881/Expectations Adjusted

Expectations Adjusted
Date of Scene:	13 December 2023
Location:	The Shed
Synopsis:	Rashmi, Culinary Guardian Daifuku, and Kaitou Kamen get together to figure out what to expect from each other at Soryuu Shrine. And to discuss a couple of potential complications. With snacks!
Cast of Characters:	Kazuo Saitou, Rashmi Terios, Chiyo Sakai

---

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Prearranged times for meeting up are, well, prearranged, and look, there's a convenient place for it already. Tall Boy In White is there early, half propped on a desk, fidgeting idly with a gold-toned pocketwatch.

Alas, unlike the big meeting, there's a lack of snacks. He must've had a club meeting or something after classes.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Fortunately, when Rashmi is involved -- unless the guest list includes *several* known food-centric mahou -- snacks remain a given. So when she bombs into the shed out of the cold, all apple-red cheeks and matching thick knit mittens, sweater, and cap, she hefts a takeout box in one hand, and grins at the Mystery White Knight, shutting the door behind her and setting the box on a nearly desk. "Hoooo, getting brisk out there," she says, tugging off cap and mittens. "So! Assorted sandesh, I hope you're not allergic to almonds?"

Yes, even among the mahou world, Rashmi considers food allergies. It would *not* do to have a critical ally in the hospital with hives, after all...

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
From the shadows of the tree covered path, Chiyo spots Rashmi entering quickly into the shed. As she approachese she hesitates in front of the door a moment debating internally. She could just transform before going in. Then again, everyone that could go in there were of people that she could trust. It was just... Trusting them in the first place she was working on. Those who knew her as both identities could be counted on one hand so far.

A single deep breath is taken, and the purple-haired quiet girl who liked to pound mochi with a hammer opens the door to step inside before she freezes herself to death debating over details out in the cold air.

Hearing Rashmi's question of almonds causes her to grin though. Food was her thing too. "Even if someone was, I could whip up something to heal them," she assures while shutting the door behind her. Her own bag is raised up with a chuckle. "I've got dessert?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
The Mystery flashes Rashmi a grin in turn, inclining his head, then converting the nod into a bow when she inquires about allergies. "Not at all," he confirms, and with a flash of humor, starts to say something else. Starts to.

Because the other person who came in has a familiar voice.

"Sakai?" he asks, startled, and then laughs aloud. "Oh. Oh, of course. Who else would come up with that kind of candy?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Hi, Chiyo-chan!" Rashmi says to the newcomer with a wave, "*brilliant* move with the candy by the way, I was super impressed! Also... guess it's sweets day!"

She flips the box open to reveal that 'sandesh' apparently means 'cookies,' because what's inside vaguely resemble thumbprint cookies... possibly made out of meringue? But topped with almonds, chocolate sprinkles, pistachios, and even a few threads of saffron on about half a dozen of them.

"They're mostly cheese and almond flour, with regular sugar since jaggery's practically *impossible* to get. Anyway, enjoy, and what did you want to meet about, Kamen-kun?"

The mask *is* the most identifiable part of Kaitou's face, if one doesn't want to be impolitic and just refer to his color scheme!

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai is almost as surprised as The Mystery Man is when he calls her by her name as if he knows her! Which he very well may. She does turn a bit pink cheeked none the less at the praise of the candies, assuming of course they mean the Phantom Silver Crystal lollipops that she knew Adrien had been handing out left and right.

"Thank you. I was more surprised that I didn't get in trouble for the life-sized cardboard cutout of Hematite for the launch day." There's a pause, and she murmers, "Usagi got to take it home."

Still amused, and now more interested than anything, she steps closer to peer at the sandesh with avid interest. This was something new for her to see! "Oh! Meringue? Or... Almost? They smell amazing."

