[X] Write in (Plan Rocking the Boat)...
-[X] Ask Elizabeth if she's willing to give Hayato the recording so he can share it with some people he knows and discuss what to do next while she heads home. Promise that we'll meet up with her after current business is finished to share more information and talk over her future plans, including whether or not she wants to join up with the Supernatural Buddy-Cop Team and be friends. Friends don't let a little harmless stabbing get between them!
Saying goodbye to Elizabeth was a rather strange experience. She did give you the video for your own perusal later and that wasn't really a problem. That was just a text from her and you pressing the download button on your phone. But the awkwardness came from having to say goodbye to each other. It's not really something normal to learn that the exchange student actually knows about supernatural stuff, followed you out of school, and attacked you with a knife all because she was scared. Or the fact that you know she was off her game because she's used to using swords and not a knife.
...Holy shit your life is an anime.
But after that awkward goodbye, you, Yamato, and Yameko all continued on your way to meeting place. Keishi's Warehouse. You made sure to call ahead and let Keishi know the score. At first, he was surprised that you would be coming by with so many people so soon. Kept going on about how he needed to clean the place up and make sure Aina didn't overreact. While you were cool with the whole "getting attacked out of nowhere" thing, you don't think Irina would be. You still don't really know what she is, but it has to be something strong. She wouldn't be the bodyguard of a rich kid like Estella if she wasn't.
Your small party soon finds itself in that abandoned warehouse area. You catch the smell of salt in the air, likely coming from the direction of the ocean. Since you've been here before it doesn't take long to find the pathway to Keishi's place. His not so abandoned warehouse comes into view a few moments later, the familiar broken windows and wide open field around it making it stand out. Yamato gives Yameko a short rundown of what she can expect to find in there while you walk up to the front door and knock. You hear some movement from within before the door opens to reveal Keishi's short form.
"Hayato!" Keishi says, opening the door and stepping aside for you, "You made it."
"Yep! Hey, Keishi!" you respond while walking through the door, "Hope you don't mind us using this place as our meet up spot for today."
"Not at all. I did say I would help you anyway I could. Hello, Yamato. How have you been?" he says as your brother steps inside with Yameko on his arm.
"I have been fine. I am still preparing for my Chess Tournament. I have plans to do some last minute preparations with my President once this meeting is over. Also, Keishi, I would like you to meet my Partner, Yameko. Yameko, meet Sakutaro Keishi. He is a friend and soon to be ally. You can trust him with knowing your true form," Yamato says as he waves a hand at Yameko then Keishi.
Yameko bows, her body and clothes shifting in real time. Her hair gets longer while changing to its normal golden coloration while her outfit changes to a more traditional white kimono. Her tails fade into existence behind her while two ears seem to fold out of the top of her head. She lifts her head up and gives Keishi a bright smile, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Keishi-san. My name is Yameko. I hope we get along well."
She reaches out and gently shakes Keishi's hand with her own. Keishi's face has turned a bright red at this point and he can't seem to look directly at Yameko. A nervous chuckle leaves him as he lets go of Yameko's hand and closes the door, "Uh, right. S-Same to you, Yameko."
"Kei.Shi," the young man's body goes ramrod straight as he hears his partner's voice. He slowly turns around to behold Aina, standing behind him with a fire in her eyes while her arms are outstretched toward him. Before he can say anymore, she pulls him into a crushing hug taking great care to press his face against her chest while pulling him away from Yameko. She looks up at the kitsune and hisses out a "Mine!" while Keishi continues to flail within her arms.
A familiar laugh echoes through the air as you this occurs, drawing your gaze further into the warehouse. You smile as you spot Irina and Estella with the former sitting on one of the chairs that Keishi keeps for these occasions. Irina is laughing her ass off, barely keeping the cup of water in her hands from spilling out as she shakes in amusement. Estella, meanwhile, has her eye closed as she daintily sips from her own cup. She opens her eye and meets your gaze a second later. Her lips curl into a small smile before she waves at you with her intact arm.
You wave back and make your way over to the two women. Idly you bring out Yato, if only cause you feel like that's how things should be here. No point in hiding this stuff amongst people who are supposed to be your friends and allies. With Irina sitting on Estella's right, you move to her left and stand there with a smile, "Hey, Estella. Figured you guys would get here before us. Have any trouble finding this place?"
"A little. However, Irina is adept at tracking down those who would otherwise be difficult to find," Estella says with a small smile. She then looks back in Keishi's direction, "Truth be told, I was shocked to see Aina. While she is a supernatural being, I have been unable to tell what kind she is."
