; if you're shot three times, you're dead, and your gun will not fire for thirty-seconds, if all members of your team are dead at the same time, the enemy team gets an extra two points. At the end of twenty minutes, the team with the most points is the winner. And hey, if you decide to backstab your friends and shoot a member of your own team, you get a point for it without having to kill them... but your vest also lights up with the word traitor. "

A grin crosses her face, toothy and amused.

"And of course, hidden among you all is the Enemy. The enemy will take every opportunity to snipe you in the dark and shadows and snatch victory out from under you, so be caaaaareful~"

And then the door with the title Arena 2 floating over it opens, beckoning them on.

(The teams are as follows: Team A) T-Shirt Kamen, Naru, Kazuo, Haruka, and Katsuko. Team B) Taro, NPC, NPC, NPC, NPC. )

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka pauses, having signed the waver and entered with the group. "I guess that means be careful so you don't accidentally shoot a teammate." she muses aloud. In a sort of way that is 'mused' loud enough to be a comment to the other members of her team. Only one of whom she recognizes at this moment, but slowly more recollection and awareness will enter her mental state.

    "This is kinda silly..." she says, as she puts on the vest "...but also kinda cool." she admits. After a moment she selects the shotgun herself, as she's less confident in her ability to aim than her ability to move.

    At one point, she leans close to TShirto Kamen and asks in a low voice "...What's with the getup?" And then she pauses as she realizes that could probably be asked of him in his regular henshin, too. The things you just roll with as a magical girl are... a lot of things.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Yes," Kazuo says to Naru in echo of Haruka's musing, and adds in the expected deadpan. "We should only shoot our teammates if it's on purpose." Annnnd then he realizes that there is someone he doesn't recognize in the group, and says to Katsuko, slightly chagrined, "That was a joke, sorry." Standard rifle is selected. Flexibility. Also, the most familiar weight and arrangement, which means that if Thetis being here means the rifle-battery-target-pack combo is going to try to kill them, he'll be able to react to it fastest.

T-shirt Kamen gets to answer that question all on his own. Partly because Kazuo doesn't know Haruka as Haruka. Yet.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"This is /awesome/." Naru declares after signing her waiver and getting into her vest. She chooses a standard laser gun and takes some time getting familiar with how it feels. She's fairly bouncing with excitement, unusual for the generally quite reserved Naru, but clearly she's delighted to take part in something that is active where the magical kids probably won't have THAT much of a wild advantage.

She'd be wrong of course, but it's a good theory.

Naru looks down at her vest as it lights up with Team A's colour and she grins to Kazuo. "I think I'm grateful that you're on my side."

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Katsuko puts on her vest, and puts away most stuff but as insurance she keeps Zwillingrute hidden under her shirt rather than in a locker. She selects the shotgun and walks over to her teammates for the evening. "Hi, I'm Katsuko Takezaki, seventh grade at Radiant Heart." She cheerfully introduces herself. "I was supposed to come with a friend but she had to cancel, sorry if I'm intruding on a group of friends." She got that sense. "I am not going to shoot anyone but our opponents, promise." That's to Kazuo. "So I've never done this before, I hope you'll bear with me."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Tux-shirt Mask finishes signing the waiver with a fakey-fake-fake name and takes his lollipop out of his mouth -- it is yet another pineapple-flavored Silver Crystal lollipop -- to lean up and kiss Kazuo. There's not just sugar and love in that contact, there's evidence of a certain amount of breathless fear under the easy bravado, and no small amount of anger, but none of it for the white-haired boy.

"Oh, hey, Tenoh-kun, call me Tux today," he says cheerfully to Haruka as he puts his vest on, after listening to the rules. "I'm being totally metal. Hey, Naru-chan, Takez--" he starts greeting Katsuko, then realizes!! that!! he's not supposed to know her!! But she introduces herself, then, and he looks relieved. "Takezaki-san, nice to meet you! Just call me Tux. And Yamada-san-- oho, you're on Team Them, I see. Well, Team Us is gonna laser the heck out of you!"

He picks up a sniper rifle with the real sight on it, checks to see if it has night vision, then swaps it out for a regular laser rifle because nooo. He whispers back to Haruka, "Dark Kingdom operation. The clipboard girl is Beryl's favorite youma."

That said, he slips into the arena, his mask showing up ghostly bright in the blacklight.

Taro Yamada has posed:
Taro chooses the shotgun. He'll need to get close to feed, after all, and it'd be inconvenient to swap guns after the game begins. He wonders if he can hide the vest under his cloak when he transforms - he's got a mystique to keep up, after all, and he'd rather not give Tuxedo Guy and his buddies the idea that he HAS any other forms. No one looked for Clark Kent because Superman was always Superman, right?

