2.10.2 I Have No Arrows
You followed after Yumeno, up a fire escape on a residence tower near KickStand, while the world retreated beneath you. "Uh… Why are we going up?"
Her only response was to giggle and waggle the push broom in her hands.
"Wh— hold on, we're not actually getting on that thing, are we?" You paused. "For one thing I'm pretty sure I'd break it just trying to sit on it."
"Oh? You're welcome to try once we get to the roof."
"Are we even allowed up there?" you asked. One thing to realize that breaking away from the rules was necessary, another thing to break them frivolously.
"Pfft. If anyone asks, we're there to check on the weather station. Not that we'll be there long, you know?"
"I'm starting to realize how you fit in with the other delinquents."
Yumeno cackled as she opened the emergency exit to the roof and it didn't make a sound. "You think they're delinquents? The entire lot of them? This should be good."
"I mean, sure. You think nothing of hanging around dangerous places. Asamiya is an underage drinker. Morisawa clearly had to balance her life in a strange way. Kisaragi regularly carries weapons on her person." You put your hands behind your head in a boyish way. "Not that I don't fit in, with my own late night adventures."
Yumeno handed you her broom, and you leaned on it experimentally. To all appearances, it was just a normal push broom, and you handed it back, interested to see how in the world she was going to turn it into something comfortable for two people that needed to go to the roof.
She held it balanced on her two hands, gripping it only with the thumbs.
You heard her chant, balanced against the electric hum of the air conditioning units and the electric buzz of the transformers.
"O star am I!
"I who am light call to its Key,
She pulled her hands away, and buoyed by some invisible force that scattered the dust of the roof, the push broom hung in the air of its own accord as Yumeno continued.
"Uphold ancient pact, star of my star, heart of my heart!
"Come forth in form suited for my travels.
"Wind Star! Wing Star!"
As soon as she finished and all at once, the push-broom changed to a midnight blue monstrosity of a witch's broomstick, as much formed of light and midnight as it was relatively comfortable seating.
Wings of shining sky blue sprouted from the back of it and you took a step back to avoid getting smacked in the face.
"So, uh…" You walked around the transformed broomstick. Somehow, these transformations still put in you a sense of awe and envy. Why couldn't you be like that? Why did your life have to be so difficult? These girls all had incredible transformations and magical skill, and here you were with a bad wardrobe and a sassy ghost friend.
I am a fucking delight, and so are you! Asura-chan immediately said, proving your point.
"You, uh, usually take this in to class?"
"Oh, no. I don't have a parking space yet, that waitlist is quite long." Yumeno winked. "Want to take a quick pass over your apartment?"
"— I suppose we can't really stick out more than we already will, huh…" You say, after a moment, and then hesitantly mount the broomstick.
When she sat astride it, the wind suddenly picked up, the wings behind you flexed, and the entire thing lifted off directly from under your seat. You hung on to Yumeno for dear life, barely resisting the urge to yelp out loud.
There was nothing between you and the ground. There was nothing between you and the ground and for a long, sickening moment you both hang in the air, weightless and falling as you wonder why in the world you agreed to this, until the wings caught the air, and the winds buoyed you, and suddenly you were floating ten stories up and rising, keeping low enough to the ground that you can see the warning lights on the buildings whizzing by.
The wind teased and flapped your ninja scarf but stayed out of your face.
You bury your face into Yumeno's back. You wondered why she was so much taller than you. Her back stiffened for a moment. Were you gripping her too tightly? Was she disgusted? You tried to arrange yourself to touch her less.
"Where to?" Yumeno asked.
You blinked. "What?"
"I don't know where you live, silly."
"— OH RIGHT, uh—" You reached for your phone, but realized that even if you knew where it was in your dumb ninja suit, it was still dead. "Uh, maybe we should try tomorrow morning, I've never seen it from the air."
"— Ah, right, your phones aren't charged anymore…" Yumeno leaned forward, and twisted her wrists on the neck of the broom and the entire thing accelerated, shoving you backward into your seat.
Just how did it keep you from falling off the back!? You didn't know and on second thought, maybe it wasn't worth asking.
