557/Comparing Notes

Comparing Notes
Date of Scene:	05 October 2023
Location:	Drama Club Room
Synopsis:	Wako and Veronica meet up to share information and compare notes regarding heartstealer rifles, magical artifacts, Midnight Tokyo and how a fox became the Vice President of a drama club. (Not Radiant Heart's drama club. Just a drama club.)
Cast of Characters:	Wako Agemaki, Veronica Perenna

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Wako Agemaki has posed:
The Drama Club doesn't meet this afternoon, which has made the club room an ideal place for meeting up to talk about things that might sound a little crazy if overheard in a more public space. That was the reason Wako gave for suggesting it, when she reached out to the phone number Veronica gave her back at the park.

At the agreed-on time, she's there waiting - she's left the club room door slightly ajar as a sign to welcome Veronica in, and has seated herself at a table with a couple of melon bread and cans of juice at the ready.

There is also a small yellow fox, who is currently under her chair batting playfully at her shoes.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica was, of course, expecting Wako to contact her after the whole incident with her fan and the event with her Pure Heart, so she doesn't hesitate when she suggests for them to meet at the Drama club, which apparently won't be in session this afternoon. And if someone does stumble in and overhears them, they can always brush that off, claiming they were acting exercises to keep Wako on top of her form.

And that's how the brunette is at the agreed time and place, knocking on the slightly ajar door as a warning before letting herself in.

"Hello, Agemaki-san", Veronica nods towards her schoolmate, slightly lowering her back as well in a small bow before taking a seat at the table Wako has set up.

"A nice selection of snacks and beverages", Veronica comments in approval, before helping herself to a sip of the juice. "So, what would you like to start with?" she asks with a pleasant smile.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako gets to her feet when Veronica enters, answering the bow with a polite bow of her own. "Hello," she says cheerfully as she straightens back up. "Thanks for coming. I hope it wasn't too inconvenient."

She settles back into her chair and reaches for one of the melonpan, unwrapping it as she talks. "Well... first of all, I wanted to thank you again for helping out the other day. I don't really remember anything that happened between me collapsing and you and sensei getting my soul back in me, but you didn't have to get involved, so - thank you."

The fox, disrupted in his play by Wako getting up and sitting back down, abandons his attack on her feet and scampers onto her shoulder instead.

"So," Wako offers, "I guess we could start there, and work backward to the rest? I know you probably have plenty of questions."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica shakes her head at Wako's worry. "It was no inconvenience, Agemaki-san", she says, after pondering the matter of the melon pan, which for now she leaves on the table untouched. "I did not have any particular duties this afternoon, besides a possible transfer of dorm rooms, but it is still not clear whether I am the one who has to move or my future roommate."

She chuckles at Wako's thanks, waving at that with a dismissal. "I do not see it the same way there: I had to, much like everyone has the obligation to provide help when someone is in danger. I am quite sure you would agree on that, since you too use your powers for the good of everyone", she explains her point of view, giving Wako a quite self-assured wink.

"So, I would not pay it any mind", Veronica adds, taking another sip out of her juice. "Rather, how do you feel? Have you recovered from the experience?" the brunette inquires, her voice taking on a shade of interest in this particular question.

"Besides that question, I guess I would like to know who was it that attacked you, and if you happen to know anything about the weapon they used."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
At Veronica's wink, Wako dips her head in acknowledgement, smiling a little more self-consciously. "You're not wrong about that," she admits. "And... I'm fine now, really. It was an uncomfortable experience, but at least there weren't any lasting effects. I'm totally back to normal." She gestures widely, spreading her arms as though to prove that she's in good health.

Then she settles back a little in her chair, expression becoming more thoughtful. "I don't actually know who that girl was," she says. "But I did know about the gun she used. It's not the first time that this has happened, and I don't think that's the only gun."

