Fluffy ears partner!
Shards of a Broken Sun [Megaten/Shugo Chara/Exalted]
- Thread starter Baughn
- Start date
- Crossover
Assorted thoughts:
Second thought: wait. Maybe not always a "her". I don't know much about lunars, but genderfluidity sounds in line with what I've heard about their themes. Nadeshiko might fit. Dunno if Nadeshiko has enough plot juice to get an exaltation, though.
God damn Ami is cute. 4 dots each in Charisma and Appearance is a lot.
We have only uncertain guesses as to what Amu's doing to grow so fast, so our training votes make no mention of whatever it is. I wonder how much the actual training diverges from the training as voted due to this.
Assuming we get the standard two extra ability points on exaltation, there's a pretty good chance we dump those right into Dodge and take Seven Shadow Evasion, to get a perfect defense ASAP. I wonder how difficult it would be to research a perfect defense that ties into Amu's native powers, though.
Little chibi thing: "She's fine."
Weird pause. Amu looks up, and blushes. Cute kiddo pouts. (He doesn't know her name.)
Utau: "We'll sit on you if we have to. You'll be fine."
Amu blinks, and looks down. Another weird pause. Utau and cute kiddo look at the reporters, then at each other.
Utau: "So?"
Utau's supposed to be a better telepath than Amu, and we've seen her talk telepathically before, so I wonder why she kept talking out loud. Maybe to signal to Hotsuin that there was still a conversation happening?
First thought: So it's a "her". Doesn't narrow things down much.
Second thought: wait. Maybe not always a "her". I don't know much about lunars, but genderfluidity sounds in line with what I've heard about their themes. Nadeshiko might fit. Dunno if Nadeshiko has enough plot juice to get an exaltation, though.
God damn Ami is cute. 4 dots each in Charisma and Appearance is a lot.
We have only uncertain guesses as to what Amu's doing to grow so fast, so our training votes make no mention of whatever it is. I wonder how much the actual training diverges from the training as voted due to this.
Assuming we get the standard two extra ability points on exaltation, there's a pretty good chance we dump those right into Dodge and take Seven Shadow Evasion, to get a perfect defense ASAP. I wonder how difficult it would be to research a perfect defense that ties into Amu's native powers, though.
Even when all other participants in the conversation are talking telepathically, Utau speaks out loud. Hotsuin gets to stand there watching a conversation between 3 kids and some sort of flying chibi, where only one of them is speaking words. (Also Nadeshiko is still leaning on a polearm off to the side.) From Hotsuin's perspective, this part of the conversation looks like
Little chibi thing: "She's fine."
Weird pause. Amu looks up, and blushes. Cute kiddo pouts. (He doesn't know her name.)
Utau: "We'll sit on you if we have to. You'll be fine."
Amu blinks, and looks down. Another weird pause. Utau and cute kiddo look at the reporters, then at each other.
Utau: "So?"
Utau's supposed to be a better telepath than Amu, and we've seen her talk telepathically before, so I wonder why she kept talking out loud. Maybe to signal to Hotsuin that there was still a conversation happening?
It absolutely does, yes.
Lunars get a lot of crap for having poorly defined or developed themes, compared to the rest of the Exalted, so looking to canon for their targeting criteria is going to get you lots of answers - and if Baughn is incorporating lots of fanon re: Lunars, I don't think many would blame him.
But "I can change shape, and that includes changing sex" has always been there.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Some, yes. A fair bit. Specifically, I'm making use of TAW Redux.
As regards the potential candidate(s) for lunar exaltation, I think you're all suffering from assumptions. I could leave it at that, but... here's a few words on exaltation candidates. These all overlap, and anyone who's a candidate for one brand of exaltation would—usually—also be a valid candidate for at least one or two others.
Solars are heroes. When a hero attempts a feat that's beyond them, that aligns with their virtues but which would certainly fail, a solar exaltation will ensure they succeed.
Lunars are changed. They do not need to be heroes, but often are. The key requirement for a lunar exaltation is that you take on a task too heavy for yourself and, through changing, succeed. The more dramatic the change, the more change itself becomes part of you, the better.
Sidereals are fated. When they were born, they were foretold to have their name sung across the world. That fate—that change—is what is traded away, as the Maidens swap one fate for another. As a result, they will never be known.
Infernals are failures. They were heroes. They attempted something beyond them, and failed. That failure twisted them... and that is when a demon appeared, whispering of revenge, or of anything else that would fool them into willingly betraying Creation. Some recover better than others.
Abyssals, on the other hand, are a bit too goth for my preferences.
Pretty much this. Utau's the token 'adult', and the only one with the presence of mind for that. Though apparently not enough presence of mind to suggest the others also use their words!
Sounds like Utau, to me.
<Amu> Right? Right?
<Amu> My little sister is the cutest.
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- Location
- Laniakea
If they could work off Psionic Skills instead of just Abilities, I imagine the combination of Precognition and Teleport would allow for a pretty good defense. That said, we also currently have absolutely nothing in Teleport (and only 1 point in Precognition) so depending on your view, you might not consider that a "native power".
Last version of the quest apparently had a custom charm that involved Amu's Charas too, I think it gave them stable bodies. So it might also be possible to make one that grants a mental defense based around her Charas too (either by using her Charas to reinforce it or the opposite, decentralizing her consciousness between her Charas, etc).
Of course, that also assumes Dia won't present a problem to the Exaltation as a whole, as she's clearly already doing something constantly to Amu that is likely tied up in the reason she currently gets Solar-like growths without being an exalt.
The original quest got an "s" in the second thread too. Not sure what's up with that.
- Location
- Laniakea
Plot twist, this IS Amu farming Exaltations, she managed to get the "reset whole world" ending in her last run when she came face to face with Kagutsuchi/Polaris. Her Solar-like growth rates are her NG+ carry over bonus. She either forgot or didn't have enough NG+ points to select the memory carry-over.
She also gave all her carry-over Attribute points to Ami instead in hopes of having her survive this time, which is why Ami has a higher Attribute stat total than her big sister.
She also gave all her carry-over Attribute points to Ami instead in hopes of having her survive this time, which is why Ami has a higher Attribute stat total than her big sister.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Honestly it's because I kept misspelling it. Again and again and…
"Shards" wound up being how I was naming the story, well before the second thread. This time it's because there are multiple shards. Only one of them is solar, so it's still a misnomer, but I like the title so you'll have to deal.
