View source for 1653/The Path to Hell (Door) is Paved With Really Bad Ideas

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2024/06/11
|Location=The Book Nook
|Synopsis=Kyouka had a good idea that was actually really bad.
|Cast of Characters=53,202,208,38,83
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's late evening in Tokyo's Juuban Ward, the sun having set hours before. To say the streets are quiet is a misrepresentation, as a city like Tokyo is never really quiet, but most of the businesses in this part of town have shut for the night save for restaurants and bars. There's a few of those around, but traffic on this particular street of retail is much reduced as night falls and streetlamps and brightly-lit signs produce the majority of the illumination.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's also raining, which helps with the sense of the street being deserted. Not a hard rain, but a light continuous drizzle that leaves everything shining and damp. Tokyo in June is already humid, and this certainly isn't helping. It's a night for shelter and air conditioning, and yet.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And yet a small crowd has gathered on the corner next to a nondescript bookshop. Amongst said crowd is Kyouka Inai, still in her usual civvies of black distressed jeans and a black-and-red t-shirt (no jacket on a night like this one, no thanks, though the sunglasses are in evidence.)<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"It's back here, if she hasn't moved it." She says to the others, most of whom have just walked up though she had the younger (not much shorter) redhead already standing with her when they did. "We'll talk once we're inside, I'm tired of this sauna."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Around the side of the shop is a narrow alleyway, mostly unlit, and on the side of the building is an incongruous door. Old-timey, but set in a modern building. Heavy oak and iron, with an ornate old-style lantern hanging above it. A pinwheel-shaped stained glass window is set high in the wood, ornate and many-colored. Fog drifts along the alley ground in its vicinity, though in weather like this that isn't actually that strange.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouka approaches the door. "Time to see if anyone is home." She presses the latch and pushes and.... the door opens. Without hesitation, she goes inside.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:202|Fuyuko Yuuhi (202)}} has posed:'''<br>It's well and truly summer now, with the weather hot and humid, the continuous drizzle an ever-present irritant. Fuyuko hates summer, now that she's an adult - having a full time job will do that to you. The weather is miserable, and she still has work. <br><br>She's changed out of her business attire in a nod to the heat, leaving off suit jacket and slacks in favor of black jeans and a dark blue blouse. Her haircut, is, infuriatingly, good for the heat - the air on her scalp is cooling, and the faint curl of her hair blows in the breeze. <br><br>"The place we're going is a bookstore that happens to be full of magical artifacts and loose-ends," Fuyuko tells Taro sparingly, "Don't touch anything. Last time I was there I considered selling a week of a student's life, and now I have one." <br><br>Despite the words, there's no sense of truth in them - Taro can tell she's bullshitting. When they reach Kyouka and the red-haired girl waiting with her, Fuyuko groans. <br><br>"You found a mini-me. Great," she mutters, and then pushes ahead through incongruous door after Kyouka without another word.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:208|Taro Yamada (208)}} has posed:'''<br>Taro's on Fuyuko's heels, wearing a nondescript red raincoat over his black t shirt, jeans and rain boots. He'd tried to make his hair slightly more kempt than usual, but the humidity means his bangs have melted back over his eyes. His lips and tongue have gone bright red from the red slushee he's slurping to keep the heat away. <br><br> "I don't need magic to get a bad feeling about this one," he says. "Don't touch anything or I'll get SUPER cursed, can do." He's already got one weird curse! He doesn't need more! "But if you see anything that's good for one shotting a mega witch, you can take a week." <br><br> Look. He's magically old anyway, he will trade a week for a chance to stir fry Beryl before she puts anyone else in the hospital! He hates that lady! <br><br> He looks between Fuyuko, then Kyouko, eyes widening. "There's two of them," he says, half to himself. "I guess being the strongest mahou in town means you have fans, boss." <br><br> sailor moon WHO<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>The humidity has made Mamoru's fluffy hair almost curly. He is ''ignoring'' it as thoroughly as he is ignoring the fact that his t-shirt wants to stick to him. He's silent for the waiting, but he ''does'' complain when the door opens, "Does no one need a lockpick anymore? I was looking forward to the test of dexterity."<br><br>Then he gives Taro a judgemental look, which isn't fair, because Taro gave Mamoru free snacks around about the portal. But ahh-- "Your ''face'' is the strongest mahou in town," he says, sounding weirdly mulish. That explains the look.