She lays her own little bag down to open up revealing what she'd brought. "I made some roasted Chestnut prailines. Just a test recipe," she explains of the little nutty clusters.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Perhaps Kamen was not talking about the life=sized cardboard cutout, because his eyes widen behind the black mask. "... the what?" There is a moment of struggle. Mostly not to laugh, especially at the mental image of Usagi carting off the cutout. "I meant the purifying candies. If those had a launch day, I'm even more sorry I missed it."

He shakes his head and resumes the easier smile, tucking the pocketwatch away into its dedicated pocket, and glancing back toward Rashmi. Actual Rashmi, not her box. He must not have been exposed to the Korma's wonders yet. "You mentioned being support. I haven't had the privilege of working with either of you before, so I thought it might help if we each had an idea of what the others could do - so that we don't wind up getting in each other's way. I'm willing to go first - or rather, second, since the two of you seem to have brought the real first priorities with you."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Oooh test recipes," Rashmi says, eyes widening behind her glasses. "Those are the *best.*"

...Of course as the daughter of restauranteurs, she must have been part of the quality-check chain for some of the more inventive fusion dishes.

Clearing her throat, she eases up off the foodie throttle, and grins at Kaitou. "Pretty much, yeah! Most of what I do best is powering up other people's spells, and I've been working on a pretty versatile suite of shields. Most importantly though, I've got the same magic Chrono and Nanoha-chan do; we can take a pretty wide swath of place, and shove it like half a dimension over. That way no actual property damage can happen, but... well we haven't done a *lot* of testing if it'll filter out magic-soaked locations, so I don't have specifics there."

Pausing, Rashmi mentally reels back the conversation, turning a blank, puzzled look to Chiyo. "...Cardboard... cutout... Hema-kun...?"

Sooooo many questions, none of them given voice.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai opens her mouth. Shuts it. Red-faced again but trying very hard to hold back laughter herself she nods a time or two as she realizes neither of them were talking about what she'd expected. With the candies offered out she turns to the side to pull her purse forward flipping it open. From inside she withdraws first her phone, which she fiddles with momentarily to cue up a video. It's set down on the table so that as the video plays the pair can see it.

It's the Clockapp video of Hematite asking the people of Tokyo to, pretty please, help them find the Phantom Silver Crystal which he holds up showing off an image of.

As that plays she reaches back into her purse to withdraw a few lollipops wrapped in cellophane and tied shut with silver ribbon. They were crystal shaped, exactly like the image on the video, and silvered with a sheen of edible glitter.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," she explains with a sheepish grin and shrug.

"As for the purifying candies, well that's... That's kind of my power. Or one of them at least. What I cook is meant to purify, heal, and revive the energy of those that eat them in an effort to help heal the hearts of those hurt by the troubles of the world."

"But I'm also kind of really strong, I have a hammer, and I can use fire and steam attacks."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kamen averts his eyes, very carefully, from Chiyo's phone so that he doesn't start snickering. This means that he can see the lollipops. They don't help. Rashmi! He will look at Rashmi! Maybe she won't be laughing. Maybe.

"I can shield," Kamen says, "by absorbing energy. I can also use that energy, or clean it up and then use it - I'm new to this, so if there's time I ask the Ginga Otome to watch and make sure that nothing goes wrong, since she can purify both it and me by herself -" That grin flashes again, at Chiyo this time. If he's talking, it's safe. He hopes. "I'm almost full up on fire at the moment myself, but by the time it matters, it might be something else. The trick is that if I'm doing much with it, the shields absorb light, too, so they look like shadows. It gets confusing, given how many of the people we fight do things with shadows or darkness."

A moment's pause. "I very definitely cannot shove things half a dimension over. I might envy you a little," he adds to Rashmi, "except that it probably involves math that I wouldn't want to be doing in my head."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Can confirm," Rashmi says, "Chiyo-chan's *scary* when she goes on the offense. Like, literally earth-shattering." Because, somehow? Exploding the ground underneath your feet in a maelstrom of rock shrapnel and fire really *is* lots scarier than any energy sword or plant tentacle. "And she's proven to be seriously good at defending against *other* peoples' fire, too."

