{{CharacterNew
|NameOnMUSH=Natsu Oukanno
|Char_id=158
|Img=https://radiantheartmush.com/images/4/48/Natsu_Oukanno_Present.png
|FullName=Natsu Oukanno
|AKA=Overlord Maou
|Gender=Male
|Origin=Dark Energy
|Grade=10
|Clubs=Occultism Club, Kendo Club, Judo Club
|Series=Original
|Chartype=OC
|Groups=Radiant Heart Academy
|Quote="...Did you just feel that?"
|Profile=Natsu Oukanno has always been a Villain Otaku. He cheered for the Villains in every anime, manga, and movie he watched, and was always frustrated by the writers contriving to make the evil side lose just because it's what people expect. He even tried drawing and writing his own manga about Villains, their evil plans, and their success in conquering the world, but his friends and family all criticized it and told him he was weird for obsessing over this.

Eventually, he allowed his hopes and dreams for a world in which Villains could succeed withered on the vine. But now in highschool, after arriving at Radiant Heart Academy, Natsu has discovered the power of Dark Energy, and finally can achieve his greatest wish by putting him on the Evil Throne as an Overlord himself! There's just one problem... His Overlord form is a girl, rather than the menacing skeletal figure he'd hoped for! Natsu is about to discover that leading the forces of darkness is a lot harder than it seemed on TV.
|Skills=And I Would Have Gotten Away With It Too If It Weren't For You Meddling Magical Girls And Your Talking Flying Hamster!, Damn Heroes! Always Interfering!, I've Been Practicing My Maniacal Laughter Since I Was A Pre-Schooler, Okay But Was The Sex Change Absolutely Necessary For My Henshin, The Overlord List Is My Bible, Villain-san! Don't Give Up!
|Height=5'6" (167.64 cm)
|Age=16
|BloodType=Unknown
|Birthday=April 11th
|Likes=Villains
|Dislikes=Heroes
|FavFood=None
|LeastFavFood=None
|FavSubject=None
|LeastFavSubject=None
}}
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Overlord_Maou_Henshin.png
File:Natsu_002.png
File:Natsu_003.png
File:Maou.png
File:Villain_Otaku.png
File:Natsu_Oukanno_Campus.png
</gallery>

File:Natsu Oukanno Present.png

2024-02-23T08:28:30Z

Mandylion:

1160/Overlord Diaries: Crisis

2024-02-23T08:23:52Z

Mandylion: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2024/02/22 |Location=Dorms #3 |Synopsis='''CW: Past abuse.''' Natsu Oukanno is facing a crisis of the highest order. To solve it, he needs to assem..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2024/02/22
|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=158,161,107,85
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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." 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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!" 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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?" 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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.) 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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." 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:85|Jin Kishimura (85)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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-- 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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?" 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:85|Jin Kishimura (85)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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." 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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? 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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." 

:'''{{#var:85|Jin Kishimura (85)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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?" 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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 watch 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 Game Station. Hm. Why does he feel like he's forgetting something? 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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''?" 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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'." 

:'''{{#var:85|Jin Kishimura (85)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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.'' ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:85|Jin Kishimura (85)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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..." 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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." 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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?" 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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? 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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? 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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!" 

:'''{{#var:85|Jin Kishimura (85)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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?" 

:'''{{#var:85|Jin Kishimura (85)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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." 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:85|Jin Kishimura (85)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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." 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:85|Jin Kishimura (85)}} 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. 

:'''{{#var:158|Natsumi Nabara (158)}} 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?" 

:'''{{#var:161|Kano Watanabe (161)}} 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?" 

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} 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...? 
}}

1139/Normal Saturday Night For Zoisite LeBeouf

2024-02-19T22:28:42Z

Mandylion: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2024/02/19 |Location=Dorms #1 |Synopsis=Izou Saitou regails his Prince and the Professor with tales of Heroes, a Vampire, and the Mantican't. Guest..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2024/02/19
|Location=Dorms #1
|Synopsis=Izou Saitou regails his Prince and the Professor with tales of Heroes, a Vampire, and the Mantican't. Guest starring the Bakeneko*. (* The Bakeneko did not appear in this scene) Nephrite pitches a crazy plan also. So crazy it just might work!?
|Cast of Characters=86,38,90
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''     Knock knock. There's a twink at the door. Who could it be? It's Izou Saitou! "Open up. I've got catnip so if you don't then your sister's cat will." He called Masato over too, without asking if inviting him to Mamoru's room was okay or not, because why would he, he's Zoisite.     He does not, for the record, have catnip. He does have a bag of bagels though and a thermos of hot chocolate because eff coffee who would choose coffee if they can literally DRINK CHOCOLATE that's like those weirdos who pick up Loser milk at the store instead of chocolate milk.     What is up with that!? 

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:''' "Ohhhh my goddddd," groans Mamoru from inside the room, and there's first bed creaking, and then there's shuffling sounds, and then there's the door opening and Mamoru in rumpled pajamas with bedhead and no glasses and a squint in the light of the hall. The room is dark. Koji's bed is made. Mamoru's is not. "Why would you threaten that. Are you ''still up.'' Come in." There are no actual questions, just statements that seem like they should be questions. They're rhetorical statements, even. He opens the door wider and shuffles in, then keeps his eyes squinted as he opens the curtains to the dimmer light outside. "Don't you dare turn on the overhead," he adds, turning on his desk lamp. He pulls his blankets into something resembling at least the bare minimum of obviously-slept-in made and drops himself onto the edge of his bed. 

:'''{{#var:90|Masato Sanjouin (90)}} has posed:'''     Masato Sanjouin is looming in the doorway behind Izou suddenly. Squinting in the murk of early morning, the rather beleaguered-looking young man decides the correct way to announce his presence is to reach right over Izou's head, and flick on the overhead lights. Thankfully, he hears Mamoru's warning in time, halts the motion, and pulls his hand back. "I trust there is a good reason for this meeting." he grumbles in his raspy voice.     He is no more happy to be up right now than Mamoru. 