<br><br>Otherwise he follows everyone in and keeps his hands in his pockets -- one gloved in thin bright white leather, one ungloved.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:83|Kyouko Sakura (83)}} has posed:'''<br>Already in henshin, Kyouko is leaning on her spear as she stands next to Kyouka. Yep, there's two of them.<br><br>There's a roll of Kyouko's eyes as she listens to Fuyuko refer to her as a mini-Kyouka. She isn't THAT similar to the older woman, and there's a little 'pfft' of disbelief.<br><br>This is only serving to illustrate quite how mini-me the younger Kyou* actually is.<br><br>She's silent as she watches others arrive, just leaning on her spear causally.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Look, you brought your backup." Taro is eyed. "I brought mine. This is Kyouko," Kyouka tilts her head towards the younger redhehad. "She's my muscle. She doesn't bite. Unless I tell her to. So, behave." It's unclear who this is directed towards. The look she gives to Kyouko might even make it seem like she means it for her, though that doesn't make any sense. Fuyuko's comment is likely about more than just the red hair- Kyouko definitely has something of a younger-Kyouka's attitude about her, if perhaps lacking the general exuberance.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Your hair looks great by the way." Kyouka says to Fuyuko as an aside as they move through the door and into the shop.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To Mamoru, as well as the group at large, she says, "The Kiseru Lady once told me the door won't open at all if you're not welcome, lock or no. So.. I guess that means we have permission. Whether that's explicit permission tonight, or she just has it set to let me an' Fuyuko in in general, I dunno."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The inside of the shop, just through the door, has an old-fashioned bookstore feel. Lots of shelves lined with old books, other curiosities on stands or desks. It's very 'Harry Potter' with perhaps a touch of Lovecraft for flavor. "Hey! Rika! You in here? Can we talk?" Kyouka shouts, using the Kiseru Lady's real name, which is sure to get a reaction if one is to be gotten. Only silence answers, however.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Hmm. Maybe she's not home. I think I remember how to get to the basement where the door is.. just.. you heard Fuyuko." She gives both Mamoru and especially Kyouko a stern look. "Don't ''touch'' anything. This is weird shit in here. Even by our standards."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:202|Fuyuko Yuuhi (202)}} has posed:'''<br>The snort earns a roll of the eyes from Fuyuko herself - "All she's missing is the naginata and a jacket" - but that's it. <br><br>Inside, the air is stale, as if the door hasn't opened in a while. It isn't dusty, but whether that's because of cleanliness efforts or some kind of previously (technically still) unknown cleaning application of dark energy... isn't clear. <br><br>Honestly, in this creepy old shop, Fuyuko would doubt nothing. <br><br>"Thanks," she mutters to Kyouka in return, and then looks around, following her own advice in not-touching anything. <br><br>"We're a regular D&amp;D party. Muscle, healer, rogue, and a pair of paladins." She'd never played D&amp;D, but Kaito had loved tabletop games, and some elements have stuck with her. It's rare to think of him without a pang, but when she looks at the collection of children they've looped in between the two of them, it's hard not to think about it. <br><br>"Lead the way."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:208|Taro Yamada (208)}} has posed:'''<br>"My face IS the strongest," Taro preens as Mamoru compliments him. "Sailor Moon can take third,"he adds benevolently. "And you can be in top ten coolest along with Mini-Red." <br><br> Tuxedo Guy isn't strong in a battle, so he's not in the top ten strongest, but his healing power is versitile enough he should get some kind of award in a different section. <br><br> He's keeping his hands firmly on his slushee as he walks in, gazing around with interest. Jack, hidden in the bag slung over his shoulder, has perked up in his coffin, but isn't giving much commentary yet - just a general awareness of power. He could probably touch some of this safely in henshin with his blades, but, secret identity! He'll wait and watch, for now - <br><br> "Wait, am I the muscle or the rogue?" Can he be muscle! Can he!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"I know," Mamoru says, rolling his eyes. He takes a hand out of its pocket purely to push his glasses up-- and then he looks at Taro in shock as the other boy doesn't follow the script. "Your face is not the strongest, just the thickest. I was doing a bit," he says irritably. "I'll teach it to you later."<br><br>He literally! Doesn't! Know how to read this guy! Is he serious? He must be serious. "Gods. Kyouka-san literally just said Kyouko-san was the muscle." He opens his mouth to say something else, then just shakes his head and follows the others down the stairs.