"Same here," Irina manages to break through her laughing fit and speak up. She points a finger at Aina, who has calmed down and stopped crushing Keishi in her grip. She's instead crawling around Yameko, sniffing at the Kitsune while Yameko tries to speak calmly. Though the fox girl's calm demeanor only lasts until Aina grabs one of her tails. She then stiffens and quickly hops away from the other girl, seemingly ready to run at a moment's notice. Aina gets the wrong idea from this and starts to hop after Yameko, the two getting into an impromptu chase around the warehouse. Keishi is busy trying to recover his breath and your brother is just watching the proceedings without a care.
Stifling a chuckle, Irina says, "I've seen a lot of monsters in my days of protecting the Prinzessin. I like to think I can identify them on sight, cause ya kind of have to be able to do that in this business. But I'm drawing a total blank on her."
"I asked Keishi how he met her, but that didn't shine much light on the situation. It has become a source of contention for me," Estella admits as a frown comes over her face.
You tilt your head and cross your arms, "Really? Why? I don't see how it could be an issue."
"Cause it's part of what this whole meeting is for, kid," Irina says while stretching her arms above her head. Her bones pop as they do and she lets out a thankful sigh before continuing, "Helping break through anything that might hurt camaraderie. Reveal secrets that aren't too embarrassing, establish that we can trust each other, etc. etc. That good stuff. In particular, helping those of who aren't used to being Bonded learn a bit more about what it means. Can't really help out if we don't know what Aina is."
It just so happens that Aina is passing by as Irina says her name. Her ears twitch as she skids to a stop in front of you all. Yameko stops running and heads over to Yamato, breathing hard now that the chase is over. Keichi got his breath back and is walking his way to Aina. Said supernatural girl is currently sitting in front of Estella and is rubbing her hands together. Her head hangs low, her voice filled with shame as she says, "Aina sorry for before. Didn't mean to hurt."
"What?" you shake your head, feeling confused. Looking to Estella for an answer, the heir keeps her small smile while holding up her prosthetic.
"When we first arrived, Aina tried to yank my prosthetic off my arm. It was the first time she had seen someone like me and was a little too curious. Thankfully, Keishi was able to stop her from completely removing it," she takes said prosthetic and uses it to tap Aina on her head. She smiles as the supernatural girl looks up at her, "And it's fine, Aina. I accept your apology and hold no grudge."
Aina's expression changes to a bright smile. She jumps up and throws her arms around Estella while her tail wags back and forth behind her. She's careful to not knock Estella off her wheelchair as she does that. Estella does her best to return the hug, but you can tell that she wasn't expecting that much affection. Irina chuckles and points her cup toward Keishi, "Pretty affectionate, isn't she? Bet you're really happy 'bout that buddy."
Keishi rubs the back of his head and chuckles, "Uh, I guess? Though, I could do without the crushing hugs."
He flinches as he steps over and taps Aina on the back. Aina lets a stunned Estella go and bounds over to Keishi's side. He pats her on the head while looking at you, "So, who else is supposed to be coming by?"
"Two more people. Hiroko and Kazama. Both might take a bit. They're kind of...solitary," you say with a shrug. As Yamato and Yameko make their way over, you snap your fingers and turn to Estella. You feel a pit form in your stomach as you prepare to speak, but don't let it stop you, "By the way, Estella, I have something I need to tell ya."
"Hmm? What is it, Hayato?" you get not just her attention but everyone's attention. Which doesn't help as it kind of puts you on the spot. You wonder if this is how it feels to speeches in official meetings or something.
Rubbing the back of your neck you try to think of how to say this. But one look at Yamato's unamused stare tells you that you should just come out with it. So, taking a breath, you say it out loud, "I told a girl I know that supernatural stuff exists. Her name's Ritsuko and she didn't know about any of this until I told her."
Irina is the first one to react. She pats Estella on the shoulder and says, "Told ya. Wasn't a matter of "if" only "when"."
"You did what?!" Keishi sounds shocked, staring at you with his mouth hanging open. Aina doens't seem to understand what you meant though, as she just stares at you without saying a word. Yamato and Yameko have no reaction, as they already know about this. So what you're waiting on is seeing Estella's reactions. And she...oh wow.
Wow...that is...that is one disappointed stare.
Like you're not sure if Yamato could give off the amount of disappointment she's sending your way right now. And she only has one eye! You feel like cringing away in shame despite her having said nothing. She puts her a hand under her chin then, with the calmest possible tone, asks you very bluntly, "Do you believe that she can be trusted?"
"Oh, yeah. Wouldn't of told her if I didn't," you quickly answer while holding up both of your hands to try to placate her.
"And are there any other people who you informed that won't be coming to this meeting?"