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''     "Probably!" Izou responds after tilting his head back to look up at Masato, then proceeding forwards into the dorm room so the hallway lights don't cause Prince Endymion to shrivel up and disappear, the poor dear. He puts down the thermos, bagel bag, and distributes them as desired. "So, get this, I met La Crima just now, and she was messing with some sort of Dark Energy animal construct of fairly high complexity. Also there were four girls there too, but they're not important. What's important is that I may have found out who was behind the break-in at Neph--Masato's house, you know when the Em-Tee-Pee data was stolen and his mansion got rekt, and that is probably Norie, the same one who stabbed Neph--Masa--No, he was Nephrite at the time, stabbed Nephrite in the back! Actually had the nerve to call me a 'traitor'! Yeah, the backstabber who is making Dark Energy monsters steal energy from civilians and then getting pissy when the local Girl Power squad Aces the damned thing, is such an authority on loyalty. Yes that was a run-on sentence; eff no, I'm not rephrasing it."     Then he sits himself down in Mamoru's desk chair, butterfly-style, hands on his ankles, looking almost childishly excited. Waiting for the reaction as he looks back and forth between the Prince and the Professor. 

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:''' Mamoru takes some hot chocolate thinking it's coffee and looks like he isn't sure if he's pleased or disappointed, and a bagel with cream cheese, and he's slowly chewing as ''way too much energy Izou'' practically bounces with information. He puts his glasses on somewhere in the middle, after rubbing his eyes again. It takes him a moment to rephrase the entire paragraph of words in a way that he can process all the individual parts of it, and while he's doing that, he holds a finger up and chews bagel, buying time. Then the Prince swallows his mouthful and says, "I mean we can probably just ask who did it at this point, since the information ended up in Inai-sensei's hands. She told me she didn't know who broke in at the time... but it's more fun to blame the person we've actually got beef with already." That sounds like a decision made before coffee. He drinks some hot chocolate, then straightens up a little and looks over to Neph. "You can take Koji's chair," he suggests, "and you can turn the light on now if you want? My eyes have adjusted and I won't scream." Then Mamoru looks down into his hot chocolate. "They're probably going to keep calling us traitors until we do something about Beryl and the demon. I mean... Norie really is kind of nuts, isn't she? She works for Beryl now, but she certainly didn't at the time. What kind of animal was it?" He doesn't address the rest. Zoi is so ''enthusiastic'' and that's a ''good'' thing. Or at least a cute thing. 

:'''{{#var:90|Masato Sanjouin (90)}} has posed:'''     Masato's eyes have adjusted to the demi-darkness now. "I shall have to decline the offer to turn the lights on. I have also acclimated to the current light level." He closes the door behind him once has entered, and just leans against the door instead of sitting. There was a time when he could have made his own chair, but now he must make-do with what's available to him. Sigh. A life without instant chairs will be tough indeed.     He listens to Zoisite's rapidfire explanation, and Endymion's response, and then waits. And waits. "...Is that all?" he finally asks, incredulously. This is hardly 'get up very early' news. This could have waited!     Nephrite slowly turns his head to look at Mamoru, with an expression that says, 'Why is this human paramecium even in our lives?'     "A youma at the Thousand Waves spa made the same accusation, before I ended its temporary life. It wasn't the intelligent type, like Thetis, so my explanation didn't have any affect." He sighs closes his eyes as he rubs the bridge of his nose back and forth between thumb and forefinger. "Speaking of Beryl and Metallia, I wanted to run something by you, and ask for permission." 

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''     "Well, yes, but it has been a ''mystery'' all this time, and now I've found the trail! Do you think Inai was working with an Obsidian agent the whole time though? Would she have lied about that? I crave answers! Our ''readers'' crave answers!" He whips out a hand-drawn 'manga' from a back pocket. It's somewhat crunched from being folded a few times to fit, but he offers it to anyone who might want to take a look.     The Adventures of the Earth Prince - Book One: Lost Boys. It's a very stylized, embellished, and name-changed version of the history of the Shitennou and their headliner Prince up until now, with various story elements adjusted to not be spilling secrets or even alluding to them.     He turns to Masato when spoken to. "Yup! That's all!" Izou chirps, still smiling. When the gloomy bastard seems unimpressed, Izou's smile quickly becomes a scowl. It's amazing how swiftly his mood swings, and how much it openly shows on his face and in his body language. One leg goes down on the floor, the other leg crossed over the first, and his arms folded, as he indignantly says, "Well, ''you wanted to know'', and with the Goofy Ghast off the suspect list, ''who else could it be''?" 

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:''' It was absolutely could-have-waited news, but Zoisite knows his Prince -- chocolate and a food offering buy a lot of forgiveness, though the addition of coffee would buy even more. He solemnly holds his bribery up in answer to Nephrite's unspoken question, then takes another sip of hot chocolate. "I don't think even Thetis would buy any explanations we have," he says. "But, a thing that needs permission? Why am I worried all of a sudden?" Then Mamoru stares at Zoisite for a moment, and puts his cocoa and bagel down on his desk, and actually looks hesitant. "I mean... I was Obsidian in name only for a long time, you know. I was desperately afraid for all of you, because you had *that thing* in your heads." He takes the manga and holds it in his hands, but keeps talking for a moment. "I was afraid for me, because I thought she might get me too. She never did. I was forgetting things on purpose just in case she could get in, and for like six months I was giving those memories to Pyrite to store for me so I wouldn't lose things forever. *I* was leaking information to the girls. *I* was passively sabotaging the MTP. I'm really hoping this isn't actually a ''surprise''..." Endymion takes a long breath. "I was working with a bunch of heroes to get you all out with me. I didn't want to leave you there alone, not when you followed me in. But at the same time, I couldn't allow something that would threaten the destruction of ''my planet''." A beat. "I definitely didn't break in or bust up Neph's house, though, and Lacrima's a good suspect, except for the fact that she was working for Riventon, who was at the meeting anyway. I think he would have told me. Also, I broke Kyouka's arm over the whole thing and I still feel shitty about that, so I really think if you want to know we should ask her." Then he looks down at the manga and starts flipping through. "You drew this? This is *awesome*!!" 