Three of those on his team have bunched up, for now, discussing plans - another sidles over to him, idly testing his own shotgun as the bored blue henchwoman discusses traitorism, his intentions plain on his face. Very well. He has found his first snack.

Tuxedo Guy, Pretty Boy, Naru, another pretty boy... no, wait, a Cool Woman, and another Cool Woman. He is sorry, women, but he has to eat, so he is tenatively putting both of you on the menu. He is apologizing to women in his heart -

Wait! Tuxedo Guy just kissed Pretty Boy?? Tuxedo Guy recognized him???? Oh no, he's so sorry women, he's having a heart attack!!

"Hey, Tuxedo Guy," he says weakly, waving, and that flush on his cheeks is probably from wearing a coat in the heat. "Let the best man win."

Ohhhh he can't just bail while it's still dark out. Drat! He's going to have to play this by ear!

Beryl has posed:
The Arena opens, two doors - one for Team A, the other for Team B. Both doors will lead down a dim corridor, under the black light, and open up at opposite ends of a fairy standard laser tag arena, save for the fact that there are several lofted areas with ladders attached, for those brave enough to snipe to climb up. There are poles and grab handles and spots in the wall for people climb and parkour off of - all the more reason for those waivers, because clearly someone could absolutely fall scrambling down and break a bone.

There are corners and hide aways to duck in, and holes cut away in most of the walls at various heights, to look and shoot out from.

And there's mist. Heavy, heavy mist, reducing visibility, making it all the more important to look for the lights on vests and the gleam of anything pale enough to shine under the black light.

And in the midst of all that, on one of the sniper perches, hidden in the mist and the dark, is a youma. Snipedart, the unimaginatively named Sniper Youma, is going to be using her arm as a sniper rifle, firing a draining a laser instead of the standard operation...

Ding... Ding... Ding... BRRRRRRRRING! "It's time to Fire, Fire, Fire! Let the best team win!"

Blares a pre-recorded announcement on the loudspeaker!

Both teams are in position. The game is ON.

(All players: roll a 1D20 with +roll 1d20.)

Taro Yamada has posed:
The game is on.

The three friends on the team go off on their own - to work together, no doubt - and Taro and his other teammate head into the dark. It's not even twenty seconds before Taro hears the beep of his armor getting hit, one, two, three -

"Catch me if you can," Taro murmurs.

"You better start running - you only have thirty seconds until you're alive again."

Taro turns, stretches, turns, and the Slasher's eyes reflect green like a cat in the night as he looms over the unfortunate laser tag player. "Shhh. I was never alive at all."

The scream is cut short by a hand slammed into the sternum, knocking the breath out of the boy as the Back Street Slasher's blade siphons out blood.

The boy slumps to the ground, unconcious; when he wakes, he'll only remember getting a fright and fainting. That's all they ever remembered after.

The Slasher tucks him in a corner where no one will trip over him - thank you, Mr. Waiver, for covering for him! - and wraps his long cloak over his vest so it doesn't reflect. He'd discard it if he could bolt and run, but he's been recognized...

His head cocks, listening, and he whispers into the darkness, invisible except for the reflection of light in his eyes.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka's eyes go wide and then she nods at Tux's info. Well, you know. If it wasn't a day where she'd decided to drop in on a new store or amusement only to find it was being run by the Dark Kingdom or some other Obsidian subsidiary, it wouldn't be a day ending with the letter y. There's probably something about fate, destiny, and chances to be said here - surely she occasionally stopped at places that weren't Secret Evil Operations. But those didn't stick out in her mind as much.

    "Well..." Haruka says, lowly. "...hope she comes out to play then."

    For the rest of the participants, Haruka makes a sort of overdramatic stage bow. "Haruka Tenoh, Radiant Heart Academy and No Idea What She's Doing, glad to meet you all. I just popped in because I thought it'd be fun.

    Is it weird it seems MORE fun now that there's Beryl's Favorite Youma to punch?

    But then she remembers there's still A Game Going On, and once it starts she's off, and maybe she forgot about the youma part. Because there's competition and she has no idea what she's doing but she's actually quite used to dodging lasers and other projectiles so it's bad news for team NPC. Well, not as bad for most of them as it is for that one kid.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
As soon as they're all through the doors, Tux tags Katsuko with one rose-gloved hand and leans down to whisper, "It's Chiba. This is an Obsidian operation, probably draining energy. Be on the lookout, I'll fill you in better later, okay?"