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:83|Kyouko Sakura (83)}} has posed:'''<br>"I'm the muscle." Kyouko informs Taro, breaking her silence to do it, giving him a once over. As if /he/ is the muscle. Pfft. Even Mamoru agrees!<br><br>Kyouko smirks a little at Kyouka's pointed commentary about both biting AND not touching things. She walks along just behind Kyouka and reaches a hand out to ALMOST touch a little statue of a phoenix, that probably is not just for decoration. So close, but she doesnt QUITE let her finger get all the way there before she's following towards where she's certain Kyouka knows exactly where they're going. Of course she does.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouka rolls her eyes at the bickering behind her but doesn't offer any input. She and Fuyuko seem to be taking the threat of this shop more seriously than the kids, but then again, they're much more well-acquainted with the fucked up sort of stuff that can go on in here. "Just stay close. She likes to change the layout but if it hasn't changed too much I remember where to go."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What follows is a surreal sequence of rooms, hallways, stairways, and doors. Some rooms are filled with items in display cases. Others with odd shapes with concealing cloth draped over them. Some have books, some just piles of junk that appear discarded. Nothing seems to make exact sense in terms of what flows into what- a large, well-lit room appears to be adjacent to a dingy cellar, which leads into a greenhouse, which leads into another wing of bookshop. One thing is certain- the place is way bigger than it has any right to be judging by the exterior location.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;After about fifteen minutes, it becomes apparent that Kyouka's sense of direction is not exactly infallible. Or perhaps the layout of the place has changed. She doesn't say anything, but she starts to get a little nervous looking. Maybe hoping nobody calls her out on it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A few minutes later though, she finds a door which leads to a stone stairway going down into darkness. "Oh! I think this is it." She says, with relief obvious in her voice.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:208|Taro Yamada (208)}} has posed:'''<br>The rooms don't make sense. Taro has a good sense of space even as a human, but it feels like this place is making loops that are both bigger than the building outside and crossing the same spaces over and over - but the rooms differe each time. That's creepier than any of the magic making the rooms look strange.<br><br> "Wait, do you mean teach it to me by beat me up or teach it to me by actually teaching me?" he asks Mamoru, lips pursed. "I've never heard of this bit before!" <br><br> He can't do a joke if he doesn't! know it! <br><br> "How many monsters have you stabbed with that thing?" he asks Kyouko, eyes sparkling at confirmation of her being the muscle. "Is the spear magic or do you just use it powerful enough to make them explode?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:202|Fuyuko Yuuhi (202)}} has posed:'''<br>The children are bickering about something that Fuyuko is honestly not paid enough to care about. Instead, she follows Kyouka, paying attention to where they've been, even as they pass through rooms of mysterious objects, terrible plants, random objects - <br><br>"Are we sure she's not a hoarder," she mutters darkly to Kyouka. "And if so, are we sure we wouldn't be doing her a favor by taking some of this off her hands?" <br><br>Stealing from the Kiseru Lady is a bad idea. But this is also a bad idea, so really, is there a reason to stop at one?" <br><br>"That one's not a bully, he's not going to mess with you too much," too much, because Mamoru is definitely still going to mess with him. <br><br>As they press on, she gets more and more tense, and she's almost about to snap - <br><br>Ah. <br><br>"Well, good. Finally we found it," she mutters darkly.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"Teach you by actually teaching you," says Mamoru in mildly aggrieved exasperation. "What she said. I am not a bully."<br><br>Honestly if Mamoru didn't take the threat of the shop seriously, he would absolutely be touching everything and probably pinching some. But from what he's heard from various sources, including Kyouka herself who otherwise isn't cautious about ''too'' much, it's not something he even wants to come close to messing with.<br><br>He's absolutely impressed by the amount of space jammed in the shop's footprint.<br><br>"Good, I was about to ask if you wanted me to try and find it," he says, and then he comes up to actually seeing the stone stairway going into nothingness. "Well, fuck," he says conversationally, "that looks like the stairs to the door with the thorns all over it that leads to Beryl's boss."<br><br>He frowns harder, crossing his arms. "That looks like ''are you sure we can get out again.'' Can you teleport more people than just yourself? I can only handle one other but maybe if we circle up we can get out with more than one of us teleporting-- maybe that only works with Sailor Senshi..