At the comment on the math required, Rashmi chuckles. "Funny thing? I'm *awful* at math. It just doesn't stay in my head long, y'know?" Plucking the starburst charm from its cord around her neck, she holds it out in her palm. One mental command later, a truly huge and, somehow, *armored* book is floating closed above her palm. "That's why I have Nicomachea."

    << *BONG!* >> << IT IS A PLEASURE AND AN HONOR TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCES, >> the book says, its distorted monotone somehow evoking the feel of a tweedy old professor, warming up to his favorite subject.

"He does the math for me, and he has all the sensors.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai sets the lollipops down helpfully in case either wants to snag one for later. "They're pineapple flavor," is the last explaination she gives for the existence of these candies and the trolling she'd done with them.

Instead she focuses a bit more on what Kaitou explains as part of it does catch her attention. "Oh! Yes, I can absorb fire from others, too. I absorbed one of Sunbreaker's attacks and--" Here she pauses with eyebrows furrowing together trying to explain it. "I made it *my* fire instead, and threw it back at her. I did get burnt by it, but it worked. I've been trying to work on that some."

"I was also able to absorb some Dark Energy from someone she poisoned that way, too." Pyrite. Let's not go there for now though. There were too many other things to explain. "Sorry. I'm kind of learning still and don't really have a teacher on how my powers work."

Which might be why she stares with obvious interest, perhaps even some awe of her own, when Rashmi pulls out Nicomachea to grin. "Oh! Like... Ah, like Hanzo's. Right, hello! Good to meet you too."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Same," Kamen agrees to Chiyo about not having a teacher. "That's why I've been working with other people to try to figure things out a little. Osaka included." Saying out loud that she's good at figuring things out is a little unnecessary. They just had a large meeting about it, after all.

And then there is an ... armored book.

Okay, there is definitely a little envy of Rashmi now.

Kamen reflexively bows toward the book's greeting anyhow. Look, speak of a teacher and there one is! Rashmi's teacher, granted, but possibly that's just as well. "And a delight to make yours, Nicomachea." -- wait, Hanzo also has an armored book? ... this is a question he's not going to ask. "I understand we have reason to be grateful to both of you for your work."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Nico-kun did most of the *actual* work," Rashmi demures.

    << I MERELY FULFILL MY PRIMARY FUNCTION, TO ANALYZE, COLLATE, AND DISSEMINATE HELPFUL INFORMATION. >>

"Most of my job is supplying the mana and having the agency," Rashmi explains. "Intelligent Devices can act autonomously, but usually only to defend their Master. I've also registered a couple people as Guest users, in case somehow I get separated from him, so they can interact with him. Moon-chan and Hematite-kun, primarily."

Looking from Daifuku to Kaitou, Rashmi nods in emphatic understanding, sighing gustily. "There's a lot of that going around, honestly... I didn't have an actual *teacher* until Chrono fell out of the sky. Nico-kun's useful, but... You have to know the right questions to ask, and at the start I didn't even know *that* much! Like I thought I had to flip his *pages* to learn what I needed to know, not that he could even talk in my mind. But like... Thinking about it, probably it wouldn't be a bad idea to do some practicing together. I can take us out of reality entirely, so we can just go nuts and try our hardest, and figure stuff out by doing?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"That's a good idea," Chiyo has to agree about the suggestion of training. "Though for now we should probably work out a plan at least of how to respond to distract, or assist the others as needed."She's about to say more when she pauses, and backtracks mentally. "Oh, as for my healing candies, I provide Meiou-sensei some for use in the school nurse office now as well. In case I'm not around when something comes up that more help is needed with." If they knew, then they would know where to look should something happen at least. Even if it was outside of the current 'mission' they were on.

"Given our specialties are shields, fire and... Well, breaking the ground... As well as moving things around, I'd suggest a kind of... Divide and conquer method."