And then he vanishes into the mist to superjump for the top of the parkour shelf and crouch there like a cheating cheater. He doesn't shoot anybody, though, unless he sees anybody sneaking up on any of his teammates-- he's looking for Funny Business, not kill points.

His theory is that no one will see him because nobody looks up.

Naru Osaka has posed:
And it's on! Naru heads through the door for Team A, and unlike Tux, she's headed down low. She's wee already, and creeping around in the fog seems to suit her just fine.

It seems likely that Naru is possibly one of the few, or the only one who is actually trying to play laser tag. She creeps along, holding her gun close to her as she dodges around obsticles and ducks under boxes to seek out the NPCs from Team B.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"You can't disappoint anyone, I promise," Kazuo says to Katsuko once Tux is done with both of them, failing to actually introduce himself. Bad manners. Bad pretty boy. "We haven't played this exactly before either. So as long as people have fun and nobody gets hurt..."

They're in the arena, and Tux just told her it's an Obsidian operation. 'Nobody gets hurt.' Riiiight.

It's a good thing that the arenas are also generally foggy, because the shirt where it's not covered by the pack is likewise a glowing target. Therefore Kazuo hangs back a little, watching Katsuko's back. Watching Naru's, too, while she's still visible. Scanning alternately the corridors and the Up. Staying out of where he might draw attention to Tux or Haruka, the likely more competent ones, in multiple senses.

Maybe Katsuko and Naru can actually have fun? It could be hoped for. It's theoretically possible.

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Tux's warning pierces the veil, and Katsuko nods to him. "Got it, Tux." She is fit and flexible, so even though she went for an up close weapon she immediately gravitates to climbing upwards to try to make her way to the opponents undetected, unfortunately being up there also means she's probably more in the sniper's sight lines, and she gets hit. <WARNUNG! AUSLAUGUNG!> Zwillingrute pings as she stumbles as she gets hit by a wave of overwhelming exhaustion at the same time her vest registers she's been shot. She lowers herself to the ground on her parkour spot, hoping to regather herself before anyone else takes advantage of the weakness.

Beryl has posed:
Snipedart smirks as she watches her blue-haired target sway and then clamor back to the ground after being struck - only to frown, when there's an echoing cry in a foreign language as soon as the drain takes place. What kind of technology is that?

Is this... could that kid be some kind of enemy?

One of the ordinary players runs by, firing on Katsuko as she's downed - but also stirring up mist, making it harder to see her. Of course, the poor bastard runs right into Haruka next, who will have a great chance to fire first, if she's not taken aback.

The youma frowns, and turns to other targets, deciding to keep an eye out for enemies from that corner...

While taking note of a girl creeping along by herself. Well. That's an easy target if she ever saw one!

T-Shirt Kamen, being high up as well and on the hunt, will probably notice a momentary flicker of light from above, as the youma cocks her elbow and thrusts her hand-pistol out, firing a draining laser - this time, at Naru!

That sure is a great place to fire a rose (or laser) at, maybe.

Taro Yamada has posed:
The trio of friends on Team Them have split up - it's one of them who tags Katsuko and then runs off, laughing, unable to tell that the white glint in the fog is a girl huddled near the floor.

Two glowing eyes appear near her, though, and then a huge cloaked figure pierces the fog, one pale hand grabbing Katsuko's arm just under the elbow. She'll feel the strange not-sensation of pressure without pain, like local anesthesia, and the figure's stiff shoulders settle.

"....Did someone beat me to the punch?" the vampire rumbles, a frown on his face. "Dammit, I finally get a nice sandwich and someone already took a bite out!"

He's entirely focused on draining her. So focused that, in fact, he has missed that she's got people in the corners waiting for her.

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Two strikes already, Still feeling weak, and Katsuko is about to try to get a move on when she begins to get drained. It doesn't take long for her eyes to close and her body to go limp as she loses consciousness entirely. Zwillingrute issues another warning, however. <WARNUNG! ZWEITER AUSLAUGUNG!>

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Oh that-- that is getting a *rose*, no announcement. Mamoru scowls and flips one out, flinging it straight and true through the foggy air toward Snipedart's pistol hand. He immediately jumps down into the fog and darts around a corner, looking to be sure of where he thinks he heard Zwillingrute talking.

Instead of going to look after Katsuko just now, he stalks back through the swirling mist toward where he saw Snipedart last. No justice speech! Not with Team Them likely homing in on him and all shooting his vest at once like a pack of Jurassic Park velociraptors!