Besides, "Shards of a sun and a moon and precisely one of the Maidens" is a bit impractical as a title. Spoilery, even.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
I had this thought a while back, but couldn't suggest it at the time…
Miki is less likely to leave you alone for now. But if you want that sort of link, getting one will cost you 1XP and one week of training time per character. It requires a strong positive intimacy; obviously Miki counts.
In practice it's a specialisation to Mental Range, adding two effective dots. (So multiplies your range by 25 for this character.)
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Reminds me that an increase of mental range is certainly something to ponder for the future as well...
Huh. Interesting. Not currently efficient, but interesting. I wonder if that'd let us use Miki's chara change at extended range too.
At the low end, we'd probably be better off just getting Mental Range. At the high end, we could theoretically get like a 250 km telepathy range for select characters, which could be handy, total overkill, or possibly even not enough, depending on how things go.
If we wanted to train Mental Range and a link like this at the same time, we'd probably get a pretty good overlap discount on training times. That'd help somewhat with the efficiency issue.
I wonder if we could use telepathic connections as teleportation anchors. Whether teleporting ourselves to our friends, teleporting our friends to us, or transferring objects, it sounds like a handy possibility.
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Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Sure, that makes perfect sense. It's a bit out there with her current stats, but then again, who says you don't have a teleporter in your class to recruit?
- Location
- Laniakea
Would guess that needs Teleport 3. Teleport 1 had these restrictions on it and I suspect Teleport 2 only lifts the obstructions restriction, given that teleporting to a hospital was rated for Teleport 3 with either Clairvoyance 3 or pre-existing knowledge of the location.
The Telepathy/Mental Range would probably substitute for Clairvoyance in this case, allowing Amu to know the location of her allies.
I feel like Mental Range is actually most useful for increasing the deployment location range of her Illusions, not just Telepathy. Don't need Clairvoyance so badly when you can conjure wireless cameras at a distance.
- Location
- Venezuela
that would require knowlege of how cameras work unless illusion could cover for that?
I would be surprised if Amu could make webcams at her current level of knowledge, but something seems to be filling in for a lot of knowledge she's missing when she creates stuff. She can spawn fully edible cookies without knowing the exact details of all the complex macromolecules that go into a cookie, and she could make jump ropes with no idea of what jump ropes are made of.
Funnily enough, with her biokinesis powers, I think Amu might actually have a better shot at making eyeballs to look through instead of cameras. Eyeballs should theoretically be a lot more complex to create and handle, but Amu's powers offer a lot of support for working with biological structures, potentially enough to make up the difference. (Cameras would be a lot less icky, though.)
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- Location
- Venezuela
I think making something like a small animal (a bird or a bee) would be more intuitive for Amu then a floating eyeball
Amu already knows it's possible to see through other people's eyes, so it's not that far of a leap from there. (Cameras could be more widespread, through. I don't know how Amu would handle multiple viewpoints.)
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- Location
- Laniakea
Cameras might possible to stunt using Miki's specialty, if her Art specialization includes photographic art. These may or may not include cameras with wireless capability, I'm thinking it would probably be up to the GM to decide whether to allow wireless transmission of images/footage for such a stunt or whether that's too far out of purview for Miki.
There's an argument to be made that radio broadcasts is something that would fall more under Dia's Idol/Navigator affinity than anything else.
There's an argument to be made that radio broadcasts is something that would fall more under Dia's Idol/Navigator affinity than anything else.
Chapter 2.1
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Early evening. October 17, 2009
"No looking!"
Ami let out a dramatic sigh.
"Aw. But why not, 'nee-chan?"
"Because," Amu said. "It's not finished yet."
"But-"
"No."
Ami giggled, diving back under the table before she had to push her. Miki and Eru were sitting on top of it, both of them looking a little amused; Utau's 'angel chara' had been keeping watch on her all day. Her father sat in the corner chair, his laptop out—pretending to work—but his attention was firmly on what Amu was doing, even though he was trying not to show it.
Amu looked at the box in front of her, and frowned. It had taken her the entire afternoon to decorate. She'd gone a bit overboard, perhaps, in spending the whole day experimenting. She'd covered the sides with little pictures and her little sister's name was written across the top in bright pink letters. The box, it must be said, was real. It was a genuine cardboard box, discovered in the attic and repurposed. She'd come down coughing and covered in dust, but victorious.
The pictures, and the inside of the box, were... less so.
It had started out as a simple design, but she'd gotten bored partway through and added a bunch of things. One side was a painting of the garden—a bit amateurish, yes, but not too bad. Better than she could do by hand even with Miki's help, though she'd gotten better in the last few months. Mostly because Miki kept showing her all the ways she could cheat. Only-
She wasn't doing it by hand, was she?
Underneath her father's watchful eye Amu had used her finger as a pencil. And she didn't need to do that either, but pointing at the line she was trying to draw made it easier to keep her thoughts on track. She had a trick for that—she could make a small part of her mind into a kind of frozen lens, holding a single thought still and letting her examine it. Or build an illusion from it.
It helped, because the rest of her mind liked to jump from one topic to the next like a frog on a hot plate.
She added a frog to the picture, giggling a little.
The overall impression was... well, a little silly. Ami would like it, but it wasn't her best work. On the other hand, the inside was a completely different matter. She opened the box, giving another poke to the black, illusionary sphere inside. It wobbled, and then-
A miniature version of the garden popped up, with a tiny version of their house in the background. There was a tiny tree, a little pond and a number of colourful, cartoonish animals bumbled across the ground. It took a bit of focus—this was by no means automatic—and it scattered like mist if she shoved her finger through it, but it would last a minute or two if she didn't mess with it.
Which, obviously, she couldn't help but do. A frog jumped out of mid-air and landed in the pond. It added a little to the strain she was feeling, but it was worth it for the laughs it'd provoke.
"What do you think?" Amu said.
"I think she's gonna love it," Miki replied, a smile on her face. Eru nodded in agreement.
"Dad?" Amu asked, her voice a little tentative.
Her father wasn't quite staring but wasn't quite not-staring either. It was a look that suggested he wasn't sure what to think. She'd sprung this on him fairly suddenly. It was Saturday, two whole days after getting home from JPs—she'd been back there earlier that day, and they wanted her back for a final check in a week—but she was 'fine', apparently, and free to do as much 'magic' as she wanted again. Or to come and check on Saaya, so long as they followed the rules.
-she was not a magical girl! No matter what everyone said!
They'd told him everything anyway. So could you blame her if...
