Event Skill Gains? I don't quite remember what that's about?
Serious consideration, there was a Trickery Check we could have passed for the Toruney Prep, do we think we'd be able to pass it if we tried two AP of Trickery Training now?
Maybe? Personally though, if you aren't going for some flavor of combat training (which TBF is already high even if it fits the theme) I'd recommend either raising spirit resistance (lowest core skill) any of Empathy (our primary diplo skill, and half the 1-2 combo with Bro's Logic), or Perception anything (very low there, and it's kind of critical to be a good defensive tank if our opponent/threat is anything but very obvious and head-on. And getting more information is useful for all kinds of other puzzles and problem solving.)
There's lots of other areas it'd help to have something in, but a lot of those are already covered by Bro's specializations, Trickery most of all. If it's ever an issue, use the power of friendBro-ship.
[x] Go find that Sole Participant. You want to see who you're up against.
[x] Train a bit before the next fight. Get at least a little in (Write in Skill To Train. Note that Event Skill Gains are in effect):
- [x]Unyielding Mountain Technique
[X] Train a bit before the next fight. Get at least a little in (Write in Skill To Train. Note that Event Skill Gains are in effect):
- [X]Unyielding Mountain Technique
[X] Go find Estella. You want to talk more with your senpai.
[X] Go find Irina. She seems like you're kind of people.
Since Estella and Irina are basically a package deal, you just started looking for Estella. Wherever she was you'd likely find the blonde woman as well. Not simply because she was Estella's help, but because the two seemed rather close. You got the impression of best friends or maybe childhood friends.
It does take a few tries of asking people if they've seen a blonde woman pushing a wheelchair anywhere around, but you do manage to get a lead that proves fruitful. You find the two of them heading down one of the quieter hallways, Irina moving with a smooth gait to her steps. You think you hear her humming a tune of some short. You can't make out the words, but you think it has something to do with...the ocean? Not sure.
She spots you before you even get halfway to her position. She doesn't even fully turn her head to look at you. She just glances at you out the corner of her eye, her lips curling around in a smile. Then she speaks, "Sup, kid? Come on over here. Give us the play by play of your match."
Estella turns around in her seat as you approach. You wave to her when you manage to catch up to the two of them. Your senpai give you a warm smile before bowing her head to you, "Hello, Hayato-kun."
"Hey, Estella," you say with an easy smile, "The two of you enjoy my match? I think I did pretty well."
"Pretty well?" Irina gives you a light punch to the shoulder while chuckling, "You absolutely dominated! None of those jerks held a candle to you. The only reason they stood a chance was because you were holding back."
"Wait...you could tell?" you ask, a bit worried how many other people could tell you weren't being serious back there.
She waves a hand through the air dismissively. None of you have stopped walking, so her words are punctuated by the clacking of her shoes on the tiled floor, "Anyone worth their salt in a fight could. Plus, and no offense meant by this, you're way too honest to be able to pull off a convincing trick."
[Evasion: Trickery: 3]
"...That isn't wrong," you admit, hoping your not blushing as you look away from the woman. Then Irina starts laughing before you feel her poking you in the cheek.
You jump a bit at the coldness of her gloves, turning to see her shining and mischievous eyes, "Don't look so upset. No one's ever said being honest was a bad thing. Besides, if anyone's got a problem with it, you just kick them six ways to Sunday!"
She does some Shadow Boxing with one hand, the other firmly on the handles of Estella's wheelchair. You see Estella shake her head at her bodyguard's antics, but she has a soft smile on her face. She speaks to you, "While I wouldn't have put it in such a blunt way, I do have to agree with Irina. My physical capabilities maybe lacking, but I haven't let that stop me from improving my physique as much as possible. And Irina has insisted I be sure to learn as much as I can about melee combat."
"And boy have you," Irina pats Estella's shoulder with one hand, "you put that stuff to good use whenever you have to. And it keeps you fit and looking great."
"Irina."
"I'm just saying."
Estella giggles at her bodyguard's words. Irina turns back to you, her smiling turning a bit predatory, "Say, Hayato? Think I could convince you to go a few rounds with me?"
"Huh? Like...right now?" you quickly observe your surroundings. There's no one else the hallway save you three. So, you wouldn't have to worry about audience. But still, "Uh, I don't think I'm supposed to fight anyone outside the Tournament Matches."
"I believe my Chevalier means she wishes to face you after the Tournament is over. Least, I would assume so," she looks up at Irina with a raised eyebrow. Irina nods her head enthusiastically, and Estella turns back to you, "I am not sure why, but she seems to have taken a bit of an interest in you. But, truth be told, I have a bit of an interest in your brother, Yamato."