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:83|Kyouko Sakura (83)}} has posed:'''<br>"I didn't realize I was supposed to keep count." Kyouko comments to Taro as they travel through the pathways of the shop. As for if the spear is magical or if she just stabs that damn hard. "Yes." That should not be this big. Not even a little bit of this big.<br><br>"Taking the scene route, hunh?" Kyouko isn't about to let the fact that she's pretty sure they've passed that same pile of junk twice, if not three times before go unremarked upon.<br><br>"If there's a way in, there's gonna be a way out." Kyouko declares blithely, even if that's not actually always the case.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"If you want to rob the Kiseru Lady, be my guest." Kyouka says to Fuyuko with an irritability that's likely as much from her near-inability to find the path than from what the other woman says. "Just do it when I'm not here. I really don't want to be cursed into an eternal prison dimension or turned into an axolotl or something. For now let's just focus up, okay? This is big league shit here."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She gives Mamoru such a look when he sasses her but says nothing, until, "You know we can teleport other people. Just one at a time, as far as I know, but by my count that should be enough. Assuming we can even teleport out of here. Maybe we should have tested that.. ah well. Too late now. I'm not going through this maze again."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's notable that while Taro is clearly with Fuyuko, and Kyouko is clearly with Kyouka, Mamoru just seems to... be here. But nobody questions it or suggests it should be otherwise. "I can promise you neither Beryl or her boss are down there." A pause. "Probably. Come on." And down the stairs she goes. "If there's no way out we just have to make one, right kid?" She grins over her shoulder at Kyouko.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At the bottom of the stairs, there's a door which leads into a large, empty concrete room painted entirely white. Empty, of course, except for the hell door. And an apt description that is- the thing is easily 18 feet tall and half as wide, a huge set of free-standing double-doors in a frame which appears to be made of bronze or some similar metal. It's apparently inspired by the Rodin sculpture 'Gates of Hell', though if anyone here can recognize that it would be impressive. Suffice to say it is covered with carved human figures having a bad time, which is all sorts of reassuring.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Well, there it is. I told you. Hell door." Kyouka says, hands on hips. "Hard part over."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:202|Fuyuko Yuuhi (202)}} has posed:'''<br>"I can't imagine Beryl paying dimensional rent, and that's the only way the Kiseru Lady let's anyone get anything," which is maybe more reassuring than Kyouka's probably, but genuinely just as much of a guess. "And yeah, we can only take one at a time, but it's not like it takes long to teleport out. We'd just make a second trip." <br><br>It'd be fiiiiiiine. <br><br>Not that it matters, because they are descending the steps to hell (door), and when Fuyuko sees it, she pauses for a moment, then looks to Kyouka. <br><br>"I have to admit, I thought you were joking about the hell part. Could not have foreseen the truth." <br><br>The truth being that it's... actually covered in depictions of hell. <br><br>"So, do we just open it, or?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:208|Taro Yamada (208)}} has posed:'''<br>"I could probably climb my way out if I had to," Taro says, looking up and down the stairs evaluatingly as he climbs down with the others. His blades can get into just about anything, after all! Hopefully he could just slice his way out. <br><br> He squints at the door, crouching to check for keyholes. His doll Jack can sense magic oozing from the door, but not anything more specific than that. <br><br> "Did she say anything about keys or magic words or blood sacrifice?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"You sure didn't teleport more than one after I got mugged by a vampire," Mamoru says dryly to Kyouka. "I mean, can you blame me for questioning your ability?"<br><br>But there are more important things to complain about, like the actual literal hell door.<br><br>"Options are good," he tells Taro. And then keys, magic words, and blood sacrifice. "Some options are better than others... I promise I did bring my lockpicks, but I also don't want to get shot in the face if it's boobytrapped."<br><br>He starts looking around the room for... anything. Instructions. A table. A secret wall panel with instructions in it. A control panel (with instructions clearly labeled on it). Anything.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:83|Kyouko Sakura (83)}} has posed:'''<br>"I.." Kyouko starts and then she pauses and there's just a quiet 'hunh'. Someone else was also not expecting it to be quite that /literal/. Nothing in their world is literal!<br><br>"Hard to go through it if you dont' open it." Kyouko points out to Fuyuko, although it should be noted that she's not precisely rushing at the door to do such a thing.