"I love it," he said, a smile spreading across his face. He put his laptop aside. "Ami's going to, too. It looks just like Miki's drawing."
"Ah," Amu mumbled.
She looked down at her hands. They were shaking a little. She hadn't eaten much of her dinner.
"Um. You know..."
Her father came over. He put his arms around her, and kissed the top of her head. Then he waved to Miki, a 'come-here' sort of motion. He couldn't see Eru—the girl wasn't good enough with illusions—but Miki was, and so Miki did. She came over, and perched on Amu's shoulder, and their father hugged them both.
"I'm so proud of you," he said. "Both of you."
"Ah," Amu managed.
Miki was crying. Amu didn't need to look. She could feel it, and-
Amu closed her eyes, trying not to start crying herself. They should have done this ages ago. They'd been scared, both of them, but she couldn't imagine. Not being able to hug or talk to Dad?
It would be-
No. She wasn't going to cry.
She didn't want to let go, but... she had a present to give.
"Ami," Amu called, letting her voice get louder. "Are you ready for your gift?"
There was a slight rumble under the table. "Yes!" came the response, echoing weirdly—as though there was a large cave underneath there. The carpet looked a little smoky. Less fire, more very low-lying fog. Ami was having fun.
New family rule, Dad had said. No more secrets. He'd been prepared to let her- 'Keep fighting', in Mom's words. They'd been so... 'proud' wasn't the word for it. Not when they were so scared, radiated so much fear it made her want to cry.
"Ami?" Amu called again.
"Yes?"
"Come up here, please."
"I'm stuck in a rut," her little sister declared, her head poking out from under the table. Ami's hair was messy, and her shirt a little rumpled. Amu felt her father's amusement.
"That's no good," Amu agreed, hiding her smile. "Any way out of that?"
"Ummm." Ami thought about it. "If I get a big, strong 'nee-chan, can you give me a pull?"
Amu snorted.
Dad knelt and reached under the table. There was a small squeal, and a brief, high-pitched scuffle, before he emerged with a giggling seven-year-old in his arms. Amu took a quick look under the table before whatever Ami had been doing stopped existing, and was a little surprised to see the 'rut' was a three-foot-deep hole in the carpet.
"That was fun," Ami said, a bright smile on her face.
Dad sent her a questioning look. Amu shrugged. "It'll go away," she assured him. "Eventually."
"Ah," he said, sounding a little confused.
"Better than fighting demons, isn't it?" She couldn't help but ask. They'd had this conversation. She kept repeating it.
"Well... yes, but-"
"Dad." Amu stared up at him. "That was a once-off. I told you. I'm not fighting anything, unless they attack me, and... um. That's not helping, is it?" It really wasn't. He wasn't scared the way they'd been, but he didn't like that way of putting it. "Let me rephrase. I'm not going looking for any trouble. There."
He didn't argue.
"Anyway," Amu said, her cheeks a little flushed. She reached out to poke Ami's nose. "Told you, we're not magical girls."
"I can be if I want to be!"
"Ami!"
"Well, I can!"
"Ami, no," Miki shot in.
"Aw. Fine. You're no fun, 'nee-chan."
"No fun at all, apparently," Dad agreed. "You'll just have to live with two boring big sisters, and a very, very exciting hole in the floor." He squinted down at it. "Is that moss? Ami dear, did you add moss?"
"Yes!" Ami agreed, a bright smile on her face. "I was stuck in a hole, so I gathered some moss. It's pretty, isn't it?"
"It's a very nice moss," Amu agreed, her cheeks burning a little. "But not alive. And you're not a stone."
Miki snorted, and Dad had to hide his grin.
"I could be," Ami insisted.
"No. I don't think so."
"Not allowed." Her father nodded at her, putting Ami down so she could... climb onto Amu's lap, apparently. Amu gave her a hug. "And, Amu?"
"Huh?"
"It's okay to be a magical girl. If you want more pink in your wardrobe... or stars..." He paused, his face thoughtful. "Maybe a few sparkles, actually. You could use them. But don't go hunting for demons, all right? I want my girls safe."
Amu didn't say anything. She'd been expecting some sort of lecture, for days, and...
"I'm going to keep saying this until you're tired of hearing it," he added, a smile on his face. "You did a wonderful job. But I'd prefer you didn't. I'd prefer you stayed home, and didn't leave, and didn't get hurt, and didn't fight demons—or anything, really—but- you weren't looking for trouble, were you. You were in class. So stop expecting me to get upset at you. It won't be happening."
"Dad."
"I won't tell you what to do, Amu," he told her, his tone firm. "Not so long as you're trying to stay safe. But you can talk to me. Just... do that, please? If there's anything at all. And that goes doubly for you, Ami." He smiled. "I love you both more than I can say. Even if you're making... holes in the... living room floor."
"Oh, Dad." Amu's cheeks were burning. This really shouldn't have gone anywhere near this well. "It's just an illusion. She didn't ruin the carpet."
"Okay," he agreed. "And-"
"You love us soooooooo much!" Ami cut in, a bright grin on her face. She jumped off her lap, ran over and gave Dad a hug.
Ami was right. The sheer amount of love Dad felt for them...
'Essay contest: Describe the love of a parent for their child,' Amu thought. To herself, she believed. That didn't stop Miki from snorting, though. 'I'd win.'
"Yes, yes, I do," Dad agreed.
"Good," said Ami. "'cause we can tell. You don't need to say it."
Dad blinked at Amu, a slightly bewildered look on his face.
"She's not wrong," Amu muttered. She looked down at her hands, mostly to hide her blush. "And- uh. Thank you, Dad.For being there."
He nodded, and then went and sat down next to them, Ami on his lap. "So, the present?" he asked, to which Amu grinned.
"The present," she agreed. Ami refocused, her attention sharpening. "Present!" she said, and leaned forwards.
Amu held on to her waist, her eyes a little wet, as she watched her sister take a closer look.
She felt nothing but warm.
⁂
October 18, 2009
"Hi, Saaya."
She was back at JPs' hospital. A whole three days had passed, and Saaya was still in a coma.
"I- um. I got you a card." Amu paused. "I know it's kinda stupid. We barely even talked. We've been in the same class for years, and all I remember is... well. But I-" She looked around. The room was bare. There was no hint that anyone had been there, anyone at all, and Dad was arguing about that with the nurse-in-charge. Saaya's parents hadn't showed.
Amu couldn't describe the emotion that rose up in her chest from that thought.
"I wanted to talk. So I'll- yeah. Talk." She swallowed, and sat down.