He does take a potshot or two at the kid who runs away laughing.

Then he hears Zwillingrute again and spins on his heel to dodge behind a "wall". "Has someone got her?" his voice calls out from somewhere... else...

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
There are possibilities here. There is transforming. This has the disadvantage of creating a brief lightshow, and there's a sniper overhead. (Kazuo's sure it's a sniper overhead; it wasn't the one who zapped Katsuko afterward, and it wasn't him, and he thinks the only other one in the area was one Tux talked to, which means probably not a youma.)

There is hitting the guy on Katsuko over the head with his rifle. The waiver did not immunize him from damage to the property, and also, it probably wouldn't do anything.

Which is why Kazuo, instead, comes up behind the huge cloaked figure, braces, and yanks on his cloak. "She's not a buffet!"

(Is there a song about not doing exactly this? Yes. Yes, there is.)

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka is... kind of involved in the game, mentally speaking. But then she hears that first voice - and she's done a couple youma near Device Users. She's not sure of what the device is *saying*, per se, since she doesn't speak Belkan, but it does sound like some sort of a warning.

    And she was already read in on the real situation behind the situation, so the sound of a device making noise makes her think the game part of things is over... right?

    Well, it's over for her for now anyways because the time she spends thinking about it, the other team shoots Haruka three times anyways and she's got to take some time out anyways.

    She wonders if she can pound Beryl's Favorite Youma into the dirt before her vest 'respawns' her as a legal target?

    Of course, she ducks behind a wall and henshins. She's fully aware there will be a light show but it's a foggy laser light arena, and nobody has line of sight to her, and she's 'dead' in the game already. Though explaining the wardrobe change may be harder. She heads over to the place where she heard the Device call out, only to note that Kazuo is already on it. Okay, she likes him. Direct. To the point. Not above some same-sex-smooching. Reminds her of someone.

    "You know, if you want a sandwich..." Sailor Uranus says, smacking her fist into her hand "... I've got one of a different kind you can have, Beryl's Favorite Youma." she says to Ripper.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Well. So much for it being a normal game of laser tag. Not that it ever was going to be, and honestly it was utterly delusional on Naru's behalf to think that it might be. Utterly delusional.

Still. When she gets picked off like the lone figure that she is, and Naru's vest shows that she's been hit, there's a quiet bit of swearing. She thought she'd been very sneaky!

And then the entirely too familiar sensation of drain kicks in, and Naru growls a little. Not that she can do a whole lot about it, other than grumble, and look up to where the shot probably came from.

She's not dead yet, but she's climbing up towards where that shot came from. Granted, it's a slower climb than the bouncy Naru who arrived, but she's not quite at protein bar and sports drink stage. Yet.

Beryl has posed:
Snipedart takes a rose to the hand and howls, because ow that hurt, ow the gun is their hand, ow it's impaled them, ow, ow, ow, hasn't this happened once before to someone else in Obsidian -

But this isn't a black rose, so it can't be Hematite, the traitor that the queen wants back so much! It must be someone else who's ROSED THEM IN THE HAND OW IT HURTS!

Snipedart yanks her arm to her chest, sucking air through their teeth and hiiiiisssing before releasing it in an audible "ahhhhh," of pain, just, hsssssss, ahhhhh, hssssss, ahhhh, over and over for a little until they get up the courage to yank the rose out.

"OW, FUCK," is the echoing cry, almost as loud as Zwillingrute's secondary cry for help. Naru will have absolutely no trouble identifying that this is the spot where she was shot from.

Snipedart stares in shocked horror at Naru, clutching a hand that bleeds green.

Thetis, back at the receptionists desk, is getting a Bad Feeling, but nothing is loud enough to trigger that feeling, so... it's probably fine...

Taro Yamada has posed:
There's a tug on his cloak. The Back Street Slasher turns and - oh, hey, it's the Pretty Boy that Tuxedo Guy was kissing! The Slasher gently sets Katsuko's arm back down and turns to him.

"If I knew someone had beaten me to her, I'd have buzzed off. But even vampires and oni have to eat, you know?" He tugs his cloak a little closer over to his body, then raises his hands, the universal sign of 'I'm chilling out'.

"It's a fair cop. I'll leave. You do know that Tuxedo Doofus has a girlfriend and a fiancee, right? Obviously since this is evil I have no choice but to approve, but even untrustworthy pretty boys oughta get a chance to know the score."

Not - not that he cares or has opinions on all that! Just trying to cause trouble!