There's a pause while she takes a bite out of her melonbread, chews, and swallows. "Someone I know saw the same thing happen earlier, and she warned me about it. It seems like a group in Obsidian, the corporation, made these things. They were testing them out... and now they're using them to search for something. Including what happened to me, there's at least three different people responsible, though I don't know for sure if it's three different guns or if they're taking turns sharing one."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"I am glad you are feeling well now" Veronica smiles widely at Wako's effort to prove she is fine, perceiving it to be both funny and disarming of any tension she may have about her health. "I hope you had taken a few more protein bars in the last few days. They do wonders for at least this type of magical ailment." Quite amusing how that worked.

The brunette takes a few more sips of her juice can while she takes a minute to absorb the information Wako has given her. "That sounds quite troubling. I hope your source is wrong and there is only one of those going around. I would rest more easily if we could put this behind us. Especially since we wouldn't want to make your magical boyfriend worry", she teases her a little to dissolve the tension. "Who is this informant of yours? I believe it would prove useful if I got to know them as well", she points out, though that is just as true as her own curiosity prompting her to want to know.

"Agemaki-san, I believe I owe you some explanations too since I ended up being personally involved in the events at the shrine with that ghost more than I would like to admit. Do you have something you would like to tackle first, or will I fill you in with a general summary and then we go forward from there?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"I think you've already met her," Wako says with a note of amusement. "Naru Osaka? That was the same kind of protein bar she likes. She's been trying to get the warning around about the guns since she saw the first 'test,'" here Wako makes a face like the word tastes bad in her mouth, "but spreading information to the people who need to know it takes way too much time."

She nibbles on her melon bread again, and leans forward with fresh curiosity brightening her eyes. "Maybe you should start with the summary," she suggests once her mouth is no longer full, "and then we can build onto that?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica gives another chuckle when Wako mentions Naru. "Oh, her. You know, she was acting quite mysterious at the end of our first meeting, but I did not realise I had met your information broker as well as, I guess, your health manager." She shakes her head a few times quite amused. "She was all, and I quote, 'Just a Naru over here, and that's more than enough.' I must commend her when I see her again. Witty people like her are great", she observes, chuckling a bit more.

"The reason that's the kind of protein bar Naru likes is she is, in fact, the one who suggested it to me, after she saw my magical affliction strike. The short of it is I accidentally compromised a magical enchantment meant to hold demons at bay, and now, said enchantment is routinely feeding on me to keep going as much as it can. Naru's help came at a time when it struck and I had my usual collapse, not too dissimilar from how you were feeling when the heart got put back into you. And that's why I always have those protein bars on me."

She takes a sip before continuing. "But I digress. To put things back to normal, I have to gather the energy the enchantment lost. However, the demons forced it to take the shape of precious items that would entice the hearts of any normal person who came into the proximity of one. An additional obstacle to my mission, basically", she grimaces. That's the type of craftiness she could stand to avoid.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako listens, not interrupting, though she smiles knowingly at Veronica's description of Naru's behavior. Yeah, that sounds like her.

The smile fades as Veronica begins to explain her situation, quickly replaced by a look of growing concern. "I'm sorry," is the first thing out of her mouth. "That sounds like a lot to have to deal with. And..." She hesitates, adding what she knows now up with some certain details from their previous encounters. "...the fan. The one the ghost had at Nezu Shrine. That was one of those items?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica smiles and waves at Wako's apology. "Thank you, Agemaki-san, but that's my fault to begin with. Had I not been snooping around to satisfy my own curiosity, I would not have stumbled upon the painting with the enchantment, and then the barrier would still hold instead of the 4 bosses of that demon clan being able to send their minions out."

The student finishes the juice still in the can. "Though, the painting selected me as her newest Phantom Thief in exchange and gave me those powers, so I suppose it all balances out. Now at least, I have the power to make up for my curiosity, and work on recovering the missing twenty-eight. I have the Peak's Secret Heart and the Crimson Spirit's Fan in my possession now, inside my top hat."