She had no idea what she was going to say.
"I told Mom and Dad," she said. "About everything. Being the Joker. Easter. The Humpty Lock and the Dumpty Key. It was- scary. I don't- I wasn't sure they'd still love me."
She stared at her hands.
She'd been an utter idiot. Her parents loved her. Of course they did. That was why-
Why she'd been afraid.
"But they do. They didn't even get angry. I thought they would, and- maybe Dad was, a little, but I couldn't tell. He was scared, but less scared than when he thought I'd been fighting... those. Lulu told them I'd been fighting her, and what that had been like, and…" Amu giggled. The look on Mom's face. "Mom said 'I served dinner to a dark magical girl!' And Ami brought Hikaru to visit, so..." She let out a breath. The Easter thing was over. Amu could go back to being a regular girl, or at least that's what she had been telling herself. Truthfully, not so much. Regular girls probably didn't...
"And Ami made a hole in the floor," Amu admitted. "Which was- I'm not sure how that happened, exactly. I don't think she knew, either. She was trying to make a cave, which- Saaya, she was underneath the living room table and it was... um. Well, I'll show you, maybe. I could... try to draw it. Maybe."
Saaya didn't say anything.
Amu grabbed a blank sheet of paper from her bag, quickly drawing the scene. Not perfectly. She wasn't much of an artist; that was Miki, who was exploring JPs again. But-
It was passable. She'd gotten better.
A second card soon joined the first, this one with fewer words and more pictures.
"Um, so. I know you don't- like me. Much. Or at all? I don't- I've never understood you. And I've never really- talked to you, have I?" Her face was rebelling against her. She didn't want to cry. She wasn't going to cry. These were hiccups. "I didn't- mean for any of this to happen. If- if I'd known what you were thinking, I'd have tried to help. Where are your friends? You had at least a couple, right?" Amu was sure she'd seen them talking, but that might have been a year ago. "I didn't- I never thought- I wasn't even sure what I'd done wrong."
Amu let out a long sigh.
"Sorry. It's... yeah. Utau's been great. I think she thinks I'm made of porcelain, though. Like, I can't take care of myself? She's- um. I wouldn't tell you this if you could hear me. She kissed me yesterday. On the cheek. But it was... really nice." She flushed. "I- really, really like her. I want to tell her that, but- it's kind of- confusing, I guess. To both of us, maybe. She was all 'you need to focus on getting better', and I was upside down on the back of the couch feeling perfectly fine, and I don't even remember how that happened, but... um."
Amu was blushing fiercely.
"We're- good friends, I guess. I think. She was trying to reassure me. We've been spending a lot of time together. She's- she's been- I was a bit- it's kind of..."
Amu couldn't think of how to say it.
"Anyway," she said, changing the subject. "Nagihiko's doing some family thing, but everyone in our class is fine. Ami brought Hikaru over. To reassure Dad, you know. He wasn't happy about the mind control. I could tell he wanted to shout at Hikaru, though he didn't. He had a long talk with Utau afterwards, and- Utau won't tell me what they were talking about. But I can guess, I think."
Amu looked up.
"Saaya, did you think- did you think everyone hated you?"
Silence was the only reply.
"I'll come back later," she decided.
⁂
October 20, 2009
There were reporters in the front yard.
Amu hid in her room, sipping a cup of tea while she poked at her computer. Miki was sitting on the desk, staring out the window through a gap in the curtains, while Eru was floating next to her. They were both looking a little amused, but Amu didn't feel much like laughing. Mom was downstairs arguing with them, and—if her shouts were to be believed—soon there'd be a policeman or two.
"I wonder what they want," Amu mumbled.
"You, apparently," Miki said. "Hero of the hour."
"Hah."
She could make them leave. She wasn't going to, but- she could.
'Himamori Amu, the Heroine of Seiyo!'
Ugh.
'Local Children Survive Horror of Demon Attack!'
Double ugh.
'Psychic children—heroes or monsters?'
UGH.
'Eleven children dead in alien invasion.'
She'd thought that the world wouldn't really change. Everything had been a secret. How could they possibly figure it out? Apparently it hadn't been that secret. The government had released a statement about 'alien technology' and that the police were 'investigating'. The big news corporations were talking about gas explosions. They'd gotten the story ninety-five percent wrong, were leaving her alone on purpose, and yet it seemed like nobody in Japan was buying it.
There'd been riots in America, apparently.
'Magical Girls: Fact vs Fiction'
"How are people this stupid?" Amu demanded, glaring at her computer.
"I dunno," Miki said, shrugging. "People are weird."
"Yeah."
"It'll blow over," Eru reassured her. "Eventually."
"That's- not the point. They're outside the house. They're harassing Mom. She doesn't- she doesn't have a lot of patience."
Miki giggled.
"No," she agreed. "But she has a lot of yelling."
"Yeah. She does." Amu let out a long sigh and closed her eyes. Then she reached out, her mind extending.
Her mother was very close to shouting at another reporter. There was indeed a policeman outside, watching the situation with a neutral expression. His name was Officer Nakagawa, and he was waiting to see if the reporter's next question would cross the line. Amu didn't quite get what that 'line' might be, because as far as she was concerned they'd left it behind in the previous prefecture.
She reached past them. There was a camera pointed towards her bedroom.
'Click.'
The camera shorted out. The reporter cursed, dropping it on the ground. She'd accidentally made it smoke.
"Serves them right," Amu muttered, pulling back. "I hate being the centre of attention. Why is this even a thing?"
"'Cuz people are weird," Ami replied. Amu blinked, and turned around. Ami was leaning against the doorframe, a pout on her face. She'd been downstairs sleeping on the couch. Amu could have sworn. "They're being stupid, 'nee-chan," she added, "And Mom's shouty."
Amu giggled.
"Yeah. I know. I was eavesdropping. Did they wake you up?"
"Uh huh. Can I tell them to go away?"
Amu shook her head. Her little sister looked rebellious, but didn't argue.
"Fine. Can I borrow your manga?"
"Of course," Amu replied. Ami grinned, and walked over. There was a stack of manga on the bedside table, next to a few of Miki's miniature portraits. She didn't need to hide them now. Ami pulled a volume from the top of the pile, and sat down.
"Ami," Amu said. Her little sister paused.
"What, 'nee-chan?"
Amu reached out, and gave her a hug. "Hey," she said, in a low, conspiratorial tone. "I'm not gonna let them bother you, okay? No one's allowed to pick on my little sister."