And then. Wait. Wait wait wait. A Fourth Cool Lady appeared (the third one's knockedo ut and asleep) and she's trying to call him out as - WHAT???

"Now listen here!" the Slasher roars, making a show of how Kazuo's hand on his cloak is holding him back. (It's not, obviously, but he knows better than to start a fight here! Especially when the second Cool Lady might wake up and get revenge at any second!)

"I've been called a lot of insulting things, but I will not stand for being called BERYL'S HENCHMAN! I have NOTHING to do with that bugfuck-crazy mega-stalker who can't shut up about Prince Enderman for ten seconds while she's kicking puppies and blowing up streets! I am NOT a youma and I do NOT work for her, I have been doing my own thing since the 1960s and I will not have my good name as a Slasher painted with the same brush as a lady who only hires skinny 20-something women in leotards to beat up children, which not only is a violation of multiple labor laws but is super creepy! Real villains actually put work into their reputations but everyone's just Beryl, Beryl, Beryl, as if wearing expensive dresses and being a witch is enough to make up for having the personality of a decomposing fish! At least I could eat the fish! And another thing - "

But he doesn't have a chance to get to the other thing, because there's a great yell of pain coming from the distance. Instead, he forcibly raises and lowers his hands again, signaling his harmlessness. "If you want a youma, it's probably over THERE. Leave me out of this!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
T-shirt Kamen follows the sound of the hsssss ahhhh hsssss ahhhh OW FUCK until he sees, through the swirling mist, the lights of a teammate's vest up there next to Snipedart. Hm. Okay, whoever it is can take care of the energy-drainer, it-- oh it's Naru.

Well, she probably could if she were armed with something other (and more magical) than a toy laser rifle. So he jumps up to where they are and crouches down to where Naru's at the top of the wall, and he sleight-of-hands his cane out of nowhere and offers it to her. "You wanna take care of this loser on your own, or you want backup?" he asks her cheerfully.

He flips another rose out and does not stab the youma with it. No, no. He holds it, spinning it around like a deadly beautiful baton, just smiling at Snipedart.

With teeth. That glow under the blacklight along with his mask.

He will also, unfortunately, after that tirade over there, literally never be afraid of the Backstreet Slasher again.

Beryl, Beryl, Ber-yl!

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"I'm sorry, are you accusing him of cheating on his girlfriend and fiancee?" Kazuo's eyebrows arch, somehow conveying skepticism even through the mist. "Are you under the impression that he would survive that? I don't know who to be more annoyed at you for insulting, him or them --" Oh, wait. Someone else is turning up with a claim on Cloaked Individual's time, and she has a tiara, so she gets precedence. Kazuo eaaaases carefully to try to block any stray fire from hitting a collapsed Katsuko, and ...

... suddenly, despite himself, likes the oni/vampire/whatever-he-is more than he probably ought to. In fact, Kazuo's looking downright cheerful at the rant. 'Prince Enderman' and all.

Naru Osaka has posed:
There's a moment where it really does look like Naru is either going to just haul off and slug Snipedart, or possibly beat her to death with a toy laser pistol.

Okay mayby there's more than a couple of those moments, and in fact her hand is pulling back with the laser gun in hand to possibly have a 'why not both!?' moment when Tux turns up.

"Thanks, Tux." Naru reaches for the offered cane, dropping her laser pistol to be able to do so. "I got this."

While she might not be magical (much), nor have a henshin.. and she really doens't LOOK it, but Naru is a jock. Who trains with a staff on the regular. She gives the cane a bit of a twirl, settlign it into her hands before she makes excellent use of her training to beat Snipedart around the head and shoulders. Perhaps not QUITE as effective as a full strength Naru, she did get drained, but cranky goes a long way here.

She's half listening to Ripper ranting over there, her brain will catch some of it on instant replay once she's done with the beating.

Beryl has posed:
"This is just an ordinary operation! I'm just trying to collect energy for our great leader! You understand, don't you punk kid and prep kid?!"

The youma is on the look out for a tuxedo kid, or a prince kid. Not a T-Shirt Kamen, kid.

"It's a youma eat youma world out there, we're all just trying to - to - oh, I'm screwed, aren't I?"

She's looking at Naru the way some people look at the executioner's block.

And then she's getting beaten on, with that reinforced magical cane, about the head and shoulders and crying out in pain with every hit, trying to kick at Naru but this sniper spot is perfect for shooting and terrible for trying to get out of.

Thetis, meanwhile, is still just going on with business as usual, wondering to herself why on earth she's got such a terrible feeling...