<br><br>Kyouko moves up closer to it, to peer at it more closely. "It might just be open."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The room doesn't seem to contain anything other than the doors themselves, which don't seem like the sort of technological device to have an instruction manual. At least not the kind that might come with your laptop. However, there does appear to be a control panel wired up to the side of it, half-hidden. It's covered with buttons and switches and has two thick cables which wind from it's base into the base of the doors. "Teleporting is for emergencies." Kyouka says testily to Mamoru. "Like when I really need a 6-pack of beer but the nearby convenience store is already closed."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When Taro mentions blood sacrifice, Kyouka snaps and points at him. "Yeah! She like, put her hand up to the door and it cut her and took some of her blood and then it opened and we walked through and were inside her memory. Like a holodeck." She frowns a little, peering at the doors as Kyouko walks up and looks more closely. "But I dunno how she told it which memory to go to."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She walks over and squints at the control panel. "Maybe that's what this is for." She reaches a hand out to determinedly push the biggest button, which is red.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:202|Fuyuko Yuuhi (202)}} has posed:'''<br>"Idiot," Fuyuko says, as Kyouka walks up to smash the button on the machine, "You need to give it blood too, or it won't do anything at all." <br><br>How does she know that? She wasn't even here. She's just asserting things - oh, she's cut her hand to put it on the door, letting it take blood as Kyouka is smashing a button. <br><br>Because ''that'' can't go wrong, right? <br><br>"Still, your kid has a point. Once it opens, we'll have to go through," and she's already grimacing at the thought of going back, revisiting the old memories, because to get a memory of Aurora, she'd have to go to... times that she doesn't like to think about. <br><br>Blood sacrifice and random button smashing. There we go. Sure. This can't go wrong: it's science.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:208|Taro Yamada (208)}} has posed:'''<br>The second she hits the red button, Taro is jumping AWAY from the doors. They can blood sacrifice themselves all they want! He is not getting his blood stolen! He likes it all inside his body! He keeps it all there for a reason! <br><br> "If you two are going through, Fuyuko-sensei, do we go with you or do we guard the doors and make sure they don't close on you?" he asks instead, watching the set of doors like a cat watching the door of a room with a dog in it. "Tuxedo Guy, can you teleport into that thing if the feces hit the fan?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"Do you literally just--" Mamoru starts to ask Kyouka, a second too late to even react to her being about to press the button; she'd already been pressing it when he turned around. He sighs, walking over to touch the door without giving it any blood, just to get a read on it, maybe of it being used in the past--<br><br>--and he hisses, jerking his hand back and stepping back a few paces, making a face. "That thing's almost as full of desperation and despair as a Witch. Can't--" he starts, then stares at Taro.<br><br>"Tuxedo Guy? If that's regular space and not some kind of off-earth-technically dimension, ''maybe''? If it's some pocket dimension, probably not-- why are you calling me Tuxedo Guy?? My name's Mamoru Chiba."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:83|Kyouko Sakura (83)}} has posed:'''<br>What could possibly go wrong with some blood magic and random button mashing?<br><br>Kyouko gestures a little to rogue as played by Taro as he asks the relevant questions. "I'm expecting we're gonna have to go in with the dynamic duo." She gestures at the blood and button pair. "Otherwise they are gonna get themselves killed."<br><br>Kyouko frowns at Mamoru a touch as he describes the door in Witchly terms. "If there's a god damn labryinth beyond there.." She leaves it at that.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Intuition!" is exclaimed to Mamoru, as Kyouka has just smashed her hand down on the big red button when Fuyuko starts talking about giving it blood. "No wait, why would it need just your blood? This is ''our'' memories, it should need mine, too!" She protests, turning quickly, and in the process accidentally dragging her hand across the control panel, pushing about six other buttons accidentally in the process without even noticing.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It starts making a weird distorted beeping noise, but she ignores it as she hurries over, making a small cut on her own palm using a pocket knife pulled from her pocket before placing it on the door next to Fuyuko's. "There, this will definitely work." She says with un-earned self-assurance. She can feel the door drawing out a small amount of blood from the cut- Fuyuko likely feeling the same.