Ami smiled, her cheeks flushed. "Okay," she agreed. "No picking."
"Except me," Amu added, poking her in the cheek. "'cause I'm allowed."
"Okay, 'nee-chan." Ami leaned against her side, and Amu gave her another hug. On a normal day that would've made her run away giggling.
Today was not a normal week.
"Hey," she added.
"Yeah?"
"Can you teach me how you do the dream thing?"
"Umm," Ami said. She looked up at Amu, her eyes bright. "You want to learn?"
"Yep," Amu said. She poked her sister's cheek again, and then her nose. "I mean, I've seen what you can do. It's really interesting. I wanna know how you do it."
"Um, okay." Ami looked a little flustered. "You really want to?"
"Sure," Amu said. She glanced at Miki.
"I'm good, thanks." Miki grinned. "I already know how. Go play with the kid. It's fine."
Ami stuck her tongue out.
"Don't tease," Amu said. She gave Ami a smile, and poked her nose again. "How's that work? Should we wait until it's nighttime?"
"You're silly, 'nee-chan."
"Yeah, I know. Nighttime?"
"Um, not really," Ami said. "It's kinda hard to explain. You have to lie still, and then while you're lying still you have to walk through a door of some kind. And then you're there. It's easier while you're asleep, except you'll forget. I could come get you?"
"Ah. Sure. If you want to?"
Ami nodded. "Okay, 'nee-chan. Tonight?"
"Tonight," Amu agreed.
"Yay," Ami said, her smile bright.
They sat there for a while. Ami read her manga, and Amu tried to go back to the textbook she was supposed to be reading, but it was a bit difficult to keep her head off the reporters. Eventually she went to grab a manga, something more mature—Naruto, she decided, picking up a volume at random. She settled down on the bed next to Ami and started reading.
It was a nice afternoon.
Apart from the reporters.
That evening she went to sleep at the same time as Ami, and woke up in a field of flowers. That... was what she remembered later, at any rate. Though according to Ami-
"You acted like you were drunk," her little sister told her, a grin on her face. "Like, really drunk. You kept falling over and laughing. And then you tried to fight a tree, but it wasn't really a tree, and the tree started crying. Even the friendliest shadows are scared of drunk 'nee-chan. I had to put you back to sleep. Eventually."
Ami kept grinning for most of the day. She was sure, by then, that her little sister had an evil streak. Amu couldn't remember a thing except for the flowers.
Everything was fine, except… Kana…
It had been four days since she got out of hospital, and Kana still hadn't called.
Her phone wasn't even on. Every single call was instantly going to voicemail.
= = =
"Let me rephrase. I'm not going looking for any trouble."
This is technically true. With Amu's personality and upbringing there's every chance she'd run off to Kana, knowing full well Kana inherently is trouble, without thinking for even a second that this might cause trouble and her parents might want to have a say. There is, however, also a chance that she might not.
Kana isn't answering her phone. Amu doesn't have the number of anyone else in her group. Probably this means her phone is broken, and you have to get her new phone number.
[ ] Tell Dad you're going to visit Kana, but nothing else
- Plus: No chance of being stopped. Also you're not saying things you promised not to say.
- Minus: No chance of support. And it's lying, sort of? You're not sure.
[ ] Tell Mom and Dad the basics about Kana
- Meaning what, precisely?
[ ] Full disclosure
- They're Mom and Dad! They'll help.
"No looking!"
Ami let out a dramatic sigh.
"Aw. But why not, 'nee-chan?"
"Because," Amu said. "It's not finished yet."
"But-"
"No."
Ami giggled, diving back under the table before she had to push her. Miki and Eru were sitting on top of it, both of them looking a little amused; Utau's 'angel chara' had been keeping watch on her all day. Her father sat in the corner chair, his laptop out—pretending to work—but his attention was firmly on what Amu was doing, even though he was trying not to show it.
Amu looked at the box in front of her, and frowned. It had taken her the entire afternoon to decorate. She'd gone a bit overboard, perhaps, in spending the whole day experimenting. She'd covered the sides with little pictures and her little sister's name was written across the top in bright pink letters. The box, it must be said, was real. It was a genuine cardboard box, discovered in the attic and repurposed. She'd come down coughing and covered in dust, but victorious.
The pictures, and the inside of the box, were... less so.
It had started out as a simple design, but she'd gotten bored partway through and added a bunch of things. One side was a painting of the garden—a bit amateurish, yes, but not too bad. Better than she could do by hand even with Miki's help, though she'd gotten better in the last few months. Mostly because Miki kept showing her all the ways she could cheat. Only-
She wasn't doing it by hand, was she?
Underneath her father's watchful eye Amu had used her finger as a pencil. And she didn't need to do that either, but pointing at the line she was trying to draw made it easier to keep her thoughts on track. She had a trick for that—she could make a small part of her mind into a kind of frozen lens, holding a single thought still and letting her examine it. Or build an illusion from it.
It helped, because the rest of her mind liked to jump from one topic to the next like a frog on a hot plate.
She added a frog to the picture, giggling a little.
The overall impression was... well, a little silly. Ami would like it, but it wasn't her best work. On the other hand, the inside was a completely different matter. She opened the box, giving another poke to the black, illusionary sphere inside. It wobbled, and then-
A miniature version of the garden popped up, with a tiny version of their house in the background. There was a tiny tree, a little pond and a number of colourful, cartoonish animals bumbled across the ground. It took a bit of focus—this was by no means automatic—and it scattered like mist if she shoved her finger through it, but it would last a minute or two if she didn't mess with it.
Which, obviously, she couldn't help but do. A frog jumped out of mid-air and landed in the pond. It added a little to the strain she was feeling, but it was worth it for the laughs it'd provoke.
"What do you think?" Amu said.
"I think she's gonna love it," Miki replied, a smile on her face. Eru nodded in agreement.
"Dad?" Amu asked, her voice a little tentative.
Her father wasn't quite staring but wasn't quite not-staring either. It was a look that suggested he wasn't sure what to think. She'd sprung this on him fairly suddenly. It was Saturday, two whole days after getting home from JPs—she'd been back there earlier that day, and they wanted her back for a final check in a week—but she was 'fine', apparently, and free to do as much 'magic' as she wanted again. Or to come and check on Saaya, so long as they followed the rules.
-she was not a magical girl! No matter what everyone said!
They'd told him everything anyway. So could you blame her if...