"Hard for our enemies to fight as a team if they keep moving around or can't reach one another."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kamen gives Nicomachea a pleased look nonetheless, merely or otherwise. There's a suggestion that he might say something, but ... nope. Possibly he hopes the book can read the intent, or something. Or has a camera or ten. Given Hanzo's visuals, it seems likely.

"Working out ideas is good," he says to Chiyo. "Plans are good as thought exercises -" and yes, there's the grin - "as long as we remember they're likely to go sidewise in the first tenth of a second. We haven't seen much of how these people work as a team right now, other than Hematite keeping Zoisite from getting shot more than once at one of the Towers. But with Hematite as their support, that's more than enough teamwork to keep us busy. Even without the interesting things our allies are going to come up with..."

He bows to Rashmi, this time with an added little capeflourish, as if mentioning Hematite were enough to spark theatricality in and of itself. "Is taking us out of reality safe to do here? Can we figure that out?" Or do they need to, gasp, walk a few steps first?

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I... actually am *seriously* against throwing up a Barrier in here," Rashmi says after a moment's consideration. "I'd need to know a lot more about how this place even works, cos if the other night showed that it'll adjust to how many people are in, how's the spell gonna know how much space to send over? And since it tends to filter magical stuff into the translation, what happens if we're only taking a *chunk* of the place with us?" A shiver runs up her spine at the idea, and she pops a praline cluster in her mouth, crunching with obvious delight.

When she finally finishes, she shakes her head. "Mostly I'm more worried about the interaction with *here* than I am about 'if the spell will work here.' But, there's lots of the forest around, and Chrono and I do half out practice in Barriers in there, so..."

She gestures toward the door, but pauses before taking a step to actually go out. "...Question just occurred to me. If Hema-kun's gonna be their support, and I know for darn certain just how heavyweight he is... Are the normal rules gonna apply, in this case? Like... Will we be able to get across that we're not out to hurt anyone, especially his sister?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"I've been in a few barriers before, during fights. I don't really know how that magic works but I agree it's porbably best not to 'cross the streams' as they say in the movies. Outside would be fine." Chiyo reaches into her purse again to pull out a pair of ornate chopsticks.

Several steps back are taken as she holds them aloft with a quick click-click together. "Let's Cook!" A sworl of fire streams up around her as she transforms into Culinary Guardian Daifuku. At least, though warm, the fire doesn't seem to burn anything or be hot enough to do so. It was a nice pleasant warmth though that makes the impending 'outside in the woods' maybe not the most comfortable thought.

"Hematite told me that when it comes to fighting against each other, he won't hold back and neither should we. Though," she adds with a little nod, "I would still say we try not to harm his little sister. They're connected somehow, and harming one would harm the other, too. Or at least enrage him past the point of ..." She trails off a moment with her eyes sliding out of focus recalling something unpleasant. "Nevermind. Just. I don't intend to do any lasting harm, but I also don't think we should hold back much either. That's where I'm hoping my healing sweets can help after the fact."

"I already tested some to prove I *can* make it without the purifying part."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kamen's eyes gleam behind the mask as Rashmi considers possibilities aloud - but it's a pleasure in hearing her work through them, not in the possibilities for chaos. Well, at least mostly not. They like this shed.

Then Rashmi asks a very good question indeed. And Chiyo gives a very good answer. And despite the warmth... The shed is safe. The shed is mostly safe. At least two of the people with access have already been made to switch sides briefly once.

"Let's talk about this outside," Kamen suggests.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Yeah... Nicomachea? Set Up!"

    << *BONG!* >> << COMMAND INPUT EXECUTE >>

Her own transition is markedly less flashy than Daifuku's; a globe of golden energy surrounds her, shimmering with tiny hex-field facets. When it shatters into tiny shards that self-disintegrate, there she stands, in futuristic-frilly dress, Nicomachea held under one arm. Smiling, the redhead adjusts her glasses.

"Talking about it outside, I can do. Definitely just as secure as in here."