"Uh, well, there was this one girl who was following us before. Her name's Elizabeth-"
"Ah, yes. The transfer student," Estella interrupts as she taps her prosthetic against the arm of her wheelchair, "I'm going to assume she did not follow you to this meeting?"
"No. We caught her before that. And I technically didn't tell her. She found out after hacking the computers of those two councilors. Who, by the way, we are certain are part of the Organization and were the guys who took the recordings from the Tournament," You pull out your phone and show everyone the video Elizabeth gave you.
After a few moments, Estella's expression softens. She nods then says, "Hmm, how convenient. Please be sure to share that video with me once you get a chance. And you did well handling that situation."
You let out a sigh of relief, but said relief only lasts for a second. The next you feel a tightness around your right earlobe and are pulled down toward Estella. You flinch and fail your left arm as she holds onto your earlobe. You hold back any grunts or yelps of pain, while Estella gives you a hard stare, "However, that does not excuse your first actions. Going forward it is only proper that you inform the rest of us before deciding to inform any uninformed person about the supernatural. If you were to tell the wrong person about our existence, then the damage to our whole group could be immense. From now on, you are to at least contact the rest of us before making such a decision, unless doing so is imperative to the current circumstances. I also expect you to take full responsibility for whatever that Ritsuko girl does now that she is aware of the truth. Am I being clear, Nagai Hayato-san?"
"Yes! Yes! Just let go of my ear, gaah!" she does so, and you start rubbing at your ear to help ease the pain, "Damn. Couldn't have been a bit gentler?"
"I simply wanted to ensure you understood the gravitas of the situation. After all, we all need to account for each other now. Not just ourselves," Estella says bows her head as she says this.
As if on cue, one of the warehouse windows opens up. You all look up as a familiar looking cat drops down into the center of the room. The moment it lands, there's a puff of smoke and a familiar two tailed girl appears in the middle of the warehouse.
"Could've told me we would've been meeting in the middle of nowhere," Kazama says, her ears twitching as she takes in her surroundings. Her eyes fall on your party and she's quick to wave hello, "Hey there. Kazama Yuki. Bakeneko and willing shut-in. I-what the heck are you?"
She points at Aina with clear confusion on her face. Aina is quick to say, "Aina! Keishi's Partner!"
"No I meant, what are you? You know, what kind of creature? I can't remember anything like you."
"Aina doesn't know!" she still has that smile on her face.
Kazama blinks while her ears keep twitching and moving atop her head. Then she slowly shakes her head while mouthing something about "it being too early for this". She instead look over at Keishi and waves, "So, you're her Partner? Where do you keep the drinks?"
"Over there. Also, hello," Keishi points toward his mini-fridge and Kazama quickly walks over to it. Though she does stop to shoot Yamato a sly look as she passes by. Before you can consider that, the door opens and a familiar looking fox women appears.
"Hiroko!" Yameko shouts, bounding over to her Kumiho friend. Said friend drops her disguise and moves to hug the kitsune. The two are quick to greet each other and it's not long before you have full introductions.
However, one question soon pops up as things start to settle down. And it's pressing enough that Estella pulls you and Yamato aside to speak of it.
"Leader?" you ask, a bit surprised by her words.
Estella nods, "Yes. We need someone to be the official leader of our group. Someone who can keep everyone together, and help mediate when personalities and ideals clash."
"I agree, but it was assumed that you would take that position," Yamato says. You nod along to show that you figured that as well.
Her lips curl into a small smile, "I am happy to hear that you both have such faith in me. However, I am not so arrogant that I would assume such a role without taking everyone's opinion into account. But what I do propose is that we allow everyone here to make their opinion known."
"Then why pull us aside like this?" you ask, a bit confused by the actions.
"Because, you two are the main reasons we are here in the first place. And you are the ones who found us all and brought us to together. Thus, I saw it only fitting that the three of us make it know that there will be a discussion and eventual vote on leader ship. Is this alright with the two of you?"
You and Yamato share a look. Then he nods, "I believe it is satisfactory. The result is the same either way."
"Hmm, then I guess it's okay," and with that you all break up your little huddle. Irina comes over from where she was standing and helps wheel Estella back to the rest of the group. Once everyone's eyes are on you, you all let everyone know what's going on. But when it came time to vote, everyone unanimously chose...
[]...Estella. Honestly? It was expected. Her expertise and knowledge would be invaluable for this team.
[]...Yamato. You just knew your brother had the potential to do it. And, judging by everyone else's votes, they did as well.
[]...You. You are...completely fucking shocked. Really? You? You're not the best choice for this but...okay! You'll do it!
And then there was the question of a name for your little group. It took a while, but in the end everyone agreed on...
[] Write in name for team...