Veronica sets down the empty can of juice, before opening another. "The day we met at the shrine, I was on the traces of one of those minions, when they suddenly disappeared as if they never existed. I believe that fellow had quite the nasty death at the hands of that yurei", she comments, her face not any happier at that cruelty having happened to a demon.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
At the mention of the 'Peak's Secret Heart,' Wako sits up straighter, abruptly enough to startle the little fox who's been contentedly occupying her shoulder. "Oh! I read about that... the vase that was stolen! The Peak's Secret Heart..." As the rest of what she read in the news article catches up with her memory, she laughs abashedly. "...and the Princess of Sarek. Duh. I could have put that together before now, probably."

Shaking her head, she reaches up to soothe Vice President with some absent-minded petting. "Two out of twenty-eight is a start." Wako does not seem at all troubled by the fact that obtaining at least one of the objects required theft, or that the same will likely be necessary to recover the others. "Do you have any leads on the others?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica nods, her expression serious despite her words. "Quite funny how things work here. I couldn't recognise you at all until you revealed yourself at the end, despite how natural it should have been to me." She shudders. "I don't know what's messing with our perception, but I am still not fond of the idea, despite it probably being necessary. And that's without considering the fact it protects our enemies just as much as us."

The bothered girl nods regarding her having made the news, still a bit flattered that Wako remembers her. "That's how crafty those demons are. In a way, I got lucky the second time around that the yurei had taken care of removing the minion as early as she did before it had a chance of creating a ruckus like it did the first time around. That's the purpose of my calling cards normally: to counter the minions' chaos with confusion of my own, and minimise the casualties."

Veronica takes a sip out of her new juice can. "It's two out of 30", she corrects nonchalantly. "And no, I don't have any leads on the others. If I have to hazard a guess, the ghost girl intervening came out of nowhere for them too, so they are concealing themselves as much as possible while they try to decide on how to continue." The Phantom Thief shakes her head, smirking. "Not that it will stop me."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Oh - so, twenty-eight left." Wako nods slowly, revising her understanding of the situation. "Mmm... and that's a problem for you, then, if the others are lying low because of whatever the heck all these guys with rock names are up to. Although they're causing enough trouble on their own without twenty-eight demons making messes all over the place, too. It doesn't really feel like we ever get much of a break, does it?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica shrugs, not feeling particularly hindered by that. "I think I will be able to get around it just fine. I have barely touched on what I can do to track them down. Soon enough, the third item will have joined my collection." She takes a look at a melon pan, before grabbing it.

"That would be right, we never really get breaks, especially since everyone seems to have their own special foes to deal with. What about you, do you have your own divinely appointed foes out there to ruin your day?" she smirks, cracking a joke before taking a bit out of the melon pan.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
The joking question has Wako laughing in spite of herself. "Not really," she replies with another little shake of her head. "I used to, but we worked things out last year. Now I'm free to involve myself in everyone else's problems instead!"

With this bright proclamation, she demolishes the rest of her melon bread in what seems like entirely too little time. Then she sits back again, and her expression grows more serious. "...which, right now, mostly means Midnight Tokyo. You wanted to know more about that too, right? I don't know a lot about it, unfortunately, but I can tell you what I do know. It's pretty bad."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Oh, hey, good for you", Veronica replies jovially. "I am sure that people wouldn't mind someone involving themselves in their problems when that someone is you." Too much? Yeah, probably too much. Though, how the compliment is received isn't really something Veronica would perceive as a problem right now.

Veronica nods at the mention of Midnight Tokyo. "That's right, if you know about that too, I would love to hear about it, please."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
The compliment is, at the very least, unexpected; Wako blinks in mild surprise, and shrugs with a little smile. There are more important matters to discuss at the moment, regardless.

"This is something I heard about from Inai-sensei," she begins. "I'm not sure how she got the information, but she's been doing this kind of thing for a pretty long time, and she knows a lot of people. Even with that, we don't have many details. What we know is... okay, stop me if I start explaining anything you already know, okay? A lot of this was pretty new to me, and I still don't know what's common knowledge and what's not."