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus looks at the Ripper with a sort of skeptical eye, but that quickly comes down in intensity as the rant goes on. In fact, an astute eye can catch her nodding at a lot of the things he says. She is also no fan of the woman who threw her around like a rag doll.

    But then she's about to complain about the lack of Beryl's Favorite Youma to pound, when the other yell of pain shouts out. "What is this, a party?" she asks. "Look, you don't get to drain people. Go drain a cow or something." she says, taking a step forward. "Sounds like I have other..." and then the sound of Naru whacking the heck out of the youma. "Actually it looks like my time might still be free."

    "You got that, right?" she calls out to Kamen and Naru. "Sounds like it!"

    Then she turns her attention back to the Ripper. "Anyways, look spooky, I'm not really one for the whole 'but I have to, people are my food' argument. That just makes it you or us. And I'm on team us. So if that's your big moral explanation then you should tell me how to stab you so that it hurts the least and gets you off my planet the fastest. Or... you can go learn how to eat burgers like the rest of us."

    Then she pauses. "Wait, would cow energy taste like a hamburger, or a steak?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"You got it. I'm gonna see if Takezaki-san needs anything," Mamoru says, vanishing the rose again before jumping down off the wall and jogging back to join the others, laser rifle holstered somewhat awkwardly through his belt.

He pushes past the Back Street Slasher and says to him, irritably, "If Prince Enderman then Back Street Boy." His tone clears as he crouches next to Katsuko, then, and takes a rose-printed glove off a scarred hand. "Nice rant, otherwise, though."

He reaches to lay his fingers on the back of her hand, and there's definitely a flash of golden light as he pours half a combo's worth of energy into the girl. "For the record, I'm gonna hedge my bets on hamburger if it's an ordinary cow, steak if it's Wagyu. But the important thing is, Beryl's favorite youma is the girl with the clipboards who had us sign waivers. Her name is Thetis."

A pause, and he looks at Kazuo. "Naru might need a hand. Probably. Maybe. She's fighting the sniper youma with my cane."

Taro Yamada has posed:
"Oh, easy. I just need to find a living cow! That's easily accessible! In Tokyo! Wow, that's so easy!" The Slasher spreads his hands sarcastically. "Don't you think I'd be eating animals if that worked? A dolphin might work but I can't exactly break into the aquarium to test it. Or do you want me to get my face ripped off by one of the chimpanzees at the zoo?" He gently tugs his cloak out of Kazuo's hand as he steps back.

"I already said I was evil. I hurt people to live, and I'm too selfish to die. Too ugly to get four cute girlfriends and two hot boyfriends," and he waves to Kazuo and Tuxedo Guy, "and too stupid to get a sick robot armor," and he gestures to the unconcious girl behind him.

And he snorts at Tuxedo Guy. "Dunno why you're so stuck on that prince guy, since he's definitely a different guy who you don't know at all. I dunno who he is." HE DEFINITELY DOESN'T KNOW THEYRE ALL THE SAME GUY, NO SIR.

"Anyway, if you're gonna go beat up Miss Blue Baja Blast, I will get out of your way. My one strength is knowing how to pick my battles."

A beat, and his face goes flat: "It wouldn't matter the quality of the meat. Raw meat is raw meat. Blood is blood. Energy's the only thing that tastes good."

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    <ANFANG> Katsuko stirs, and the energy provided combined with circumstances lead to an instinctual response. Another light show, blue light this time, and when it's done Katsuko is her knight armor, with Zwillingrute in tonfa mode. "I was just trying to have some fun." She insists, as she floats up. "I can help deal with the sniper. Should I set up a barrier?" She glares at Ripper, "Look I could respect you if you'd at least fight it out, but cowardice? Really?" She sounds offended by the guy's refusal to give her a half-decent fight.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"You are so screwed." Naru assures Snipedart. "I wanded to play /laser tag/." Apparently all of the frustration at having yet another perfectly normal evening out with friends become a draining, energy sucking actual FIGHT is being channelled through that cane into the youma.

As well as every other frustration that Naru has ever had, it would appear. "And you had to go and start DRAINING PEOPLE."

It's probably a good thing that Naru's distracted by beating a youma to death, and isn't really paying attention to Ripper. If anything, she's just getting more frustrated at the youma, not less.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Cloak is yielded to gentle tug, and this time when Kazuo lets an eyebrow twitch upward as he glances at the Slasher, there's a slightly different aspect to it. He does not, however, say anything even resembling 'been there' out loud. Instead, he steps wordlessly out of Katsuko's way, and starts up toward one of the more protected sniper perches, moving fast.