She doesn't walk *very* far away from the shed, just enough to find a space to stand in that'll allow full range of movement, then holds out a hand, palm up. "Nicomachea," she says as the book floats its own way to sit a couple centimeters above her palm, open and pages riffling of their own accord. "Time-Space Barrier, please. Radius, five hundred meters, origin point... two-hundred thirty meters from present location, that way." And she points in the direction as close to the opposite from the Shed as possible. In answer, a dizzyingly complex magical circle spins out beneath her feet, its central feature a four-sided seal with alien runes, thick with lines and writing that is *just* close enough to english to make the eyes faintly ache.

Glancing over her shoulder, she shrugs. "I mean, I'm about 95% sure that the spell'll filter out the shed part of the shed, because I *know* that pocket dimension's in a way different, uh... 'direction.' But why chance it?"

<< *BONG!* >> << TIME-SPACE BARRIER >>

A ball of green-gray... static... forms above the now-quiescent pages of Nicomachea, then zips forward, growing in size almost as fast as it travels in distance. The net effect being, that it's almost possible to *watch* the ever-expanding bubble grow in size until it washes over the trio... Leaving them in a strangely desaturated, eerily silent 'copy' of the forest.

"...So people who can see magic can see this," she says, as Nicomachea closes. "But they can't get in unless I give them permission. The most important thing is, nothing that isn't magical came over with us.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Guardian Daifuku follows out to see the construction of the time space bubble. Last time she'd seen one, she had been inside it. Seeing it from outside was an entirely different perspective. "So... If someone from the other side were watching the school right now, they'd know we're up to something, too? Or assume we're fighting something else maybe." Then again the school was way far out here.

A little shudder runs through her. "At least it's not a Witch's Maze. I... don't want to be in one of those again." The long Kine she carries is slung back over her shoulder easily without a hint of how much the large hammer may actually weigh. "Let's go then?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kamen's attention is almost a live thing, flickering back and forth across the complex circle, taking it in - not quickly enough to see everything, but faster than just about anything short of a Device; and then the -- not static -- forms and changes (is it movement? does that even qualify as movement?), and he blinks fast and steadies almost quickly enough to hide that unsteadiness had ever been there.

He puts out a hand, touches fingertips to a desaturated tree.

"And the shed's on the other side," he says, "so if anyone was used without their knowledge to put a bug there, it's not here, magic or not. Thank you. Okay. Quick thing I want to say, not because it's important in and of itself, but so that they can't use it to mess with our heads."

He reaches up and takes off the light black mask, holding it in a hand; the gesture's enough to break the disguise, if not the transformation. It may well not make any difference to Rashmi, but Daifuku can see well enough that it's Kazuo Saitou giving her the rueful smile.

"The reason I haven't been giving a name is that this -- I don't even know why I have this outfit. I've joked about Kaitou Kamen, because the mask is the only part of this mess that makes any sense to me.

"What my name should be is Kunzite." The jokes at the grilling escapade with Koji. "They might call me by it. Because the other three of them halfway know me, and because they might think they can get people to doubt me. They might not -- because if their Creepy Boss figures out Kunzite is out there, then she'll figure out there's one Shitennou too many, and that's bad news even for them. But ... they may react weird around me. Be aware, and be careful with expectations."

He settles the mask back in place, and looks to Rashmi again. "You asked whether the normal rules are going to apply. Hematite's having trouble thinking straight. I keep pulling him out of ruts, and it works for a little while, but sooner or later he gets distracted into worst-case-scenario loops again. And we are, to make this work, pushing one of his buttons on purpose. He may or may not be capable of hearing what we're saying clearly, in the middle of things. But Moon and I will both be there, and you can get through to him sometimes, and so can I, and Moon can do it more often than both of us put together. Daifuku's got the rest of it right. Just -- be careful where your attacks are going, Daifuku, especially near the ground. Because there's some stuff near the shrine that is bad, and we really do not want to set it off."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Given that he was the one to request this meet, Rashmi knows better than to do anything but give her Full Student Attention to everything Kaitou needs to say to the two of them. When the mask is removed, Rashmi gives a polite smile, but it's pretty clear she's never clapped eyes on the boy before.