She turned and your heart leapt up in your throat. You held on tighter, felt the tug of the scarf as the wind captured it. She was going even faster, to the north, into the mountains, over the great furrows and wild cedar that marked the last fight of two titans whose name escaped you, a battle fought before you were born whose scars still lived on. "Is that a… Golf club house?"
"It was," Yumeno said, and you realized just how little wind there was, no matter how fast you were actually going, that you could hear her easily.
"What is it now?"
"A memory."
She tilted the broom low over the trees, so low that you could feel the tops of the trees on the tips of your toes. The setting sun was to your right. What that must have looked like to anyone able to see?
But soon enough, the trees thinned. No, they were a pattern now. From the air you could see three diamond-shapes of trees, with enough space between each to hold a coop or a shed, and indeed, you did spot one up a little further. But what held your attention was the house in the center.
It was a little larger than you had ever supposed a wilderness cabin would be, with a stone oven on one side, and windows that seemed to glow from within. Here and there, a twig shot off from the whole, growing leaves that shaded the eaves and overhangs, deep green and dark and vibrant.
"It's not quite done yet," she said, "But it's very livable."
The two of you alit on the channel between the middle line of trees and the inner, and now you saw that each line of trees was shading a large, linear mound, which went up to Yumeno's shoulder and had an array of herbs and ground plants with so many varieties of vegetable and bean that you wondered just how long Yumeno had been at this. An unseen gap in the trees wide enough for a person to walk through provided a perfect way into Yumeno's front door, and she casually picked up her push-broom and waved you in with a wink.
This was the lay of Yumeno's house:
In the entryway was a small stepping area, meant for inclement conditions, and set on the side was a panel formed of yellowish light; Yumeno put the push-broom into it, and waved you further in, calling out, "I've come back," to some as-yet unseen person.
You nodded, and finally let out the breath you'd been holding.
The place was very built-to-purpose, and that purpose was, apparently, holding lots of knick-knacks and giving plenty of places to lay around. Sextants hung from the wall, and a telescope pointed out the window, carefully capped. Jars full of carefully labeled herbs solved the mystery you never asked about how Asamiya had a supply of herbs to use. The smell of medicine and spice hung in the air.
[Detective] Still, there were little hints everything here wasn't as it seemed. The bright light of a spring afternoon seemed to filter in from above, but you knew for a fact that from outside there was a solid roof. The labels were oddly vibrant, like they were ready to leap away from the jars and tell you all about their contents. As for pots, pans, dirty dishes, there were none, not even so much as something drying. The kitchen range was odd as well, a matte black construction with no visible controls. One room in particular seemed to be a dedicated surgery, complete with examination tables and doctor's tools, many of whom you were unfamiliar with.
Yumeno pulled up a soft cushion which she sat in heavily, barefoot and exuding calm.
You forgot you were wearing armor again and sat in a cushion next to her, jangling uncomfortably.
[Armor-Piercing Blow] You felt it, instinctively, as you let your breath heave out, as the weight of your armor pressed on you. This place was a bulwark-- incredibly defensible, unless you wanted to break it. Or at least, safer than anything you'd ever seen before. The dozens of defenses and redundancies made themselves clear to you.
Like… Constellations, twinkling and covering for each other.
It was beautiful.
You felt your chains rattle in fury. It was the only warning you got.
[X] (Tragic) Love That Cannot Be: "I will have to marry Ichigo, and can afford no love."
[Face Danger +Hard+Star Magic+1: 5+3+2+1 (10) vs 7, 10 weak hit]
[You mark 1 XP, 3XP.]
The tug on your hands was first, then the chains wrapped about your arms and legs, yanking you upright. Heels together, legs hobbled, arms behind your back in a classic restraint.
The apology fell from your lips before you could stop it. "I'm sorry, I have to leave—"
"Torioi!?" Yumeno snapped her fingers and the push-broom appeared in her hands.
Of course there was a contingency for this. How could there not be?
How could you be safe?
You would never be safe.
And yet.
And yet, you were still here. There were things you could do. To make Yumeno safe. To make yourself safe.
"Yumeno, get away—" you growled, as you felt the chains crawl up your arms, making their way towards your throat. "Asura-chan!?"
I'm trying, would you actually PULL!?