"Wait, really?" you're surprised on both accounts. You mean, Irina seems pretty chill so you can kind of get why she'd be interested in you. But why's a rich girl like her interested in your brother?
Estella's smile gets wider and she places her prosthetic over her other hand, "I had the chance to speak at length with him after your bout. That young man is truly a bright mind. If given the proper tutelage, I believe he could become one of the greatest academics of our time. Doubtless any field he decided to study would be lucky to have him."
At your confused expression, she places a hand over her mouth, "Oh. Forgive me. This must sound rather strange. Your senior praising your brother and you not knowing why. Well, he offered to play me in a game of shogi while we awaited the next bout. Munagi was there and, as always, she carried her board and pieces with her. So we set up and...well-"
"-Your brother put up a good fight," Irina finishes for Estella, "He still lost, but he actually made the Prinzessin here have to try. So, congrats kid. You and your brother managed to snag the hearts of two lovely maidens. Though considering the amount of girls that hover around Yamato on the regular, I doubt that's all that strange to you."
Estella pokes Irina's hand with her prosthetic. Irina shakes her hand out but simply laughs it off.
...Huh.
Didn't expect to hear about that.
"So, we've been talking your ear off for a bit, Hayato. Got any questions for us?"
"Indeed. We would be happy to answer any questions you have to the best of our abilities."
[Can Ask Two Questions]
[] How strong is Irina anyway? You're guessing pretty, but you want an exact number.
[] What do the two of them think of the Tournament so far? Have they been enjoying it?
[] What took Estella so long to get back to Raijin? There had to have been a reason behind it.
[] How did the two of them meet? They seem pretty close.
[] Do either of them know about the new benefactor of Raijin? Have they interacted with them at all.
[] Irina seems to think she has a good grasp of how strong you are. Why is that?
[X] How did the two of them meet? They seem pretty close.
[X] What took Estella so long to get back to Raijin? There had to have been a reason behind it.
One question to loosen them up, another to pump for information. Not expecting much from Meathead Mac here, but it's worth a shot.
[X] How did the two of them meet? They seem pretty close.
[X] Do either of them know about the new benefactor of Raijin? Have they interacted with them at all.
[X] How did the two of them meet? They seem pretty close.
[X] Do either of them know about the new benefactor of Raijin? Have they interacted with them at all.
She waves a hand through the air dismissively. None of you have stopped walking, so her words are punctuated by the clacking of her shoes on the tiled floor, "Anyone worth their salt in a fight could. Plus, and no offense meant by this, you're way too honest to be able to pull off a convincing trick."
[Evasion: Trickery: 3]
"...That isn't wrong," you admit, hoping your not blushing as you look away from the woman. Then Irina starts laughing before you feel her poking you in the cheek.
You jump a bit at the coldness of her gloves, turning to see her shining and mischievous eyes, "Don't look so upset. No one's ever said being honest was a bad thing. Besides, if anyone's got a problem with it, you just kick them six ways to Sunday!"
Estella giggles at her bodyguard's words. Irina turns back to you, her smiling turning a bit predatory, "Say, Hayato? Think I could convince you to go a few rounds with me?"
"Huh? Like...right now?" you quickly observe your surroundings. There's no one else the hallway save you three. So, you wouldn't have to worry about audience. But still, "Uh, I don't think I'm supposed to fight anyone outside the Tournament Matches."
"I believe my Chevalier means she wishes to face you after the Tournament is over. Least, I would assume so," she looks up at Irina with a raised eyebrow. Irina nods her head enthusiastically,
[X] How did the two of them meet? They seem pretty close.
[X] Do either of them know about the new benefactor of Raijin? Have they interacted with them at all.
[X] How did the two of them meet? They seem pretty close.
"So, how did the two of you meet each other?" you point a finger at Estella then move it to Irina, "You seem to be pretty close. You guys childhood friends or something?"
You shrug while you wait for their replies. Estella and Irina share a look. A silent conversation occurs between them. One that you can't really get a read on. All you see is the movement of their eyes and little else. Then Irina turns to you with a smile, "Yeah, kind of."
"My late parents insisted I get a bodyguard," Estella starts, looking straight at you as she speaks. She uses her hand to smooth out a wrinkle on her shirt and puts on a noble air, "I believe their words were 'While you may not be the Heir Apparent, you are still a Baudelaire. Wandering around without proper protection is foolhardy to say the least'."