:'''{{#var:90|Masato Sanjouin (90)}} has posed:'''     Nephrite just shakes his head and sighs. "I am more accepting of you disrupting it than someone who was allegedly on our side but lying about it. And you storing your memories elsewhere actually gave me an idea. When I had my journal sent to you, right after the psychic feedback we all got from you and Pyrite doing... Whatever it was you did at the Soryuu Shrine, I used my magic to seal my own memories. So that I wouldn't remember the help I was giving or the information I had leaked. I was a traitor to my own plan. If I were angry at you, I would have to be angry at me too." He tilts his head. "Which I am, but for different reasons."     Pushing off the door with his back muscles, Masato walks deeper into the room, and nabs Koji's chair after all. Once he is settled, he gives Izou a Look, and says, "Thank you for pursuing this matter. I appreciate that you care so much about resolving this mystery that you would wake us both up to be certain we found out as soon as possible. I am just not really..." He rubs his eyes for a little bit before blinking repeatedly and then finishing, "...Sure what to do with this. Midnight Tokyo failed. I will admit my pride is still hurt that something I spent so much time and energy devising went so poorly in the end, and that there were unexpected people I had trusted who were part of that, but... It's for the best. If anything, I would actually suggest asking Norie about help in dismantling the structure of Midnight Tokyo, since the frame and bare necessities for it to be operational ''are'' completed. It could technically be turned on at any point if they just find a power supply. And they had someone who knew how to do so or could figure it out. And actually wanted to." He shrugs.     "I am going to be looking for a way to undo the seal on my memories. The parts that were blocked off from my time post-meeting you and being recruited are all back. But my life as a human? My identity as Masato Sanjouin? If I have any family out there, or anything like that? All of that is still locked. And I can't use my magic anymore, so I can't undo it on my own."     Then he realizes he has gone off on a tangent, and gets back on track. "Right. The thing I wanted to ask permission about... Also, you should apologize for breaking Inai's arm if you haven't already. But the thing I wanted to ask about!" He is still so groggy. "I would like..." He pauses dramatically. "...To call Beryl, to attempt to recruit her to our side." 

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''     Deciding to just mutter unintelligibly at Masato's lack of enthusiasm, Izou shrugs off the explanation of how useless the knowledge is now, and that they can just ask Kyouka. Right, because she's so trustworthy. Kyouka 'So Trustworthy' Inai. Right. RIGHT.     "Yes, I'm always being told how good I am with my hands," he can dance a knife along his knuckles, among other things, after all, "So I decided to apply myself. It took some practice, but not nearly as much as I thought I'd need. Perhaps I was an artiste in a past life." He grins.     Then he hears Masato explain about his memories, and how Midnight Tokyo is technically still viable and someone on the inside who could start dismantling or sabotaging it might be a good idea, and then 'jgkdaljkfdlasjdl'. jgkdaljkfdlasjdl indeed. It's the type of jgkdaljkfdlasjdl one feels in one's soul.     "jgkdaljkfdlasjdl???" he says to Masato questioningly, in the tongue of the Ancients, as they offer up prayers to the Great Old Ones as they lie dead and dreaming deep beneath the sea. 

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:''' Mamoru grins at Izou, and he leans to bump the other boy's knee. Affection. "I apologized when I did it," Mamoru interjects, and then... then the explanation of how Masato feels about the failed Midnight Tokyo Project and asking Lacrima for help dismantling it because she's so trustworthy-- but that doesn't begin to hold a candle to the surprise on the prince's face when Masato asks to try and ''recruit Beryl.'' He glances at Zoisite, who has managed to keysmash out loud, and he looks back at Nephrite incredulously. "Absolutely not," he says, shocked. "Leaving aside how she thinks torture is a great idea, leaving aside what an incredible creeper she is..." He holds up his hands and then drops them, unsure of how to physically communicate the vast levels of 'are you JOKING' he is currently possessed of. He takes off his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose. "...she voluntarily sold her soul to ''that fucking demon'' for the ''power'' to rule ''my planet'' and get in ''my pants'', then burned our cities for the energy to transport mind-controlled troops to the moon to slaughter everyone there in an attempt to get the Silver Crystal to feed to ''that demon''. She killed our people. She killed Serenity's people. She killed my family." He looks up again and ''stares'' at Masato. "She killed ''me'', Neph. And then when everyone was given a second chance, reborn? She's ''trying to do it again.'' I don't understand. I don't understand how you think she could ever be trusted, how you think this would go. She ''killed me''." 

:'''{{#var:90|Masato Sanjouin (90)}} has posed:'''     Masato allows Izou and Mamoru to have their reactions and responses. He expected pushback, of course, and a need to explain himself. In the end, his response is simple. "I know. I helped her." he says in a sad tone. "She has done an enormous amount of evil, and needs to be punished appropriately for that. But I have been given more chances than she has, and only recently was I able to choose correctly. I at least want to give her the option. I am not saying she should be forgiven, because what she has done ''can't'' be forgiven. But if she was no longer connected to Metallia... No longer serving that demon... If she could be set to right and allowed to work until the day she dies, and maybe even beyond that, to in some small way undo some of the damage she has done... As much as I may hate her, I want to believe in second chances."     Then he takes in a breath and lets it out slowly. "And I have an offer that might be appealing to her, even if she is never 'one of us'. At least making her 'not serving Metallia' and 'not actively trying to take over the world' would be better than the current situation. Shouldn't I try? If we can spare more lives, even if the method is distasteful beyond words..." He points at Izou while still looking at Mamoru. "...Shouldn't a hand be extended? Not in forgiveness, or acceptance, but in '''avoiding another war that kills everyone and everything'''?" 

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''     Izou doesn't have anything to say to that immediately. For once, he is speechless. The reminder that he was also complicit, and got offered multiple shots at redemptions, and even now can't make up for all the lives he took, how he aided and abetted the downfall of Silver Millennium, the Golden Kingdom, and the death of his Prince. He watched it happen twice. ALMOST happen twice.     He loathes Beryl. Would never willingly accept her as an ally, no matter how he might treat her to keep the peace. But he's actually thinking about this now. The best punishment of all, would be in making her empathize, restoring her compassion and humanity, making her aware of how much evil and hurt she has inflicted on the world and so many others, and the fact that she can never make up for it... That guilt, that pain, that knowing that there was a world in which she could have been one of them, if she had accepted Endymion's decision, and not been seduced by a demon's whispers... Whispers that Zoisite knows intimately.     But he doesn't pitch in. This isn't him asking for permission, it's Nephrite. And how their Prince decides is going to have to be it.     But the vindictive side of Zoisite wants that vengeance. To let her know what it feels like to be out in the cold after experiencing the warmth by the fire. To know she can never ever have it. 

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:''' "No, Nephrite," says Prince Endymion, and he's still incredulous, but he's also-- there's sympathy creeping in, because he feels like he can understand how Neph might have come to this idea. Projection. Guilt. He understands projection and guilt. All the same, he shakes his head. "I'd like to know what you think it's safe or acceptable to offer her. But-- I cannot stress to you enough how much I do not want to risk even being forced to bend my knee to her again, nevermind dying again because she can't have her trophy prince after all. What you seem to be suggesting smacks of appeasement, and I can't imagine her accepting anything less than to rule *my* planet, with the potential side benefit of me as her obedient arm candy." He takes a breath. "Also, if I'm not explaining why I'm saying no well enough, Kunzite might be able to explain it better." 