A pause for breath, and then she goes on. "There's a place called the Dusk Zone. As far as I know, it's basically another dimension, one that's full of dark energy... the kind of negative energy that the ghost was using, and the guy at the art gallery was putting off. And there's people in Obsidian who have a plan to - I'm not sure if they want to pull Tokyo into the Dusk Zone, or the Dusk Zone into Tokyo, or just overlap them somehow. However exactly they intent to do it, it's big, and it'll be really bad for pretty much everyone if they pull it off. From what I've heard, even other people in Obsidian think it's a bad idea."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
All that dark energy erupting in Tokyo... Veronica shudders at the damage it would cause. "I guess it is a good thing some people in Obsidian think that's bad too. The casualties would be too big to be counted and even us with magic probably would not fare too well." She tries distracting herself from the thought with the melon pan.

"Do we already have an idea as to how stop it? Or at least contact the Obsidian folks that would be on our side to stop Midnight Tokyo?" she asks, already starting considering a few things herself with the backing of the enchanted painting that currently is taking up space on her wall.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
A shadow dims Wako's already troubled expression. "We're still on the back foot, for now," she admits. "We've been trying to find out more about how they intend to pull this off... that's why Takuto-kun and I were visiting Nezu Shrine that day. The best information we have at the moment is that it has to do with the ley lines... natural currents of energy that run through the city. Sacred places like old shrines are likely to be placed on ley lines, so we were hoping we could at least see if anything seemed wrong there."

The breath goes out of her in a sigh. "The ghost called herself 'Pyrite,' and she mentioned 'Lord Hematite'. And the guy at the art gallery was 'Nephrite'. There's a 'Jadeite' too, though I don't know how he fits in. Regardless, I'm pretty sure the business we interrupted at the art gallery and the thing with the ghost at Nezu Shrine were connected. But that's about all I know. I'm sorry it's not more."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica taps the table with her fingers as she absorbs the matter of Midnight Tokyo, pushing the info about this Takuto being Ginga Bishounen into a corner for now. "So they seek to make us of leylines... Hmm... It's not quite the same thing, but one of my artifacts is a book on constellations, the constellations being composed by jewels rather than drawn. Perhaps I can try to dedicate my efforts in that direction and see if I can learn something useful from there.

"Pyrite, Hematite, Nephrite and Jadeite... Speaking of jewels, they really do have a thing for gemstones. Wonder what role that plays if anything", she observes. "And that's a lot more than I knew, so you did great, you don't have to apologise or anything", Veronica is quick to point out the importance this information held for her, trying to reassure Wako with a smile.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako's eyebrows lift, brightening her face a little. "Constellations composed by jewels, huh? I can't say for sure, but it sounds as though it would be worth checking into, at least. Especially with so many gemstone names involved, you know?"

The attempt at reassurance is met with a smile and an inclination of her head. "Thank you," she says. "We're not the only ones looking into this, so maybe by now one of the others has turned up more. If I do find out anything else, I can let you know - sharing information is important."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica nods with emphasis. "Good, then I will hope the others have turned up something, and meanwhile, I will try to track down that book." She finishes her own melon pan, reserving a glance for Vice President and offering the critter a calm smile.

"But that's for later. Let's talk about something more pleasant right now. What about that charming lil fox here? I saw it moving about earlier and it looks so adorable. Does it have a name?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
As though aware he's being discussed, the fox perks up his ears, hops from Wako's shoulder onto the table, and comes to investigate Veronica... or possibly check her out for melonpan crumbs.

Wako smiles fondly, offering no objection at all to the change to a more enjoyable subject of conversation. "His name is Vice President. Although, he's not Vice President of anything here... but it's not as though we can change his name now."

This, of course, requires further explanation of how a small yellow fox became Vice President of a school drama club... which leads easily and naturally into friendly chitchat about other everyday matters that don't involve danger or the impending end of the world.