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course the control panel is still making a horrible distorted beeping sound, and lights are flashing. There's a strange, pervasive rumbling in the floor which seems to make the room vibrate. It almost looks like some of the carved, suffering figures have turned to glare at them. "Um.. I don't remember this happening last time.."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:202|Fuyuko Yuuhi (202)}} has posed:'''<br>"Well, it only needs to be one of our memories, but you know, if you want to give up your blood too -" <br><br>It's weird, the feeling of the blood being drawn out, taken from her cut rather than just being allowed to bleed freely. (Not that it's not doing that too, but, it's in addition to, rather than all that's happening.) <br><br>"...we might have fucked this up," Fuyuko concludes, as the machine starts making noise, as the lights start flashing, as the suffering figures give judgmental stares. Hey, look, anyone could make the specific series of decisions that has lead to them being here and enduring this specific trouble, alright, stop looking at her like that! <br><br>"Worst case scenario, we broke it. Kiseru Lady doesn't have to know."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:208|Taro Yamada (208)}} has posed:'''<br>Taro is regretting giving away the shield parasol. Ohhhh he could use that thing right! About! Now! He does not care for it! No sir! <br><br> He looks around for something to hide behind, he is putting that control panel between himself and the doors. He didn't survive this long being reckless! <br><br> "You're wearing a sexy silk glove, you look like a tuxedo guy!" he hisses at Mamoru. "Come on, do you want to get blasted by whatever's in there? Get over here!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"You're not the boss of me," Mamoru retorts at Taro, "and it's leather and it's because I'm turning shitty burns into being a style icon. I'm not going over there. Ugh ''Yuuhi-san you bled on it'' I think she'll ''know''. Wait."<br><br>He ''stares'' at Taro, again, still. "Are you hitting on me? Do you want Sailor Moon to ''kill'' you? I just ''accidentally proposed'' because stupid damn Hosshiwa mirrored me yesterday and made a wedding terribad, she will legitimately ''kill you'', she tanked an attack just because it was called 'Second-Hand Kissu--'"<br><br>There are more important things going on. But Taro told him to do a thing and said his glove was sexy and also called him Tuxedo Guy and, "I'm still not going to beat you up, I'll teach you the bit, but you have a LOT of explaining to do, friendo."<br><br>He moves further away from the door, but on the opposite side from the control panel. So there.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:83|Kyouko Sakura (83)}} has posed:'''<br>"Oh yeah. The demon chick is totally not going to notice that someone busted her helldoor." Kyouko mutters dryly at Fuyuko's comment. "And she's clearly not going to suspect the people whose blood is all over it."<br><br>There is so much coming out of Mamoru that Kyouko just pauses to stare at him for a while. 'accidentally proposed' is just not something she expected out of another high school student.<br><br>Kyouko shakes her head, leaving THAT alone. She isn't about to go hide behind a control panel, but she does grip her spear a little more tightly.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouka still has her hand on the door, which is looking more and more unstable by the moment. "Yeah, we fucked it up." She agrees with Fuyuko, in a resigned tone which suggests perhaps everyone should have seen this coming so it isn't actually really their fault. "We can probably bribe her if-"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She's vaguely distracted by Mamoru. "You ''proposed''?" She says, wide-eyed over her shoulder, ignoring all the bits about mirrors and wedding youma. "Hey, congrats! That's great-"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She's interrupted again as the door lets out a resounding ''boom'', and suddenly there's some kind of shockwave which knocks everyone in the room stumbling, either to the ground or just away, and at the very least sends both Kyouka and Fuyuko reeling back from the door itself. The door which is now cracking open slightly. Not opening wide- just cracking open. But the doors are huge. Even a crack is wide enough for someone to pass through..<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And as if on cue, two forms tumble through the cracked door. Smoke wisps off of them as they more or less fall out of the aperture which is already closing again- and for a moment it's hard to see what exactly has come through that gap. "That's weird," Kyouka says, from the floor where the shockwave knocked her. "It's supposed to be a door to memories.. things aren't supposed to come ''out'' of it." She's already levering herself upwards, prepared for trouble since 'weird' in cases like this generally means 'violent'.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And she's not particularly wrong, as the smoke and tumbling clears enough to see the room now contains three redheads, not just two. The new one, shorter and obviously younger than the Kyouka who the crowd arrived with, is dressed in an awfully familiar white-and-gold coat as she stands up from the tumble, looking around the room with a confused expression from behind a pair of narrow, rectangular-lensed sunglasses.