:'''{{#var:90|Masato Sanjouin (90)}} has posed:'''     There's tension as Zoisite is silent, and Nephrite waits for his Prince's answer. The answer comes and... It's one of the possibilities that he was prepared for. He closes his eyes and nods. "Of course. Then no contact will be made. You don't need to explain anything that you don't want to." He raises his head and opens his clear blue eyes and says, "My plan, was to make her Metallia's jailor instead of her servant. To set her to guarding Metallia's cage, as the only person in the entire city of Midnight Tokyo, alone there, forever. And I was going to make her want to do it, by making her realize that she can never be forgiven, she can never atone for what she has done, and to ''hurt'' because of it, by restoring her humanity and empathy. She would just be there, in the Dusk Zone. No one else to speak to. No one to touch. Just keeping that demon bound for all time."     He shakes his head. "It's the only punishment and atonement I could think of big enough for her crimes. Death would be a blessing. And I want to deny her even that. An immortal queen of an empty city, with no subjects, just the monster she allowed to shape her, and the cage that keeps said monster contained so that no one else can ever be used." 

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''     Zoisite still has nothing to say. He is looking down at the floor as he bounces one leg on the other. He looks thoughtful, and pensive, and he does not argue with Endymion about the decision, or offer support for Nephrite. No is no.     Even if he would relish in inflicting the kind of pain that Nephrite has described. The pain of knowing what it feels like to belong, and be accepted, and then to be removed and made to realize acceptance is an impossibility, that she will never belong, and that the best she can hope for is infinity in isolation.     He closes his eyes.     Would he relish it though?     His cruel streak has softened or might... Be entirely gone. He doesn't feel joy from the thought. But he wants it all the same. Maybe it's about wanting justice. Unlike Nephrite, though, Zoisite is willing to settle for death. If they want to punish her for eternity, maybe they can stick her soul in a rock and carry it around with them, or something. Force her to obey them by giving over information, weaving magic, getting a mana body destroyed in their place, whatever. Some way to make the punishment *last*.     It would have given him joy considering all the ways he could torment that awful, evil woman just a couple months ago. Maybe he is growing after all, if he is no longer the sadist that the Dark Energy had twisted him into.     "No explanation needed," he confirms. "We trust you with our everything, highness. We trust the decisions you make are the right ones." Then he smiles slightly. "We trained you, so we should know first hand what kind of man you are." 

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:''' Endymion puts his glasses down next to his cooling cocoa and rubs his face, slouching. He drops his arms to his lap and stares at the floor for a second. Then he looks back up and sighs. "Thank you. I do want you to understand the why of my decision-- I don't want to seem arbitrary, even though you trust me. I have the luxury of being ''able'' to explain my reasoning, now, and a lack of communication is one of the things that damned us all in the beginning." He sits up again, hands at his sides on the edge of the bed. "Punishing Beryl with worse than death is tempting, but it ''wouldn't'' be. ''Should she agree'', who do you think broke Queen Serenity's seal on Metalia in this era? It didn't just ''wear off.'' Letting the thing get enough energy to break loose enough even to get to the dusk zone is too dangerous. Putting the thing's liberator in charge of jailing it is..." He shakes his head. "Fortunately, Sailor Moon is strong enough -- especially if she has everyone's help -- to use the Ginzuishou to destroy the demon instead of just sealing it. This beautiful planet won't be safe until they're dead, and if there's a chance to just kill Beryl outright, it needs to be taken with no hesitation. She has wasted the chance you're talking about. She got me first, and it was so easy to get you when your forgiveness was doing the asking." He nods to Zoisite. "And when, no matter what, it was better with me than without." Finally, he sounds-- smaller. Maybe just Mamoru. "Thank you for your confidence. I don't want to lose you again, even to frustration." 

:'''{{#var:90|Masato Sanjouin (90)}} has posed:'''     Nephrite smiles his lop-sided smile. A sardonic smirk under other circumstances, but right now, just a smile that doesn't quite sit straight on his face. "I had to ask though, didn't I? Because I'm me now. And... That is the sort of thing I would do." Then he stands up, and walks over to the bed, where Masato claps Mamoru on the shoulder, and says, "Thank you for hearing me out." A pause. "I still want to find a way to break the seal on my memories though. That is a separate matter entirely. As well as from..." He turns to look at Izou, and gestures up and down vaguely. "...That." 

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''     Izou's own smile is wiped away. "How rude! Don't call me 'that'! Again, I was doing ''you'' a favor by investigating!" Petty bickering and back-and-forth sniping imminent. It must be so great for Endymion to have them back. 

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:''' "Your memories, we can figure out a way to work on," Mamoru says, exhaling in relief. It's still too early for all this, but-- but ''that'' actual that, it's out of the way, it's not happening even a little bit, and even if he's definitely Awake now, he can at least relax. Maybe hot chocolate instead of coffee was a good idea after all. That was enough adrenaline to shock <s>a unicorn</s> an elephant. "I mean, I'm supposed to be psychic, right? We can try stuff." Then he grins at Zoisite, and reaches for his cocoa and bagel again, scooting back to lean against the wall and watch the bickering. It is ''so great'' for Endymion to have them back. 
}}

Karin Miyoshi

2024-02-07T06:56:42Z

Mandylion: /* Gallery */

{{CharacterNew
|NameOnMUSH=Karin Miyoshi
|Char_id=147
|Img=https://radiantheartmush.com/images/d/d0/Karin_Miyoshi_01.png
|FullName=Karin Miyoshi
|AKA=Hero Karin
|Gender=Female
|Origin=Yuusha System
|Grade=9
|Clubs=Hero Club
|Series=Yuki Yuna Is A Hero
|Chartype=CC
|Groups=Yuusha, Taisha, Radiant Heart Academy
|Quote="I am Karin Miyoshi, a Yuusha of the Taisha! Prepare to face divine punishment!"
|Profile=Karin Miyoshi was one of the dozens of girls selected to train as a potential Hero by a quasi-religious institution known as the Taisha. In order to bring honor to her family name and to prove to herself that she has what it takes to defend her world, she has been working herself hard for the past two years, hoping to be chosen to inherit the Yuusha System by the Divine Tree. Now that choice has been made. Having been focused on training for so long, she is sheltered, isolated, and overcompensates for her lack of worldly experience by being strict, rules-adherent, and expecting at least as much discipline from others as she expects from herself. She is a dual-weapon wielder, and one of the best in terms of pure skill. With an upgraded Yuusha System and a body forged to be far stronger than she appears, her Hero form is considerably more capable than the baseline that other Yuusha System users have access to, and she has more knowledge of both what she is capable of, and what she is fighting for... And against.
|Skills=Birthday Parties: 0, Don't Try This At Home, Dried Sardines Are The Perfect Snack Food!, Dual Wielding, Health Nut, Hey Gamers! Best Karin Here!, Nibosshi, Not Quite Tsundere, This Is What Is Known As A "Pro Gamer Move", Trained Professional, Vitamin Dealer, Want To Pop A Supplement?
|Height=151 cm (4'11" ft.)
|Age=14
|BloodType=B
|Birthday=June 12
|Likes=Being a Hero, Vitamin Supplements
|Dislikes=Failing, Not Fulfilling Her Duty
|FavFood=Udon, Dried Sardines
|LeastFavFood=None
|FavSubject=None
|LeastFavSubject=None
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>