She keeps that noble presence up for a minute. Then she sighs and giggles, "Oh, I just can't. I can't put up such a pompous attitude for something like this."
"Hey, the important thing is that you can keep it up in front of the people who want to see it. Makes them think you're on the same wavelength at them. The looks on their faces when they find out you're not," Irina pats Estella's shoulder affectionately. Then she turns back to you, "Anyway, her folks found me out on the streets. Proved I was good in a fight and they took me in. Me and the Princess have been together ever since. Pretty short story, but an important one for me."
[Evasion: Trickery: 3 VS DC ???: Failure]
[Perception: People: 3 VS DC ???: Failure]
[Empathy: Feelings: 35 VS DC 30: Success! +1 RP with Irina and Estella!]
...You feel like you're not getting the whole story here. You don't have any proof of that. Nor can you really see anything in their actions that would give you any proof.
But...something about the way they're saying all this. It just feels...rehearsed? Like they've prepared it in advance. As if they knew people would ask them this, and they came up with this story just in case. However, you can also feel like they wouldn't want you to ask them to explain. So, you don't. If they wanted to tell you, they would've just told you. Besides you did kind of just meet so...
[X] Do either of them know about the new benefactor of Raijin? Have they interacted with them at all.
"Sounds nice," you say, rolling one of your arms to get some of the kinks out of it. Man how long is this hallway? You turn back to them, another question coming to mind, "Hey, I wanted to ask this. Do either of you know anything about the school's new benefactors?"
"I am afraid not, but it's rather fortuitous that you should ask that," Estella frowns as she turns her sight towards the hallway, "Irina and I were actually on our way to speak with the two representatives of this group. As, while I was made aware of them before I returned, prior engagements kept me from performing a thorough investigation of my own."
"To put it simply," Irina shrugs, "we've got no clue who they are or what their deal is. Which is why the Princess wants to go check them out. See if they're on the up and up. Why you asking?"
You shrug, "Just curious. Seems kind of weird how they show up right after the whole raid thing, and immediately offer enough money to keep the school running."
"It is not that strange. Raijin actually has a rather extensive verification process before they allow anyone with the means to be their backers. However, due to how many pulled their funding after the attack, they had to relax those requirements by a certain margin. Anyone with the means and want to bankroll such a prestigious Academy wouldn't pass up that chance," Estella explains, her business acumen coming out as she speaks. She places a hand within the hook of her prosthetic, eyes narrowing, "But I do believe your words have merit. It is one thing to take advantage. It is another to appear almost as soon as the danger has passed and offer monetary assistance that you know would be accepted without question."
You raise an eyebrow, "That's news to me. What do you mean 'appear as soon as the danger has passed?'"
"Your new benefactors? Yeah, your school didn't actually need that much time to accept them," Irina explains, a frown coming over her face, "While everybody else was reeling from the fight, these guys contacted your faculty. Before the day was out, they struck a deal with the Principal and the rest of the time was used finalizing it."
"It went way too smoothly for my taste. Either this group is particularly persuasive, or they had been keeping an eye on Raijin for sometime now," Estella finishes for Irina.
You frown, tensing up a bit and leaning closer, "Do either of you think some shady shit's going on in the background?"
The two share a look. Then Irina gently pushes you away, "Never said anything like that. And don't let it worry you, kid. Keep your eyes on winning that prize for Raijin, alright?"
Before you can reply, Estella speaks up, "We are close to our destination. Thank you for speaking with us, Hayato. I look forward to seeing your next match."
"Knock 'em out, kid!" Irina says before picking up the pace. You call for the two to wait, but soon enough they're both far enough away that they can't hear you.
Hmm...well, at least you learned something.
You return to a silent Locker Room. Everyone's got their heads bowed and seems to be deep in thought. Even Hose's usually upbeat attitude is missing from his face. You walk in and gently close the door behind you, clearing your throat to get everyone's attention. Once you have it you speak up, "So...what'd I miss? Why'd everyone acting like we already lost in here?"
Seteke answers you first, "The Brackets for the Semi-Final Match have been decided. You'll be going up against Amaterasu in the next match, facing off against Tosa for the Finals."
"Amaterasu...their the ones with the other Sole Participant, right?" Seteke nods and you feel a mixture of surprise and excitement fill your heart. You walk over to the front of the room while cracking your knuckles, "Huh. Didn't expect that. Would've thought I would face off against the guy for the Finals. But kind of happy I'll get to face them now. We know anything about them."
Seteke looks at the ground, "We do...but it's...well..."