It is unlikely that anyone will be surprised by light flashes from that direction.

Also, there is a mental note to keep an eye on the Team Them trio, because at the concentration of magic in here, they might just be about to wake up themselves, and knowing whether to introduce them or stomp them would be good. But that's for later. For now, there's lining up protection for Naru if that youma fights back.

... if, because really, it's probably good for Naru to get some of the frustration out. Kunzite just doesn't want that to end with a high-speed floor impact.

Beryl has posed:
"It's my only reason for existence! It's all I have! Wait! Ow! Please! Can't we work something out!"

No, there is no working something out. There is just Snipedart, without dignity, being beaten to death by a jock wielding a magical cane. The weapon is enough to make sure the damage hits, and the strength is enough to make sure it hurts, and on Naru's next swing, the cane goes into the youma, as it's chest caves in, and dark energy starts floating up, up, up to the ceiling. The youma begins to crumble.

"What a way to go..."

Well, that happened. The youma is dead. The timer on the Laser Tag match says they still have about eight minutes worth of time left.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus reaches into her sort of dimensional storage - but she doesn't even get her hand around the blade before she sighs and her hand reappears with no blade. "You're making me feel bad for you, dude." Uranus says. She's mostly satisfied he's not a threat, but... she looks at Katsuko, as she's now in that knight armor.

    "Well, I figure if anybody needs to beat him, it's only fair you do." she says, looking at the girl. "Assuming you're not too drained to kick his butt if he tries to come at you now that you're not being snuck up on?" she asks.

    "Cause if you got this, I think I am gonna go hit someone at the front of this little venture with a clipboard." she notes.

    She is not above informing Thetis her plan has gone awry with a gloved fist. In fact she's exactly at that level, if everything else is under control. Which it... certainly... probably... is? She figures she's long since lost the game itself. If there's even a game. Maybe looking at the score drains energy too.

Taro Yamada has posed:
"Immortal cursed life! Insatiable hunger for humans! It's not like I can ask people to volunteer for it. Hi, I'm a horrible monster and I need to make you super tired or anemic! Can you hold still for me?" He leers to demonstrate how ridiculous the very idea is.

And turning to the girl in - ok, frankly, really sick armor - "Laser tag is still happening, visibility is poor, there's like five other normie humans running around, there's a mega evil lady running reception and you want to fight? I thought people liked solving problems with their words." He groans, exaggerated, and then steps away from the others, in front of what he knows is a long corridor with plenty of room to go tumbling and places to hide in the fog. "Fine. Give me your best shot. Send me into the wall, kid."

He pats his stomach, below where his lasertag vest is hidden under his cloak, and above where he's keeping the doll that is his one weak point. It'll suck, but he can heal it off - let's get all those loose ends tied!

Naru Osaka has posed:
There's a few more hits from the cane that Naru's wielding into the sniper platform that Snipedart HAD been on, before she melted into dark energy. Eventually even Naru has to acknowledge that there's nothing left to hit and she turns. The cane goes onto her shoulder, as if Naru got dropped into a scene from Clockwork Orange and looks to Kazuo.. Kunzite. "Anything else that needs hitting?" She asks of him before she bends down to also pick up her laser tag pistol.

She's a little droopy, she got energy sucked pretty solid, but that's future Naru's problem.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kunzite crosses from platform to platform while Naru's beating up ... the platform. He stays a little back, just in case of particularly wild swings. "This one's boss was handing out the waivers, apparently," he says. "If you want vengeance against paperwork, I'll give you a hand down. If you'd rather take on the entire enemy team singlehanded, I'll get coffee for you after your victory."

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Katsuko just stares at Ripper like he offends her. "Fight me, you coward." She insists, "Are you a horrible monster who needs to feed on people, or are you just a leech?" Still, she takes up the offer because she has some frustrations to work out and he did just volunteer. Blue light glows as she suddenly out of nowhere rushes towards him, her tonfa swinging in a crossing motion at the spot indicated, <ZWILLINGSCHLAG> Energy joins the strike, and this isn't mid-childan magic. This is theoretically deadly force, aimed squarely at Ripper's stomach.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
T-shirt Kamen stands up as Katsuko floats up, and watches with half an eye out for the other team's people. "A barrier wouldn't be a bad-- oh, or that," he says, taking a half-step back. He watches Haruka go back toward the entrance, and just-- waits to see if he needs to actually heal the vampire.

He sighs.