</gallery>

Karin Miyoshi

2024-02-07T06:55:53Z

Mandylion:

Karin Miyoshi

2024-02-07T06:55:42Z

Mandylion:

{{CharacterNew
|NameOnMUSH=Karin Miyoshi
|Char_id=147
|Img=https://radiantheartmush.com/images/d/d0/Karin_Miyoshi_01.png
|FullName=Karin Miyoshi
|AKA=Hero Karin
|Gender=Female
|Origin=Yuusha System
|Grade=9
|Clubs=Hero Club
|Series=Yuki Yuna Is A Hero
|Chartype=CC
|Groups=Yuusha, Taisha, Radiant Heart Academy
|Quote="I am Karin Miyoshi, a Yuusha of the Taisha! Prepare to face divine punishment!"
|Profile=Karin Miyoshi was one of the dozens of girls selected to train as a potential Hero by a quasi-religious institution known as the Taisha. In order to bring honor to her family name and to prove to herself that she has what it takes to defend her world, she has been working herself hard for the past two years, hoping to be chosen to inherit the Yuusha System by the Divine Tree. Now that choice has been made. Having been focused on training for so long, she is sheltered, isolated, and overcompensates for her lack of worldly experience by being strict, rules-adherent, and expecting at least as much discipline from others as she expects from herself. She is a dual-weapon wielder, and one of the best in terms of pure skill. With an upgraded Yuusha System and a body forged to be far stronger than she appears, her Hero form is considerably more capable than the baseline that other Yuusha System users have access to, and she has more knowledge of both what she is capable of, and what she is fighting for... And against.
|Skills=Birthday Parties: 0, Don't Try This At Home, Dried Sardines Are The Perfect Snack Food!, Dual Wielding, Health Nut, Hey Gamers! Best Karin Here!, Nibosshi, Not Quite Tsundere, This Is What Is Known As A "Pro Gamer Move", Trained Professional, Vitamin Dealer, Want To Pop A Supplement?
|Height=151 cm (4'11" ft.)
|Age=13
|BloodType=B
|Birthday=June 12
|Likes=Being a Hero, Vitamin Supplements
|Dislikes=Failing, Not Fulfilling Her Duty
|FavFood=Udon, Dried Sardines
|LeastFavFood=None
|FavSubject=None
|LeastFavSubject=None
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>

<gallery>

File:Karin Miyoshi 01.png

2024-02-07T02:20:53Z

Mandylion: Mandylion uploaded a new version of File:Karin Miyoshi 01.png

File:Karin Miyoshi 01.png

2024-02-07T02:19:42Z

Mandylion: Mandylion uploaded a new version of File:Karin Miyoshi 01.png

Karin Miyoshi

2024-02-07T02:18:34Z

Mandylion:

{{CharacterNew
|NameOnMUSH=Karin Miyoshi
|Char_id=147
|Img=https://radiantheartmush.com/images/d/d0/Karin_Miyoshi_01.png
|FullName=Karin Miyoshi
|AKA=Hero Karin
|Gender=Female
|Origin=Yuusha System
|Grade=9
|Clubs=Hero Club
|Series=Yuki Yuna Is A Hero
|Chartype=CC
|Groups=Yuusha, Taisha, Radiant Heart Academy
|Quote="I am Karin Miyoshi, a Yuusha of the Taisha! Prepare to face divine punishment!"
|Profile=Karin Miyoshi was one of the dozens of girls selected to train as a potential Hero by a quasi-religious institution known as the Taisha. In order to bring honor to her family name and to prove to herself that she has what it takes to defend her world, she has been working herself hard for the past two years, hoping to be chosen to inherit the Yuusha System by the Divine Tree. Now that choice has been made. Having been focused on training for so long, she is sheltered, isolated, and overcompensates for her lack of worldly experience by being strict, rules-adherent, and expecting at least as much discipline from others as she expects from herself. She is a dual-weapon wielder, and one of the best in terms of pure skill. With an upgraded Yuusha System and a body forged to be far stronger than she appears, her Hero form is considerably more capable than the baseline that other Yuusha System users have access to, and she has more knowledge of both what she is capable of, and what she is fighting for... And against.
|Skills=Birthday Parties: 0, Don't Try This At Home, Dried Sardines Are The Perfect Snack Food!, Dual Wielding, Health Nut, Hey Gamers! Best Karin Here!, Nibosshi, Not Quite Tsundere, This Is What Is Known As A "Pro Gamer Move", Trained Professional, Vitamin Dealer, Want To Pop A Supplement?
|Height=151 cm (4'11" ft.)
|Age=13
|BloodType=B
|Birthday=June 12
|Likes=Being a Hero, Vitamin Supplements
|Dislikes=Failing, Not Fulfilling Her Duty
|FavFood=Udon, Dried Sardines
|LeastFavFood=None
|FavSubject=None
|LeastFavSubject=None
}}

2024-01-14T19:26:55Z

Mandylion:

Zoisite

2024-01-14T19:12:12Z

Mandylion:

{{CharacterNew
|NameOnMUSH=Zoisite
|Char_id=86
|Img=https://radiantheartmush.com/images/6/66/Zoi_Pretty.png
|FullName=Zoisite
|AKA=Izou Saitou
|Gender=Male
|Origin=Senshi
|Clubs=None
|Grade=10
|Series=Sailor Moon
|Chartype=CC
|Groups=None
|Quote="No one deserves to be alone. Not even a rude bastard like you."
|Profile=Zoisite is a former Guardian Knight of Prince Endymion from a time period many thousands of years ago known as 'Silver Millennium'. Though once a loyal Guardian of Earth, his mind was contaminated with Dark Energy, which fanned those same feelings of protectiveness into notions of paranoia, resentment, and hatred against the Moon Kingdom. He was slain in battle during the Great Fall, when Silver Millennium was brought to a crashing end, and magic virtually disappeared from the solar system. Now, with its return, and the Dusk Zone synchronizing with the physical realm, Zoisite's soul has been reborn into a new body. The Dark Energy wielded by Queen Beryl bound him as thrall to her cause, but he has been saved from a fate of dying a monster by the love of his comrades, his Prince, and the power of the Silver Crystal. He once again defends the same Earth he once swore to protect.
|Skills=Blood Doesn't Mean Family, Closet Is Full Of Snap-Backs, Ever Loyal, Ever Petty, Ever Ready, Guardian, Jewel Of The Shitennou, Lionheart, No Fury Like Zoisite Scorned, Third Of The Four, Zoi!
|Height=5'7"
|Age=16
|BloodType=AB
|Birthday=April 1st
|Likes=Being Affectionate With Others, Attention, Beautiful people
|Dislikes=Feeling embarrassed, Rejection, Filth
|FavFood=Cherries
|LeastFavFood=Boring food.
|FavSubject=None
|LeastFavSubject=None
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Zoi_Blushy.jpg
File:Kun_Zoi_Dance.jpg
</gallery>

Zoisite

2024-01-14T19:09:36Z

Mandylion:

{{CharacterNew
|NameOnMUSH=Zoisite
|Char_id=86
|Img=https://radiantheartmush.com/images/6/66/Zoi_Pretty.png
|FullName=Zoisite
|AKA=Izou Saitou
|Gender=Male
|Origin=Senshi
|Clubs=None
|Grade=N/A
|Series=Sailor Moon
|Chartype=CC
|Groups=None
|Quote="No one deserves to be alone. Not even a rude bastard like you."
|Profile=Zoisite is a former Guardian Knight of Prince Endymion from a time period many thousands of years ago known as 'Silver Millennium'. Though once a loyal Guardian of Earth, his mind was contaminated with Dark Energy, which fanned those same feelings of protectiveness into notions of paranoia, resentment, and hatred against the Moon Kingdom. He was slain in battle during the Great Fall, when Silver Millennium was brought to a crashing end, and magic virtually disappeared from the solar system. Now, with its return, and the Dusk Zone synchronizing with the physical realm, Zoisite's soul has been reborn into a new body. The Dark Energy wielded by Queen Beryl bound him as thrall to her cause, but he has been saved from a fate of dying a monster by the love of his comrades, his Prince, and the power of the Silver Crystal. He once again defends the same Earth he once swore to protect.
|Skills=Blood Doesn't Mean Family, Closet Is Full Of Snap-Backs, Ever Loyal, Ever Petty, Ever Ready, Guardian, Jewel Of The Shitennou, Lionheart, No Fury Like Zoisite Scorned, Third Of The Four, Zoi!
|Height=5'7"
|Age=16
|BloodType=AB
|Birthday=April 1st
|Likes=Being Affectionate With Others, Attention, Beautiful people
|Dislikes=Feeling embarrassed, Rejection, Filth
|FavFood=Cherries
|LeastFavFood=Boring food.
|FavSubject=None
|LeastFavSubject=None
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Zoi_Blushy.jpg
File:Kun_Zoi_Dance.jpg
</gallery>

Zoisite

2024-01-14T07:32:02Z

Mandylion:

{{CharacterNew
|NameOnMUSH=Zoisite
|Char_id=86
|Img=https://radiantheartmush.com/images/6/66/Zoi_Pretty.png
|FullName=Zoisite
|AKA=Izou Saitou
|Gender=Male
|Origin=Senshi
|Clubs=None
|Grade=N/A
|Series=Sailor Moon
|Chartype=CC
|Groups=None
|Quote="No one deserves to be alone. Not even a rude bastard like you."
|Profile=Zoisite is a former Guardian Knight of Prince Endymion from a time period many thousands of years ago known as 'Silver Millennium'. Though once a loyal Guardian of Earth, his mind was contaminated with Dark Energy, which fanned those same feelings of protectiveness into notions of paranoia, resentment, and hatred against the Moon Kingdom. He was slain in battle during the Great Fall, when Silver Millennium was brought to a crashing end, and magic virtually disappeared from the solar system. Now, with its return, and the Dusk Zone synchronizing with the physical realm, Zoisite's soul has been reborn into a new body. The Dark Energy wielded by Queen Beryl bound him as thrall to her cause, but he has been saved from a fate of dying a monster by the love of his comrades, his Prince, and the power of the Silver Crystal. He once again defends the same Earth he once swore to protect.
|Skills=Blood Doesn't Mean Family, Closet Is Full Of Snap-Backs, Ever Loyal, Ever Petty, Ever Ready, Guardian, Jewel Of The Shitennou, Lionheart, No Fury Like Zoisite Scorned, Third Of The Four, Zoi!
|Height=5'7"
|Age=16
|BloodType=AB
|Likes=Manipulating others, Attention, Beautiful people
|Dislikes=Feeling embarrassed, Rejection, Filth
|FavFood=Cherries
|LeastFavFood=Boring food.
|FavSubject=None
|LeastFavSubject=None
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Zoi_Blushy.jpg
File:Kun_Zoi_Dance.jpg
</gallery>

2023-12-24T22:51:38Z

Mandylion:

2023-12-02T04:32:52Z

Mandylion:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2023/10/30
|Location=The Shed
|Synopsis=Kyouka calls on a few trusted students to show them a handy secret.
|Cast of Characters=53,59,43,73
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''     One random October afternoon, several students will receive text messages from Kyouka. Kyouka TXT: meet me behind the club building after classes get out. don't tell anyone where you're going. Kyouka TXT: its nothing weird i promise Kyouka TXT: ok its a little weird but its not bad weird     Regardless of how that is received, Kyouka is indeed waiting behind the club building in the afternoon when classes get out. Dressed in her usual school outfit, sunglasses in place, she leans against the wall with arms crossed, chewing her bubblegum and waiting for the students she texted to show up. 

:'''{{#var:59|Naru Osaka (59)}} has posed:''' To this point at least, any weird that Kyouka presents has been relatively low on the general 'weird' scale that Naru has going in her head. Sometimes it's yet more ways the world is trying to end, but that's not so much 'weird' as 'well crap, what now?', and 'not bad weird' seems to imply that it is not another apocalypse. Naru clearly looped past the cafeteria on her way to the clubs building, based on the coffee that she's carrying as she approaches Kyouka. Still in uniform, with her satchel looped across her, she waves before she's close enough to greet. "Good afternoon, Inai-sensei." 