"I love it," he said, a smile spreading across his face. He put his laptop aside. "Ami's going to, too. It looks just like Miki's drawing."
"Ah," Amu mumbled.
She looked down at her hands. They were shaking a little. She hadn't eaten much of her dinner.
"Um. You know..."
Her father came over. He put his arms around her, and kissed the top of her head. Then he waved to Miki, a 'come-here' sort of motion. He couldn't see Eru—the girl wasn't good enough with illusions—but Miki was, and so Miki did. She came over, and perched on Amu's shoulder, and their father hugged them both.
"I'm so proud of you," he said. "Both of you."
"Ah," Amu managed.
Miki was crying. Amu didn't need to look. She could feel it, and-
Amu closed her eyes, trying not to start crying herself. They should have done this ages ago. They'd been scared, both of them, but she couldn't imagine. Not being able to hug or talk to Dad?
It would be-
No. She wasn't going to cry.
She didn't want to let go, but... she had a present to give.
"Ami," Amu called, letting her voice get louder. "Are you ready for your gift?"
There was a slight rumble under the table. "Yes!" came the response, echoing weirdly—as though there was a large cave underneath there. The carpet looked a little smoky. Less fire, more very low-lying fog. Ami was having fun.
New family rule, Dad had said. No more secrets. He'd been prepared to let her- 'Keep fighting', in Mom's words. They'd been so... 'proud' wasn't the word for it. Not when they were so scared, radiated so much fear it made her want to cry.
"Ami?" Amu called again.
"Yes?"
"Come up here, please."
"I'm stuck in a rut," her little sister declared, her head poking out from under the table. Ami's hair was messy, and her shirt a little rumpled. Amu felt her father's amusement.
"That's no good," Amu agreed, hiding her smile. "Any way out of that?"
"Ummm." Ami thought about it. "If I get a big, strong 'nee-chan, can you give me a pull?"
Amu snorted.
Dad knelt and reached under the table. There was a small squeal, and a brief, high-pitched scuffle, before he emerged with a giggling seven-year-old in his arms. Amu took a quick look under the table before whatever Ami had been doing stopped existing, and was a little surprised to see the 'rut' was a three-foot-deep hole in the carpet.
"That was fun," Ami said, a bright smile on her face.
Dad sent her a questioning look. Amu shrugged. "It'll go away," she assured him. "Eventually."
"Ah," he said, sounding a little confused.
"Better than fighting demons, isn't it?" She couldn't help but ask. They'd had this conversation. She kept repeating it.
"Well... yes, but-"
"Dad." Amu stared up at him. "That was a once-off. I told you. I'm not fighting anything, unless they attack me, and... um. That's not helping, is it?" It really wasn't. He wasn't scared the way they'd been, but he didn't like that way of putting it. "Let me rephrase. I'm not going looking for any trouble. There."
He didn't argue.
"Anyway," Amu said, her cheeks a little flushed. She reached out to poke Ami's nose. "Told you, we're not magical girls."
"I can be if I want to be!"
"Ami!"
"Well, I can!"
"Ami, no," Miki shot in.
"Aw. Fine. You're no fun, 'nee-chan."
"No fun at all, apparently," Dad agreed. "You'll just have to live with two boring big sisters, and a very, very exciting hole in the floor." He squinted down at it. "Is that moss? Ami dear, did you add moss?"
"Yes!" Ami agreed, a bright smile on her face. "I was stuck in a hole, so I gathered some moss. It's pretty, isn't it?"
"It's a very nice moss," Amu agreed, her cheeks burning a little. "But not alive. And you're not a stone."
Miki snorted, and Dad had to hide his grin.
"I could be," Ami insisted.
"No. I don't think so."
"Not allowed." Her father nodded at her, putting Ami down so she could... climb onto Amu's lap, apparently. Amu gave her a hug. "And, Amu?"
"Huh?"
"It's okay to be a magical girl. If you want more pink in your wardrobe... or stars..." He paused, his face thoughtful. "Maybe a few sparkles, actually. You could use them. But don't go hunting for demons, all right? I want my girls safe."
Amu didn't say anything. She'd been expecting some sort of lecture, for days, and...
"I'm going to keep saying this until you're tired of hearing it," he added, a smile on his face. "You did a wonderful job. But I'd prefer you didn't. I'd prefer you stayed home, and didn't leave, and didn't get hurt, and didn't fight demons—or anything, really—but- you weren't looking for trouble, were you. You were in class. So stop expecting me to get upset at you. It won't be happening."
"Dad."
"I won't tell you what to do, Amu," he told her, his tone firm. "Not so long as you're trying to stay safe. But you can talk to me. Just... do that, please? If there's anything at all. And that goes doubly for you, Ami." He smiled. "I love you both more than I can say. Even if you're making... holes in the... living room floor."
"Oh, Dad." Amu's cheeks were burning. This really shouldn't have gone anywhere near this well. "It's just an illusion. She didn't ruin the carpet."
"Okay," he agreed. "And-"
"You love us soooooooo much!" Ami cut in, a bright grin on her face. She jumped off her lap, ran over and gave Dad a hug.
Ami was right. The sheer amount of love Dad felt for them...
'Essay contest: Describe the love of a parent for their child,' Amu thought. To herself, she believed. That didn't stop Miki from snorting, though. 'I'd win.'
"Yes, yes, I do," Dad agreed.
"Good," said Ami. "'cause we can tell. You don't need to say it."
Dad blinked at Amu, a slightly bewildered look on his face.
"She's not wrong," Amu muttered. She looked down at her hands, mostly to hide her blush. "And- uh. Thank you, Dad.For being there."
He nodded, and then went and sat down next to them, Ami on his lap. "So, the present?" he asked, to which Amu grinned.
"The present," she agreed. Ami refocused, her attention sharpening. "Present!" she said, and leaned forwards.
Amu held on to her waist, her eyes a little wet, as she watched her sister take a closer look.
She felt nothing but warm.
⁂
October 18, 2009
"Hi, Saaya."
She was back at JPs' hospital. A whole three days had passed, and Saaya was still in a coma.
"I- um. I got you a card." Amu paused. "I know it's kinda stupid. We barely even talked. We've been in the same class for years, and all I remember is... well. But I-" She looked around. The room was bare. There was no hint that anyone had been there, anyone at all, and Dad was arguing about that with the nurse-in-charge. Saaya's parents hadn't showed.
Amu couldn't describe the emotion that rose up in her chest from that thought.
"I wanted to talk. So I'll- yeah. Talk." She swallowed, and sat down.