Beryl has posed:
At the front desk, Thetis does get a notification that her youma has been destroyed. A courtesy of Inhuman Resources, because she had, honestly, been lazy with this one. The youma from the Dark Kingdom are her colleagues! Why sacrifice them for an overtime shift? Still, the youma being destroyed means she should probably leave...

"Everyone, unfortunately, it looks like my shift replacement hasn't shown up, and my shift is over -"

But it's thirty-seven minutes after the hour, what kind of shift ends thirty-seven minutes after the hour," someone protests.

Thetis' eyebrows twitch.

"You know what? Fuck it."

And she drops her disguise, magic falling away to reveal her natural form, blue-skinned, mouthless, monstrous. She raises a hand, and starts draining the energy out of that heckler - and everyone else there. The crowd waiting for laser tag sways, stumbles, and then collapses - all their energy swirling into a small ball held in that outstretched hand.

It's a pretty telling scene for Sailor Uranus to walk in on.

Taro Yamada has posed:
"Not the time, not the place. If I see you again, we can have a rematch. Besides, it feels kinda bad realizing all the best snacks are little kids," the Slasher sneers -

There's a CRACK as the tonfa hit him square in the stomach, as the impact ripples through flesh to bone; the Slasher goes flying into the mist, and there's a CRASH as he skitters across the floor and slams into the wall.

"Owwww," he groans, rolling onto his back as his regeneration kicks in. "She really could've killed me. Teenage girls really are scary....." owww ow ow ow ok ok ok he's up he's up - hopping to his feet and shaking the transformation off, leaving only phantom pains in his stomach and back. Owwww. Good thing he ate a lot today!! Time for Taro to limp back to where that guy fainted and find the rest of his team.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Honestly? The scene Sailor Uranus walks in on is exactly the kind of scene that is tailor made for Sailor Uranus. There's no hostages, no people that need evac, no difficult choices to be made. There's not a tough moral quandry.

    There is a blue skinned monster draining energy from innocent civilians and not a lot of complication. So she stomps right over to Thetis from behind - probably only catching her because she left early, relative to the youma destruction - puts a hand on her shoulder, with her other hand's gloved fist clenched.

    "Hey, can you take your boss a message for me?" And when Thetis turns around - presuming she does, which hey, wouldn't most people? Or youma? She might even be turning around before Uranus finishes her line - Sailor Uranus is going to punch her right in the face.

    Or maybe this will be smarter than the average bear/youma/thug and port out the moment there's a hand on her shoulder, leaving Uranus swinging at air.

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    "You owe me an actual match. There's not been one to have a rematch." Katsuko tells Ripper, she doesn't seem at all worried about him, considering he got back up after taking the hit. She looks around to the others, "So, anything else left we got to do before we can wrap this up? Sorry I'm still new at this."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru squints through the blacklight and takes a couple of steps toward the direction in which Katsuko slammed the Slasher, then shrugs and takes off his vest and laser rifle. "Good shot," he tells Katsuko, "let's go see if Sailor Uranus left any youma for us to help slap around."

He lays the vest and gun down next to the wall and gestures back toward the exit with luminous white gloves. "Hey, Naru-chan, Kazuo-kun, our vests stopped working and I think someone on the other team got sick, we're heading out to let the receptionist know!" he calls into the mist.

And then he's walking onwards while telling Katsuko, "So Thetis, the receptionist, is fairly likeable for a literally inhuman monster, but she also works for Beryl, who calls herself a queen and is on the board of directors of Obsidian, the truly evil megaconglomerate..."

Beryl has posed:
Oh, she needs to get out of here -"

Is what Thetis is thinking right before she gets a punch to the jaw. Yes, she does go flying a bit. Yes, some of the energy does disperse, but even as she's rocking, rolling, falling she scrambles to hold onto it, and manages to get about half.

Halfway across the floor, jaw already purpling, exasperated, Thetis gives Sailor Uranus a distinctly harassed look, and duskports out of there.

The heckling guy is one of those who got some energy back, and he raises his head to look around blearly, before declaring, "I can't believe she left! There's no way her shift was really over, she should have stayed until someone covered her!"

One of his friends claps a hand over his mouth. There's an awkward silence, between the unconscious civilians, the half-conscious civilians, and the sound of the match timer ticking down, proving that three of the arenas are still in place, and eyes turn to T-Shirt Kamen, Katsuko, and Sailor Uranus, questioning.

Uh... bailing time?

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Arena's broken," T-shirt Mask says to everyone they come face to face with. He gestures over his shoulder and explains, "Monsters."

Then he just goes out the front door, shoving his hands in his pockets.