You strained, but the chains held you largely fast; leverage-- as always-- proving itself the greatest ally and enemy you had. You had to endure, and hope that either leaving the house, or something Yumeno could do, would put a stop to this.
"COME FORTH!" Yumeno's shout roused you, briefly, and even more so when a leaf-shaped blade formed of starlight appeared in her hand, which she used to cut between your arms in a way that would be murderous if you weren't armored. "PURIFYING BLOW!"
All at once, you were freed. You wanted to sit in a corner and cry, but you were freed.
Still shaking, still slumped into the floor, you opened your mouth. "They'll curse you too, you know."
Yumeno shook her head and took you into her arms, all at once. The blade dropped onto the floor and scattered in a sound like tinkling chimes and the sussurus of wind through the grass, leaving the push-broom to clatter to the floor. "I don't care. I refuse to see you suffer because I did nothing, especially in my house!"
YUMENO SAKURA [XX] [XX] [XX] [XX] [XX] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
For a moment you shook like a leaf in her arms. The armor separating you from her felt awful, but it wasn't like you could change it back. It felt so heavy.
Your chains felt so heavy.
Everything felt so heavy.
You just... wanted to sleep.
[-1 Stress, 1/5.]
"… So when you're ready, I think I know how to get rid of that armor."
You shook your head into her chest. Your arms went around her, and you held on for a minute. You were... so very tired. "… Yes?"
"Take it off."
-- what!?
What do we do?
[ ] Can we just... Sleep. Please. (Hearten, but kick both cans down the road.)
[ ] Refuse categorically. (Risky Resolve-based solution.)
[ ] Thoughtlessly obey it as if it were a command. (You're not sure what would happen if you do this, but you're tempted to by sheer gremlin energy.)
[ ] [Asura-chan 6+, Stress 1-] We're literally safe enough that the only thing that can reach us is the curse. Let me take over. (Risky Rapport-based solution, puts Asura-chan in charge of our body.)
[ ] [PATHSHAPER] It's obvious that you never should have come here. (Risky expedition solution, with the objective of losing Yumeno in her own forest. Immediately Test Your Relationship.)
Write-ins allowed, but keep in mind: It has been maybe four hours since Kazue dissolved in front of us, and anything we do is going to be colored by that loss.
Vote closes Saturday.
Her only response was to giggle and waggle the push broom in her hands.
"Wh— hold on, we're not actually getting on that thing, are we?" You paused. "For one thing I'm pretty sure I'd break it just trying to sit on it."
"Oh? You're welcome to try once we get to the roof."
"Are we even allowed up there?" you asked. One thing to realize that breaking away from the rules was necessary, another thing to break them frivolously.
"Pfft. If anyone asks, we're there to check on the weather station. Not that we'll be there long, you know?"
"I'm starting to realize how you fit in with the other delinquents."
Yumeno cackled as she opened the emergency exit to the roof and it didn't make a sound. "You think they're delinquents? The entire lot of them? This should be good."
"I mean, sure. You think nothing of hanging around dangerous places. Asamiya is an underage drinker. Morisawa clearly had to balance her life in a strange way. Kisaragi regularly carries weapons on her person." You put your hands behind your head in a boyish way. "Not that I don't fit in, with my own late night adventures."
Yumeno handed you her broom, and you leaned on it experimentally. To all appearances, it was just a normal push broom, and you handed it back, interested to see how in the world she was going to turn it into something comfortable for two people that needed to go to the roof.
She held it balanced on her two hands, gripping it only with the thumbs.
You heard her chant, balanced against the electric hum of the air conditioning units and the electric buzz of the transformers.
"O star am I!
"I who am light call to its Key,
She pulled her hands away, and buoyed by some invisible force that scattered the dust of the roof, the push broom hung in the air of its own accord as Yumeno continued.
"Uphold ancient pact, star of my star, heart of my heart!
"Come forth in form suited for my travels.
"Wind Star! Wing Star!"
As soon as she finished and all at once, the push-broom changed to a midnight blue monstrosity of a witch's broomstick, as much formed of light and midnight as it was relatively comfortable seating.
Wings of shining sky blue sprouted from the back of it and you took a step back to avoid getting smacked in the face.