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Oh.. uh oh." Kyouka says, from behind her own sunglasses.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:208|Taro Yamada (208)}} has posed:'''<br>"I'm not hitting on you, especially since you're an engaged man! I'm stating objective facts! However I apologize for making you uncomfortable and take it back! Your glove sucks!" Taro yells over the hiss and roar of the door opening - <br><br> And then his boss TWO shows up! And red girl THREE???<br><br> He slowly rises from behind the control panel; Jack is scrabbling at the lid of his coffin to get out and munch on the magical energy rising in the room, so Taro smacks the coffin in his book bag and inches forward. <br><br> "Sensei, do you even have enough room to house your own clones here? Or do we have to put them up at a hotel? Can we get Big Red over there to pitch in for housing costs?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:202|Fuyuko Yuuhi (202)}} has posed:'''<br>"This would not be the first time I cleaned up blood or a crime scene," Fuyuko scoffs at the outcry about the blood. The Kiseru Lady isn't home! They'd just have to clear the blood, and then it could have been anybody who destroyed her ancient magic device that she only showed to Kyouka probably. <br><br>Except... then... well, there's the sound of her student continuing to ruin his social life a little, which honestly she's not helping him dig his way out of that hole, he should have been more careful about covering up that he knew Mamoru's identity, even if playing it off with oblivious flirting ''is'' hilarious. And beyond that, there's the ''boom'' that knocks her and everyone else back. The doors jumped as though they'd been struck, and Fuyuko reels before catching herself, clenching her fist and ignoring the sting of her cut palm. <br><br>"Well, if it's only supposed to show memories, how'd we break it enough to -" <br><br>The smoke clears. Beside the ''third'' redhead in this room is a black-haired girl in a pitch-black cap-sleeved dress, white star-shaped earrings glittering amidst her chin-length dark hair, the purple in her striped leggings offering a much-needed burst of color. She looks more suspicious than confused, scowling around the room at the pair of adults and trio of odd-children. <br><br>"Fuck," Fuyuko says, as Taro just starts speaking and speaking and - "Absolutely not." <br><br>"Clones?" The younger Fuyuko - Lacuna - says, wrinkling her nose? "The hell are you talking about, loser? There's no such thing as clones, and even if there were, I wouldn't be a clone of some -" She pauses, taking another look at Fuyuko, her admittedly cool haircut, her decidedly boring clothes, before deciding on an insult. "Wimp." <br><br>Fuyuko's hand is slowly rising to cover her face. This, this is punishment for her many sins, isn't it?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>That's great! That ''is'' great, and Mamoru's starting to grin despite the room shaking and the door smoking and the sculptures on it practically hissing and Taro deciding his glove sucks, and then everyone gets blasted back by a wall of force and Mamoru sticks a somewhat dicey but extremely athletically adept three point landing.<br><br>He looks up.<br><br>He stares, drawing himself up to standing again like the CLAMP noodle of tallest-in-the-room that he is, and his head tilts a little as he regards the newcomers. He has a straight face. He crosses an arm over his stomach and lifts the gloved hand to his mouth, elbow on his crossed arm. He hides the growing smirk all right.<br><br>He can't actually keep it in anymore, Mamoru just starts laughing.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:83|Kyouko Sakura (83)}} has posed:'''<br>A boom and a shockwave and its a good thing that Kyouko was leaning on her spear or she'd of been knocked off her feet. Instead she just sways a bit as she watches the door crack open and..<br><br>Oh that is entirely too many mini-me's in this room! "Hey. What the /hell/." Kyouko squints at the younger Kyouka and then over to the older Kyouka.<br><br>And then Mamoru starts to laugh and she turns her head to look at him and then back to the clones and she smirks. No wait. She snickers. The smirk grows bigger and she doesn't feel obliged to comment any further. She snickers a little more, leaning on her spear. She doesnt' think there's going to be need of stabbing right now.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Yeah," The younger-looking redhead who isn't Kyouko - Stellar, as she is in henshin- agrees with Lacuna. "There's no such things as clones idiot, that's just from that shitty Star Wars prequel." She looks around, frowning. She definitely looks like the Kyouka all the kids know and love (ahem), though obviously younger and with a sort of... perhaps 'braggadocio' would be an appropriate word, that the older version largely lacks.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Grey eyes meet grey eyes, and Kyouka looks largely aghast at what is presented before her, even as Mamoru starts laughing. "No, this is definitely not correct. You.. you and you." She points at the two newcomers. "Go back in the door. Right now."