She had no idea what she was going to say.
"I told Mom and Dad," she said. "About everything. Being the Joker. Easter. The Humpty Lock and the Dumpty Key. It was- scary. I don't- I wasn't sure they'd still love me."
She stared at her hands.
She'd been an utter idiot. Her parents loved her. Of course they did. That was why-
Why she'd been afraid.
"But they do. They didn't even get angry. I thought they would, and- maybe Dad was, a little, but I couldn't tell. He was scared, but less scared than when he thought I'd been fighting... those. Lulu told them I'd been fighting her, and what that had been like, and…" Amu giggled. The look on Mom's face. "Mom said 'I served dinner to a dark magical girl!' And Ami brought Hikaru to visit, so..." She let out a breath. The Easter thing was over. Amu could go back to being a regular girl, or at least that's what she had been telling herself. Truthfully, not so much. Regular girls probably didn't...
"And Ami made a hole in the floor," Amu admitted. "Which was- I'm not sure how that happened, exactly. I don't think she knew, either. She was trying to make a cave, which- Saaya, she was underneath the living room table and it was... um. Well, I'll show you, maybe. I could... try to draw it. Maybe."
Saaya didn't say anything.
Amu grabbed a blank sheet of paper from her bag, quickly drawing the scene. Not perfectly. She wasn't much of an artist; that was Miki, who was exploring JPs again. But-
It was passable. She'd gotten better.
A second card soon joined the first, this one with fewer words and more pictures.
"Um, so. I know you don't- like me. Much. Or at all? I don't- I've never understood you. And I've never really- talked to you, have I?" Her face was rebelling against her. She didn't want to cry. She wasn't going to cry. These were hiccups. "I didn't- mean for any of this to happen. If- if I'd known what you were thinking, I'd have tried to help. Where are your friends? You had at least a couple, right?" Amu was sure she'd seen them talking, but that might have been a year ago. "I didn't- I never thought- I wasn't even sure what I'd done wrong."
Amu let out a long sigh.
"Sorry. It's... yeah. Utau's been great. I think she thinks I'm made of porcelain, though. Like, I can't take care of myself? She's- um. I wouldn't tell you this if you could hear me. She kissed me yesterday. On the cheek. But it was... really nice." She flushed. "I- really, really like her. I want to tell her that, but- it's kind of- confusing, I guess. To both of us, maybe. She was all 'you need to focus on getting better', and I was upside down on the back of the couch feeling perfectly fine, and I don't even remember how that happened, but... um."
Amu was blushing fiercely.
"We're- good friends, I guess. I think. She was trying to reassure me. We've been spending a lot of time together. She's- she's been- I was a bit- it's kind of..."
Amu couldn't think of how to say it.
"Anyway," she said, changing the subject. "Nagihiko's doing some family thing, but everyone in our class is fine. Ami brought Hikaru over. To reassure Dad, you know. He wasn't happy about the mind control. I could tell he wanted to shout at Hikaru, though he didn't. He had a long talk with Utau afterwards, and- Utau won't tell me what they were talking about. But I can guess, I think."
Amu looked up.
"Saaya, did you think- did you think everyone hated you?"
Silence was the only reply.
"I'll come back later," she decided.
⁂
October 20, 2009
There were reporters in the front yard.
Amu hid in her room, sipping a cup of tea while she poked at her computer. Miki was sitting on the desk, staring out the window through a gap in the curtains, while Eru was floating next to her. They were both looking a little amused, but Amu didn't feel much like laughing. Mom was downstairs arguing with them, and—if her shouts were to be believed—soon there'd be a policeman or two.
"I wonder what they want," Amu mumbled.
"You, apparently," Miki said. "Hero of the hour."
"Hah."
She could make them leave. She wasn't going to, but- she could.
'Himamori Amu, the Heroine of Seiyo!'
Ugh.
'Local Children Survive Horror of Demon Attack!'
Double ugh.
'Psychic children—heroes or monsters?'
UGH.
'Eleven children dead in alien invasion.'
She'd thought that the world wouldn't really change. Everything had been a secret. How could they possibly figure it out? Apparently it hadn't been that secret. The government had released a statement about 'alien technology' and that the police were 'investigating'. The big news corporations were talking about gas explosions. They'd gotten the story ninety-five percent wrong, were leaving her alone on purpose, and yet it seemed like nobody in Japan was buying it.
There'd been riots in America, apparently.
'Magical Girls: Fact vs Fiction'
"How are people this stupid?" Amu demanded, glaring at her computer.
"I dunno," Miki said, shrugging. "People are weird."
"Yeah."
"It'll blow over," Eru reassured her. "Eventually."
"That's- not the point. They're outside the house. They're harassing Mom. She doesn't- she doesn't have a lot of patience."
Miki giggled.
"No," she agreed. "But she has a lot of yelling."
"Yeah. She does." Amu let out a long sigh and closed her eyes. Then she reached out, her mind extending.
Her mother was very close to shouting at another reporter. There was indeed a policeman outside, watching the situation with a neutral expression. His name was Officer Nakagawa, and he was waiting to see if the reporter's next question would cross the line. Amu didn't quite get what that 'line' might be, because as far as she was concerned they'd left it behind in the previous prefecture.
She reached past them. There was a camera pointed towards her bedroom.
'Click.'
The camera shorted out. The reporter cursed, dropping it on the ground. She'd accidentally made it smoke.
"Serves them right," Amu muttered, pulling back. "I hate being the centre of attention. Why is this even a thing?"
"'Cuz people are weird," Ami replied. Amu blinked, and turned around. Ami was leaning against the doorframe, a pout on her face. She'd been downstairs sleeping on the couch. Amu could have sworn. "They're being stupid, 'nee-chan," she added, "And Mom's shouty."
Amu giggled.
"Yeah. I know. I was eavesdropping. Did they wake you up?"
"Uh huh. Can I tell them to go away?"
Amu shook her head. Her little sister looked rebellious, but didn't argue.
"Fine. Can I borrow your manga?"
"Of course," Amu replied. Ami grinned, and walked over. There was a stack of manga on the bedside table, next to a few of Miki's miniature portraits. She didn't need to hide them now. Ami pulled a volume from the top of the pile, and sat down.
"Ami," Amu said. Her little sister paused.
"What, 'nee-chan?"
Amu reached out, and gave her a hug. "Hey," she said, in a low, conspiratorial tone. "I'm not gonna let them bother you, okay? No one's allowed to pick on my little sister."