When he outs himself as 'Kunzite,' though, her eyebrows rise sharply. "...Well *that's* interesting," she murmurs. "...Though it feels like that's not gonna be *much* of a problem for much longer... I know steps are being taken for some of y-- them to gain short-term refugee status. I can't guarantee easy *visits,* but I know where the safe... ...uh... ...house? is gonna be, and it's pretty well proven to be far out of reach of anyone who might take an escape *personally,* y'know? But... Okay, yeah. Expectations, adjusted."

Settling back in to listen to 'Kunzite' explain Mamoru's state of mind, Rashmi nods slowly. "Okay... Careful I can mostly do. I... don't expect to be doing much of the *fighting,* because I think it's probably time to test another theory I had, but never got a chance to experiment with; if a Barrier like this one can basically scoop anyone magical out of an area, and leave only non-magical things and people behind... I've gotta wonder what happens to ambient mana in high concentrations. Like, just spitballing here, a fairly significant chunk of an entire district warded against people noticing its existence?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Saitou," Daifuku remarks quietly, just as he had blurted out her name when she first showed up. So that was how he knew her! A grin does come at that realization, feeling at least somewhat better that he was someone she knew and got along with. A small thing, but one that was still reassuring in a way.

The warning though is heeded with a serious, solemn nod. As much as she may seem a silly mahou given her cooking powers, she took her job seriously. She'd seen enough to know it was serious. "Right. Thank you for letting us know in advance about that possibility. I'm guessing you're like Usagi, then, being ..." What was it she said? "Reincarnated from some ... alien. You know, I didn't really understand that part, but she's not the sort to lie and she was pretty stressed about it. Basically, you're all tied together somehow."

"Just the others and Hematite are poisoned by Dark Energy." A grin is flashed toward Rashmi as well at this. "I don't know if you've seen someone with Dark Energy really get to the point they can't think straight, but I have. That's why I say don't pull your punches if it comes to it. Maybe let those who *can* reach them get through, too."

With one final, thoughtful nod she adds, "I'll ask to be shown maps of the shrine to know what to avoid. As much as I can."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Not an alien," Kazuo assures Daifuku cheerfully. There is nothing silly about Daifuku's cooking powers. He's seen what she uses to make mochi. "Reincarnated, yes, alien, no. One hundred percent Earth, thanks."

To Rashmi, he gives a nod. "Yeah. I don't know where it's going to be, but my mother is already off out of town on vacation as a precaution, and I've got a go-bag prepped - we might need me to be on-site with them to help manage the shock. One question I've got. Does this 'gotta wonder what happens' take into account the whole 'please don't turn the death void thing into a death nuke'? I figure the answer is yes, because I've heard about you, but ... it's sort of a have-to-ask-anyway thing." Apparently he's not convinced that a second chance implies a third, not to mention the people who might only have one to start off with.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean, there's a *lot* more aliens on Earth than I ever thought could be possible," Rashmi chuckles. "I'm even *smooching* one, and he's an adorable doofus when he's not on the job."

Her mirth fades fairly visibly at the phrase 'Dark Energy poisoning,' and she nods slowly. "That... I've seen how *kinda* bad it can get, and guess from there, so... I've seen enough to know what it's feeding in a person."

Her shoulders rise a bit at the question. "I mean... I'm looking at it from our perspective. If it does *anything at all,* it won't change the battlefield we'll be fighting in; all that saturation'll come with us. I'm just wondering if that means anything for the *normal* side of reality, if all that doom soup *stops* being present. And what *that* might mean."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Guardian Daifuku inclines her head toward Kazuo at his correction offering a quick grin. "Go team Earth," she utters jokingly. Yet, really, that's what they were wasn't it? Even if Rashmi was a dirty traitor for dating an alien.