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"What the fuck," the henshined Stellar exclaims, "Why did some old lady steal my clothes and why is she trying to order me around?" She looks around the room again. "Also where the hell are we? Weren't we just.." She pauses. "I don't remember, but we definitely weren't in some white basement. This is weird and it's making me angry. Are you angry, Lac-chan?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouka meanwhile, is hissing at Mamoru, "Stop laughing, moron! We have to get them back into the door! We were supposed to observe our past not... not be roasted by it!" She turns to Fuyuko. "Fuyuko, you can have an existential crisis later, we need to do something about this before-"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Whatever, let's go get some beef bowls," the young Stellar is already halfway out the door and up the stairs.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:202|Fuyuko Yuuhi (202)}} has posed:'''<br>"Oh, I'm pissed," Lacuna says easily, sticking her tongue out at Fuyuko. The kid who's laughing (and has the nerve to be taller than her!!) gets a dirty look too, but at least he's probably laughing at her well-deserved roast of that loser old lady, not at her ''existence''. "This is some bullshit, but, like, there's no way this clown crew kidnapped us, so... the ''real'' asshole is probably out there." <br><br>Pointing to the door out of here, and the staircase. <br><br>Fuyuko, meanwhile, is looking at Kyouka as though she were from another planet. "Do you remember our past ''at all'? These three aren't going to be enough to send them back if they don't want to go aaaaaand they're already half-gone, ''fuck''. Hey, you two get back through that fucking door!" <br><br>That's not happening at all. Lacuna kicks the door to the stairwell on her way out. <br><br>"Fuck you old lady! We're off to get dinner, if you lame-os are still here when we get back, we'll hang you out to dry!" <br><br>Old. ''Old''. <br><br>"What the ''fuck''!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:208|Taro Yamada (208)}} has posed:'''<br>"Sensei, I can't beat you now. Do you think I can beat you back when you were out causing earthquakes?" Taro asks, taking his place at Fuyuko's side. The original one, not the baby one waltzing out of there.<br><br> "Let's get outta here before that Rika-san shows up and gets mad at us for getting blood on her hell door. If we want to find them, we can check all your old haunts, can't we? A hunter stalks her prey her own territory, and I'd rather be the hunter than the prey. Also, I'm dead enough if Sailor Moon decides to pop my head off for accidentally saying her fiance was cute, I don't need baby you or the cursed book lady to pound me into a wall on top of that."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>Mamoru grins at Kyouko as he starts to wind down from laughing his ass off, and almost starts up again at the apopleptic reactions from the older Stellar and Lacuna; he shakes his head. "You think *I* can stop *them*?" he asks with an incredulous grin. "Nope. Maybe if you destroy the door they'll vanish. Or maybe you'll be stuck with them forever."<br><br>He glances over at Taro and decides to take pity. "I'm not telling on you, she won't laser you, don't worry. Even if I told her, she'd probably just be annoyed. Still no lasers." A beat. "And I'll still teach you the bit later. In school."<br><br>He starts for the stairs, but pauses to look at Kyouka. "Maybe you'll teleport ''now''," he says archly.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:53|Kyouka Inai (53)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouka is glaring defensively back at Fuyuko. "Frankly I try not to remember it as often as possible." She says acerbically. "And I don't care what they want, they are going back into the doorway because I've done enough ruining of my own reputation that I don't need further help from my worst self-"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;While she's saying this, both younger versions have completely left up the stairs, no longer in sight. She falls silent as she seems to realize this all of a sudden. "Fuck! Hey, where did they go?" She turns without waiting for a response and runs up the stairs after the pair- not, in fact, teleporting, thanks Mamoru. Maybe just assuming they must only be yards away and catching up won't be a problem.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's unclear whether the lure of beef bowls is making the younger versions uncommonly fast, or its the magic shop playing games, but either way, Kyouka never catches up. She never even glimpses them as she rushes back through the succession of rooms, which at least are mercifully identical to the way in, and out the door into the alleyway besides the bookshop.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A quick look left, right, out to the street- nope. Not a sign.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouka pauses a moment, catching her breath... then heaves a large, but warranted sigh. "Godammit." She really just should have listened to her own advice.<br> <br>
}}