:'''{{#var:43|Usagi Tsukino (43)}} has posed:''' The texts are a little concerning, but not ''that'' much. It's Inai-sensei, and she'd say if it was a panic button problem, and besides - Usagi's feeling charged up for new weird, like her battery has been reset to full. She'd had an ''amazing'' dance with her ''wonderful'' boyfriend, received a gift so touching she still smiled at the mere thought, and had found a new Senshi, who was Makoto-chan, who was so pretty and nice and cooked and had punched Sunbreaker in the face! And sure, onay, Usagi had gotten a little thrashed in between, but she'd been rescued by Tuxedo Kamen, and also Kazuo, who was great but her boyfriend's boyfriend, you know? All of this is to say she shows up with a bounce in her step that makes her uniform skirt swish-swish. "Naru-chan! Inai-sensei! What's up? What's this little weird?" 

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:''' Wako takes longer to turn up, which might be explained at least in part by the surgical mask that's covering half her face and the thickness of her voice behind it. "Sorry," she says, cheerfully if stuffily, as she catches up to Usagi and Naru near the spot Kyouka asked them to meet. "I caught a bit of a cold, so my head's not working right, but I'm here. What's the new weird?" 

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''     Kyouka gives Naru a look as the girl approaches. "You didn't bring any for the rest of the class?" She asks, half-in-jest, of the coffee that the girl is carrying. But Usagi and Wako are here too, so she is rapidly distracted.     Usagi looks energetic and cheerful. Wako looks a bit like death warmed over. But everybody is here. "I've got something to show you girls." Kyouka says, with a grin. "Something I think will help us out in our... endeavors."     She turns towards the wooded patch which lies within the school grounds, but behind the buildings. "Come on, follow me." There's a path through the trees, not a paved one or anything but more just like an open dirt track showing where people have walked before, free of underbrush, and it's down this that she leads the small group. 

:'''{{#var:59|Naru Osaka (59)}} has posed:''' Naru reaches into her satchel at Kyouka's comment with a little smirk and pulls out a wrapped cookie and offers it to the teacher. "I did bring enough for the class, just I know Usagi doens't drink coffee." There's cookies for everyone, to be truthful. She really did bring enough to share. Naru follows along, curious. "Are we headed to Never-never land or something?" 

:'''{{#var:43|Usagi Tsukino (43)}} has posed:''' There's a cookie for everyone, and Usagi is Pleased capital P - even if she is looking at Wako in concern. "Ahh, but are you feeling okay? Want me to bring some soup to your dorm later?" It's a conversation to have on the walk, though Usagi follows the trail through the woods dubiously. On the one hand, last time she was in the woods at school, they had grilled meats! And other delicious delights. On the other hand, Naru-chan had definitely seen some kind of ghost? So. But Inai-sensei said this was supposed to ''help'' so - "We'd get to fly there, so that would be pretty cool. Inai-sensei would have to be a pirate, though!" 

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:''' Wako sniffles a bit behind her mask before nodding to Usagi with a couple of quick bobs of her head. "I'm okay, really! Though I won't say no to soup." Or to a cookie, clearly. The mask means she can't immediately devour the one Naru provides for her, but she accepts it gratefully and holds it in both hands as she follows along down the path. "Wouldn't we need pixie dust for that?" she muses in Naru and Usagi's direction as they walk. "I'm seeing a distinct lack of pixies." 

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''     The wooded area inside the school's perimeter wall, but behind the buildings, isn't large. It's thick enough that you can't easily see from one side to the other, but the point is that there's really not that far to walk.     "No never-land, I'm afraid." Kyouka says, listening to the chatter behind her, as they emerge into a small clearing. In the middle of said clearing is... a shed. It looks like some kind of old maintenance building, like the sort of thing a groundskeeper would store tools in. It's maybe the size of a normal garden shed- barely big enough for two or three people to stand inside, let alone ''do'' anything inside. It is also pretty run-down, partially overgrown, and looks like it hasn't been used in a decade.     "Ta-da!" Kyouka says, looking pleased with herself, as she gestures at the shed. 

:'''{{#var:59|Naru Osaka (59)}} has posed:''' "You need honey tea with hot sacue." Naru notes to Wako. "Which sounds awful, but it's not actually that bad, but clears up a stuff nose like CRAZY." Tromp tromp.. ta da! Naru pauses in the clearing to consider the shack. Perhaps all the way to a shed, if one is being generous. "Okay, I know our room tends to be a little messy." Naru comments, clearly uncertain why they are visiting a shack on the school grounds. And honestly, it's only a little messy in a few spots. 

:'''{{#var:43|Usagi Tsukino (43)}} has posed:''' "It sounds awful, but it's pretty good! Naru-chan forced it on me when we were kids, and it worked pretty great. You can put it in some tea!" The walk through the woods is easy enough, but also, not very enlightening? Definitely no pixies - just trees and branches and grass and ... a really ugly shed. Huh. "Is this where you tell us you've taken up gardening?" Doubtful. 

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:''' "With ''hot sauce?''" Wako echoes incredulously. "I mean... I get the idea," SNF "but it sounds like ruining perfectly good tea..." Kyouka presents them with the shed. Even with the mask, it's clear that Wako's expression matches Naru's and Usagi's in its lack of comprehension. She doesn't say anything - the other two have it covered - but she looks to Kyouka as though waiting for the punch line. 

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''     Kyouka still looks inordinately proud of herself. "No, no, check it out. This is great. The headmistress showed it to me.. and I thought, hey, we could use this."     She approaches the shed, glancing behind her to make sure the girls are watching and/or following. Gripping the handle of the door, she opens it to reveal... an empty, cobweb-filled, run-down wooden shed inside. She waits just a moment to let that sink in, then shuts the door again and twists the handle the opposite way.     Pulling the door open, the view inside has completely changed. No longer a tiny, run-down shed, the group is now looking in on what looks like nothing so much as an old-style classroom. Worn, but clean, with wooden floorboards and walls and big windows letting in streaming sunlight. The front of the room has a build-in chalkboard, and the back wall is lined with cubbies. A small amount of old-style wooden desks sit scattered around in no particular order, as if the previous occupants left in a hurry.     One odd note is that the view out the large windows appears to actually be the forest they are standing in... but walking to the other side of the shed outside reveals no windows at all.     "Ta da!" Kyouka beams. She seems very pleased with what is, in essence, an empty room. But it is a ''secret'' empty room. 