"So, uh…" You walked around the transformed broomstick. Somehow, these transformations still put in you a sense of awe and envy. Why couldn't you be like that? Why did your life have to be so difficult? These girls all had incredible transformations and magical skill, and here you were with a bad wardrobe and a sassy ghost friend.
I am a fucking delight, and so are you! Asura-chan immediately said, proving your point.
"You, uh, usually take this in to class?"
"Oh, no. I don't have a parking space yet, that waitlist is quite long." Yumeno winked. "Want to take a quick pass over your apartment?"
"— I suppose we can't really stick out more than we already will, huh…" You say, after a moment, and then hesitantly mount the broomstick.
When she sat astride it, the wind suddenly picked up, the wings behind you flexed, and the entire thing lifted off directly from under your seat. You hung on to Yumeno for dear life, barely resisting the urge to yelp out loud.
There was nothing between you and the ground. There was nothing between you and the ground and for a long, sickening moment you both hang in the air, weightless and falling as you wonder why in the world you agreed to this, until the wings caught the air, and the winds buoyed you, and suddenly you were floating ten stories up and rising, keeping low enough to the ground that you can see the warning lights on the buildings whizzing by.
The wind teased and flapped your ninja scarf but stayed out of your face.
You bury your face into Yumeno's back. You wondered why she was so much taller than you. Her back stiffened for a moment. Were you gripping her too tightly? Was she disgusted? You tried to arrange yourself to touch her less.
"Where to?" Yumeno asked.
You blinked. "What?"
"I don't know where you live, silly."
"— OH RIGHT, uh—" You reached for your phone, but realized that even if you knew where it was in your dumb ninja suit, it was still dead. "Uh, maybe we should try tomorrow morning, I've never seen it from the air."
"— Ah, right, your phones aren't charged anymore…" Yumeno leaned forward, and twisted her wrists on the neck of the broom and the entire thing accelerated, shoving you backward into your seat.
Just how did it keep you from falling off the back!? You didn't know and on second thought, maybe it wasn't worth asking.
She turned and your heart leapt up in your throat. You held on tighter, felt the tug of the scarf as the wind captured it. She was going even faster, to the north, into the mountains, over the great furrows and wild cedar that marked the last fight of two titans whose name escaped you, a battle fought before you were born whose scars still lived on. "Is that a… Golf club house?"
"It was," Yumeno said, and you realized just how little wind there was, no matter how fast you were actually going, that you could hear her easily.
"What is it now?"
"A memory."
She tilted the broom low over the trees, so low that you could feel the tops of the trees on the tips of your toes. The setting sun was to your right. What that must have looked like to anyone able to see?
But soon enough, the trees thinned. No, they were a pattern now. From the air you could see three diamond-shapes of trees, with enough space between each to hold a coop or a shed, and indeed, you did spot one up a little further. But what held your attention was the house in the center.
It was a little larger than you had ever supposed a wilderness cabin would be, with a stone oven on one side, and windows that seemed to glow from within. Here and there, a twig shot off from the whole, growing leaves that shaded the eaves and overhangs, deep green and dark and vibrant.
"It's not quite done yet," she said, "But it's very livable."
The two of you alit on the channel between the middle line of trees and the inner, and now you saw that each line of trees was shading a large, linear mound, which went up to Yumeno's shoulder and had an array of herbs and ground plants with so many varieties of vegetable and bean that you wondered just how long Yumeno had been at this. An unseen gap in the trees wide enough for a person to walk through provided a perfect way into Yumeno's front door, and she casually picked up her push-broom and waved you in with a wink.
This was the lay of Yumeno's house:
In the entryway was a small stepping area, meant for inclement conditions, and set on the side was a panel formed of yellowish light; Yumeno put the push-broom into it, and waved you further in, calling out, "I've come back," to some as-yet unseen person.
You nodded, and finally let out the breath you'd been holding.
The place was very built-to-purpose, and that purpose was, apparently, holding lots of knick-knacks and giving plenty of places to lay around. Sextants hung from the wall, and a telescope pointed out the window, carefully capped. Jars full of carefully labeled herbs solved the mystery you never asked about how Asamiya had a supply of herbs to use. The smell of medicine and spice hung in the air.