"I'm not certain how that would work, really, but I have seen that fights that happen inside a shield like this don't actually effect the 'real world' as it was. Unless they found a way to break through the barrier, it might be an effective way of ensuring that things *don't* get out of hand."

"... Still a lot of 'ifs' though," she has to admit with a sigh. "Unless your device knows the answer, maybe?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo opts not to point out that the Dark Kingdom generals are also Team Earth. Being cut off from Chiyo's sweets is a fate to be avoided if reasonably possible.

"That's a good thing to be wondering," he says to Rashmi. "At the very least, we should check the area for stranded civilians after, if we possibly can - in case the doom soup comes back down on their heads." ... Rashmi found a phrase that is much too much fun to say, for what it refers to. "If it affects the Tokyo real estate market, well, hopefully it'll only be a blip."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Yeah... which means when it's done, I'll make sure you all can get out, then stick around for a bit. Cos that'd be *super* valuable information to have, even if it'll all flood back in when the Barrier comes down," Rashmi says. "I feel like it's not gonna be anything like that easy, but... We try things, and sometimes they work, y'know?"

Rashmi turns a wry smile on Chiyo. "Unfortunately... Dark Energy as a general concept is -- and I swear the pun is not intended -- utterly *alien* to all the dimensions and worlds in TSAB space. Poor Chrono had never even *heard* of it before he landed here, and the best Nicomachea can nail down is 'Anomalous Corrosive Energy Signature.' So... he has an idea what it is, but he's putting that together right alongside the rest of us. About the only person I could even hope to get more detail out of, I can't stop punching in the head from across the street because he opened his mouth again."

Riventon, of course. Who else would be *that* punchable?

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Guardian Daifuku considers all of this with a slow, thoughtful nod. "Hanzo had tried to aquire some information awhile back, but it led to him being severely injured. I don't think he got anything useful out of it." If he had, he hadn't mentioned it, and most of his time healing had been bemoaning the fact that he'd gone through all of that to no avail.

"Ultimately, the goal is to stop this Midnight Tokyo project, if possible free the Shittenou from the Dark Energy poisoning, and set them up with a means to escape safely if they take that option. As far as I understand it."

"I think the best we can do is remain adaptable and realize there is going to be a lot of thinking on the fly."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
TSAB space doesn't have dark energy as a concept. Huh. "That makes some sense," Kazuo says slowly. "If things like the thing in the others' heads get loose unopposed on a planet once, the technical term for the world afterward is 'dead.' Something as big and organized as the TSAB seems to be would be a lot more likely to develop in an area those things hadn't been chewing on." Since otherwise there would be either constant fighting slowing down growth, or no livable places to grow into.

The image of Rashmi punching someone in the head from across the street repeatedly, though? That does what planetary destruction didn't do. And shuts him up again. Apparently this is a day when he needs to do a lot of blinking. Maybe it's the air temperature. At least it can be interpreted as silent agreement with Daifuku's summary.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Hilariously," Rashmi says to Daifuku, "the 'if possible' was the easiest part to solve for. Just gotta hope we can get all three of them out at once when the flare goes up. If not, it's gonna be a little awkward, and a *lot* painful on all sides. And yeah I remember when Koji-kun got hurt... it really threw him off his game, and I hope he's doing okay now after everything else."

But then she notices Kunzite's silent blinking stare, and chuckles. "Nico-kun? Toss up a target Shield, please?"

Obligingly, the book seems to manifest a small orb of golden light, as transparent as yellow stained-glass, and fires it up into the air.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR STINGER >>

A single orb materializes, and launches itself up at the target ball, impacting with an audible sound and bouncing away... then turning, and coming back in for another attack. Then another. And another. And another. It's not until the dozenth impact is made against the little shield, that both fade into nothingness. "One of the spells Chrono helped me build. Right now he's teaching me about thermal control, but, that's a *lot* more fiddly and I'm not sure I'll have the ice part down by the time the fight happens."