:'''{{#var:59|Naru Osaka (59)}} has posed:''' Naru doesn't look surprised when Kyouka opens the door and they find.. a dusty shed. That is after all, exactly what it looks like from the outside. It's that second opening that makes her blink and her eyes widen a little. "Ooooh." She glances back to Kyouka and then back to the mystical hidden classroom in the forest. "Okay.. that is pretty amazing." She has to grant, taking a few tentative steps forward as if uncertain if it's a ruse or not. It's probably not. Right? 

:'''{{#var:43|Usagi Tsukino (43)}} has posed:''' Usagi is preparing one of those cutting remarks teenagers are so good at (she is definitely going to figure out something cool and witty to say) when Inai-sensei closes the door, opens it again, and - "''It's bigger on the inside?!''" Forget magic lasers THIS is the real magic!!!! Naru might be taking tentative steps, but Usagi just full on walks inside, dragging her fingers against the chalkboard, and then her eyes light up. "Naru-chan!! Look! This is waaaay bigger than the white board in our room! " 

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:''' "Seriously?" Wako actually moves into the doorway for a bit, leaning in and out to take in the room in contrast to the shed's exterior. "Okay, that's... actually really cool. We can use this as a meeting place, right? Instead of just hoping someone doesn't wander into whatever empty club room we're borrowing?" She pauses, then looks toward Kyouka. "Will there be keys? We probably shouldn't count on just turning the knob the other way... there's some people out there I wouldn't trust to know which way a knob turns to begin with." 

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''     Kyouka looks inordinately proud of herself, despite the fact that she had nothing to do with the room's creation. "Yeah! It's... well, at this point it's basically just an empty room. But nobody is used it and nobody knows it's here. I figure we can use it as a sort of... base of operations, y'know? There's a lot of stuff going on, between Midnight Tokyo, this stuff with the Heartstealer guns, Sunbreaker, who knows what else. We need a place to consolidate information."     "It's not much right now, but we can work on it, y'know? And you girls feel free to spread the word about it.. as long as it's to people we can trust." She glances at Usagi. "No Darien. Not yet."     She gives a nod to Wako, though. "That's something we'll have to work on. Obviously right now the security is in secrecy. But we'll want to come up with something better, so only people who have been given access can actually get in." 

:'''{{#var:59|Naru Osaka (59)}} has posed:''' "It's AWESOME!" Naru comes more fully into the room, turning around to get a grasp on all of it. "It's so much bigger than the whiteboard in our room!" She giggles softly at Usagi's point. Mostly cause it's wholly true. "And we won't have to worry about the marker wiping off every time we cover it over!" "Having somewhere to gather information and actually sit and talk freely? Ah-may-zing!" Naru looks around and beams. "Okay.. we'll need a couple of desks, and some comfy chairs, and at least one big table. We should keep an eye out on like second hand listings, we can get that stuff pretty cheap, cause we dont' exactly need high fashion in here." 

:'''{{#var:43|Usagi Tsukino (43)}} has posed:''' "A secret base to help each other out... this is ''awesome''." Usagi is all stars in her eyes, at least until Inai-sensei mentions Darien, at which point she puffs up her cheeks and pouts. "I don't tell Mamochan ''everything'', you know. I keep secrets!" She does! She keeps secrets! But because she does understand the point, she doesn't argue either. She just walks around slowly, looking at everything - "We can take some of the stuff we need from empty dorm rooms, can't we? I mean, it's school property, and this is school property, so it's not like we're ''stealing''." 

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:''' "Empty dorm rooms don't have that much in them, though, do they? Mine sure didn't when I moved in." Wako eyes the room thoughtfully, trying out arrangements in her mind's eye. "Where does the school store extra furniture? They must have some on hand, in case something breaks... Or old stuff that they've replaced but was still in good enough shape to not just get rid of?" 

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''     "There's already desks here," Kyouka points out, although there are only a couple and they are very old and clearly unloved. "But we can look in storage. Not-" She eyes Usagi, "Empty dorm rooms. The whole point of this place is it's safe and secret, and if dorm furniture starts going missing eventually people are going to wonder where it's going to."     She nods her head though, in general agreement. "I can look into spare furniture for the general stuff- desks, benches, a podium, that sort of thing. Anything more than basics we'll have to find somwhere else. But yeah.. my hope is this will become a sort of common room for mahous on our side. So we can start to maybe actually plan and work together. I wanted you three to be first to see it because I trust you, and I trust you to know who else would be good to invite. I don't mean for this to be an exclusive club.. invite anyone you think is trustworthy and on our side." 

:'''{{#var:59|Naru Osaka (59)}} has posed:''' "I'm sure there's probably a storage room or an attic somewhere that has a couple of former classroom tables." Naru nods in agreement to Wako's assumption. "I think more space is better than more stuff, at least to start." Naru looks around, trying to picture it. "Although table and some chairs would be super helpful." She beams. "Thank you, Inai-sensai." 

:'''{{#var:43|Usagi Tsukino (43)}} has posed:''' "Yeah, but we should have comfy arm chairs, and like, bean bags and blankets. To really relax, you know? This is our secret base, it's going to be comfy." It's not just a place to strategize, but a place where they could all be themselves, and know everyone in the room also knows what's up. No worrying about someone finding something out, no worrying about letting someone into their room, no white board getting wiped half clean because they hurriedly shoved the curtain back on it - "I can definitely start telling people. Cute Wolf Tsukiko-chan, Daifuku-chan, oh, Adora-chan, she has tons of experience, and all - some - of my fellow Senshi..." 

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:''' Wako nods agreement at Usagi's opinions about 'comfy' being a necessity. "That sounds pretty good. Maybe a stash of snacks, too? I guess it'd be difficult to get a fridge up here, but..." She lets the idea go with a philosophical shrug. "I'll make sure Takuto-kun knows about it, and I can help spread the word to others, too." 

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''     Kyouka looks downright pleased, glancing around the room one more time. "Well, I'll let you girls plan and figure that stuff out. Just.. let's try to keep at least a degree of professionalism, huh? Comfy is fine, but this is supposed to be a workspace.. if I start hearing about ya'll hosting parties here, or turning it into a makeout spot or something, I'm gonna be annoyed."     She grins, letting them know that while that is a serious threat, she doesn't believe these three, at least, would do such a thing. "Anyway, I gotta get back. Feel free to come and go as you please." She heads to the door, tossing a wave. "I'll be in touch." And then she's gone. 
}}