[Detective] Still, there were little hints everything here wasn't as it seemed. The bright light of a spring afternoon seemed to filter in from above, but you knew for a fact that from outside there was a solid roof. The labels were oddly vibrant, like they were ready to leap away from the jars and tell you all about their contents. As for pots, pans, dirty dishes, there were none, not even so much as something drying. The kitchen range was odd as well, a matte black construction with no visible controls. One room in particular seemed to be a dedicated surgery, complete with examination tables and doctor's tools, many of whom you were unfamiliar with.
Yumeno pulled up a soft cushion which she sat in heavily, barefoot and exuding calm.
You forgot you were wearing armor again and sat in a cushion next to her, jangling uncomfortably.
[Armor-Piercing Blow] You felt it, instinctively, as you let your breath heave out, as the weight of your armor pressed on you. This place was a bulwark-- incredibly defensible, unless you wanted to break it. Or at least, safer than anything you'd ever seen before. The dozens of defenses and redundancies made themselves clear to you.
Like… Constellations, twinkling and covering for each other.
It was beautiful.
You felt your chains rattle in fury. It was the only warning you got.
[X] (Tragic) Love That Cannot Be: "I will have to marry Ichigo, and can afford no love."
[Face Danger +Hard+Star Magic+1: 5+3+2+1 (10) vs 7, 10 weak hit]
[You mark 1 XP, 3XP.]
The tug on your hands was first, then the chains wrapped about your arms and legs, yanking you upright. Heels together, legs hobbled, arms behind your back in a classic restraint.
The apology fell from your lips before you could stop it. "I'm sorry, I have to leave—"
"Torioi!?" Yumeno snapped her fingers and the push-broom appeared in her hands.
Of course there was a contingency for this. How could there not be?
How could you be safe?
You would never be safe.
And yet.
And yet, you were still here. There were things you could do. To make Yumeno safe. To make yourself safe.
"Yumeno, get away—" you growled, as you felt the chains crawl up your arms, making their way towards your throat. "Asura-chan!?"
I'm trying, would you actually PULL!?
You strained, but the chains held you largely fast; leverage-- as always-- proving itself the greatest ally and enemy you had. You had to endure, and hope that either leaving the house, or something Yumeno could do, would put a stop to this.
"COME FORTH!" Yumeno's shout roused you, briefly, and even more so when a leaf-shaped blade formed of starlight appeared in her hand, which she used to cut between your arms in a way that would be murderous if you weren't armored. "PURIFYING BLOW!"
All at once, you were freed. You wanted to sit in a corner and cry, but you were freed.
Still shaking, still slumped into the floor, you opened your mouth. "They'll curse you too, you know."
Yumeno shook her head and took you into her arms, all at once. The blade dropped onto the floor and scattered in a sound like tinkling chimes and the sussurus of wind through the grass, leaving the push-broom to clatter to the floor. "I don't care. I refuse to see you suffer because I did nothing, especially in my house!"
YUMENO SAKURA [XX] [XX] [XX] [XX] [XX] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
For a moment you shook like a leaf in her arms. The armor separating you from her felt awful, but it wasn't like you could change it back. It felt so heavy.
Your chains felt so heavy.
Everything felt so heavy.
You just... wanted to sleep.
[-1 Stress, 1/5.]
"… So when you're ready, I think I know how to get rid of that armor."
You shook your head into her chest. Your arms went around her, and you held on for a minute. You were... so very tired. "… Yes?"
"Take it off."
-- what!?
What do we do?
[ ] Can we just... Sleep. Please. (Hearten, but kick both cans down the road.)
[ ] Refuse categorically. (Risky Resolve-based solution.)
[ ] Thoughtlessly obey it as if it were a command. (You're not sure what would happen if you do this, but you're tempted to by sheer gremlin energy.)
[ ] [Asura-chan 6+, Stress 1-] We're literally safe enough that the only thing that can reach us is the curse. Let me take over. (Risky Rapport-based solution, puts Asura-chan in charge of our body.)
[ ] [PATHSHAPER] It's obvious that you never should have come here. (Risky expedition solution, with the objective of losing Yumeno in her own forest. Immediately Test Your Relationship.)
Write-ins allowed, but keep in mind: It has been maybe four hours since Kazue dissolved in front of us, and anything we do is going to be colored by that loss.
Vote closes Saturday.