Ami smiled, her cheeks flushed. "Okay," she agreed. "No picking."
"Except me," Amu added, poking her in the cheek. "'cause I'm allowed."
"Okay, 'nee-chan." Ami leaned against her side, and Amu gave her another hug. On a normal day that would've made her run away giggling.
Today was not a normal week.
"Hey," she added.
"Yeah?"
"Can you teach me how you do the dream thing?"
"Umm," Ami said. She looked up at Amu, her eyes bright. "You want to learn?"
"Yep," Amu said. She poked her sister's cheek again, and then her nose. "I mean, I've seen what you can do. It's really interesting. I wanna know how you do it."
"Um, okay." Ami looked a little flustered. "You really want to?"
"Sure," Amu said. She glanced at Miki.
"I'm good, thanks." Miki grinned. "I already know how. Go play with the kid. It's fine."
Ami stuck her tongue out.
"Don't tease," Amu said. She gave Ami a smile, and poked her nose again. "How's that work? Should we wait until it's nighttime?"
"You're silly, 'nee-chan."
"Yeah, I know. Nighttime?"
"Um, not really," Ami said. "It's kinda hard to explain. You have to lie still, and then while you're lying still you have to walk through a door of some kind. And then you're there. It's easier while you're asleep, except you'll forget. I could come get you?"
"Ah. Sure. If you want to?"
Ami nodded. "Okay, 'nee-chan. Tonight?"
"Tonight," Amu agreed.
"Yay," Ami said, her smile bright.
They sat there for a while. Ami read her manga, and Amu tried to go back to the textbook she was supposed to be reading, but it was a bit difficult to keep her head off the reporters. Eventually she went to grab a manga, something more mature—Naruto, she decided, picking up a volume at random. She settled down on the bed next to Ami and started reading.
It was a nice afternoon.
Apart from the reporters.
That evening she went to sleep at the same time as Ami, and woke up in a field of flowers. That... was what she remembered later, at any rate. Though according to Ami-
"You acted like you were drunk," her little sister told her, a grin on her face. "Like, really drunk. You kept falling over and laughing. And then you tried to fight a tree, but it wasn't really a tree, and the tree started crying. Even the friendliest shadows are scared of drunk 'nee-chan. I had to put you back to sleep. Eventually."
Ami kept grinning for most of the day. She was sure, by then, that her little sister had an evil streak. Amu couldn't remember a thing except for the flowers.
Everything was fine, except… Kana…
It had been four days since she got out of hospital, and Kana still hadn't called.
Her phone wasn't even on. Every single call was instantly going to voicemail.
= = =
"Let me rephrase. I'm not going looking for any trouble."
This is technically true. With Amu's personality and upbringing there's every chance she'd run off to Kana, knowing full well Kana inherently is trouble, without thinking for even a second that this might cause trouble and her parents might want to have a say. There is, however, also a chance that she might not.
Kana isn't answering her phone. Amu doesn't have the number of anyone else in her group. Probably this means her phone is broken, and you have to get her new phone number.
[ ] Tell Dad you're going to visit Kana, but nothing else
- Plus: No chance of being stopped. Also you're not saying things you promised not to say.
- Minus: No chance of support. And it's lying, sort of? You're not sure.
[ ] Tell Mom and Dad the basics about Kana
- Meaning what, precisely?
[ ] Full disclosure
- They're Mom and Dad! They'll help.
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Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Took longer than expected, but it's Christmas... also this is a roundup chapter; the next won't take as long.
Thanks go to @Quickshot0, @Nero200 and @ShadowAngelBeta as usual. Amu is, as you can see, doing perfectly fine.
Thanks go to @Quickshot0, @Nero200 and @ShadowAngelBeta as usual. Amu is, as you can see, doing perfectly fine.
Hmm. I'm still not sure what those rolls were for.
I wonder how hard we can stretch illusion.
Oh hey, Ami made an illusionary hole in something before I could bring it up. Need to get through a wall? Step through a hole that doesn't exist. Alteration can be as useful as creation.
I wonder how hard we can stretch illusion.
Coverup's not working well. Too bad we have 0 dots in Stealth - drawing attention when we visit the Scavengers would be bad. Maybe we should change our hair color when we do that. Pink is a giant "notice me" beacon.
Sweet, she knows how to do it while awake. I wonder if she was actually asleep that time with the birthday present. She might have gotten better since then, or just chosen to go to sleep instead of doing it while awake.
Sweet, she is good enough to come find us in our dreams. I wasn't sure if Dreamwalking 2 would be enough. Also, she knows the word "shadow", and she can knock us out of dreamwalking and back into regular sleep.
After "No more secrets", dad's not going to be happy if we try to keep this secret.
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Of course giving out secrets might make some one else not happy as well. So it's a bit of a bind, especially with the spotlight of attention a bit more on Amu lately.
I guess going out at night might be an option still, but that's a bit of a challenge from Amu's parents side.
Well maybe the reporters aren't around that much... or would the general public pay a lot of attention now... troublesome I guess...
- Location
- Laniakea
Here comes that Bane.
Even though there's no option to vote for it, I concur that Amu would probably want to not look like Amu when she goes out to visit the Scavengers. I'd suggest her dressing up as Utau, but Utau might be almost as recognizable due to her (in this quest, former) idol status. Probably still be better than being dressed as herself though. I'd also vote for telling her parents she's visiting and afraid that her friend Kana might be in trouble, while explaining that she promised not to tell anyone about the kind of trouble she might get up to.
[X] Plan: My Friend Is Making Me Worried
-[X] Tell Mom and Dad the basics about Kana
--[X] Explain that your friend Kana, who you met months ago and invited to your birthday, is suddenly no longer answering calls and making you worried enough to pay a visit.
--[X] Explain that your friend has personal circumstances that you promised not to disclose to anyone without permission.
--[X] ....That thankfully, to the best of your knowledge, should have nothing to do with demons.
--[X] Explain that Utau met and spoke with Kana on your birthday and may have some idea of her circumstances.
--[X] You hope to get Utau's assistance with dressing up in disguise when paying your visit, to try avoid the media hawks as best you can.
I am concerned.
The fact that we may need support on a simple trip to visit a friend suggests strongly that this trip is either not going to be simple or that the visit will end up being a bit more than a plain visit.
Which is also why I am voting for letting Utau know we are going there - she has some insight into the situation and also enough muscle both psychically and in terms of connections that if something goes belly-up, she stands a good chance at being able to bail Amu out of it.
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