"What? Is something wrong?" your smile fades as you look between your three senpais. You look over to Hose, "Hey? What's going on?"
"The other Sole Participant. We know who they are," Hose explains, leaning against the wall and turning to you with a downcast expression. It's not everyday you see that on him, so this is new, "The guy came to us while you gone. Said he wanted to speak with you. When he found out you weren't here, he left and said he'd come back later."
"Wait, it's a guy? And he came here? Isn't that against the rules?"
"Nope," Sakura says with a shake of her head, "You can talk with the other competitors all you want. As long as you're not making any shady deals or anything, or watching each other fight."
"Then, why'd he come here?"
"He wanted to clear something up with you. That-"
A knock on the door draws everyone's attention. You all turn to see who it is just as they start opening the door. When they walk through, you can immediately tell many things about them.
The first is, this is the Amaterasu Sole Participant. The fact that he's wearing a pure white gi with some red lines and black dots along the edges. On his chest the lines and dots seem to make a face that you guess is the symbol of the school.
The second is that it's a guy. And while that usually wouldn't be something that could tell you about what school someone goes to, what kind of random dude would walk into a room filled with Martial Artists randomly and for no reason? The guy is built like Seteke, around five feet and some odd inches. He's got red hair that he's done up in a traditional ponytail that all samurai tended to wear. He walks with this air of politeness about him, carrying with him the scent of sweat from training. On his left sits a bokken that he's put into a tied around his waist. His eyes are deep navy blues that look at the world above a flat nose and smiling mouth.
Those things tell you what this guy is. But there's one thing that takes your attention almost as soon as he steps into the room.
The fact that he's missing his left arm.
"Ah," he blinks when his eyes fall on you. He closes the door behind him with a foot, then walks over and bows to you, "Greetings. Would I be correct in assuming you are Nagai-san?"
"Y-Yeah," you say, eyes falling to the stump where his arm should be.
His face lights up at your answer. Then he claps one hand against his chest, "How fortune! My name is Kuziwa Sassai. Please, I have something to request of you, if you do not mind. It is not anything untoward, or dishonorable, I promise you."
"Uh...OK?" you're still trying to understand what's going on here. He's the Sole Participant? Why? He's missing an arm! You normally wouldn't care, but Jindai got your guys disqualified for defending yourselves against Kirin. Why does this guy get a pass? Heck, how did he manage to win against Satsuma?
The boy looks you dead in the eye then says out loud, "Please, do not hold back in our battle. I am well aware of my condition, but I have trained extensively to be strong in spite of it. Thus I do not wish to be given any special treatment for it. When we face each other, I wish to do so on equal footing. With both of us trying our hardest to come out victorious. Please, promise me this."
He bows again. His voice is so earnest and straightforward that he's basically taken up the entire conversation. Everyone in the room is watching him with bated breath. Then their eyes turn to you.
[CSC: Motives + Feelings = 33 + 35 = 68 VS DC 10: Success! +2 XP!]
He's telling the truth.
You hardly had to try to figure that one out.
In fact, you get the strangest feeling that this guy is like you. He couldn't tell a lie to save his life.
But...still....
"Dude...you're missing an arm," you point out.
"I know. It was a tragic accident that occurred while I was helping my father with a project of his. But I have since recovered. And, though I do not have the money to get a prosthetic, I refuse to let this stop me from fighting in this Tournament. So, once again, I ask you to face me with everything you have, Nagai-san," Kuziwa remains bowed even as he explains his circumstances to you.
Well...uh...
[] Alright. If he's sure about this, then you're not gonna let him down. Promise him you won't hold back...at least not as much as you already have been.
[] ...No. You can't promise this. This guy...you just can't. He's admirable but the fact remains that he doesn't have an arm! It's one thing to get a prosthetic like Estella, but it's another to not have an arm and want to fight you.
[] [Estella SL] Point him towards Estella. While he probably won't be able to get a prosthetic before the next match, it's better than just letting him stay like this. If he does that, then you'll fight him without holding back.
[] Write in...
"My Lord Hayato."
You pause as you start taking Yato off. After you gave Kuziwa your answer, everybody else started doing their own thing. You moved to your locker to put Yato up, when he started talking to you. You look around to be sure no one can see or hear you, then you start replying with your thoughts, "What's up, Yato? Need something?"
"...I know you can't necessarily wear me during your battle...but I must request you have someone carry me with you when you go to the match."
"What? Why? Is something up?"
[Yato Check: Supernatural: The What: 40 + 50 (???) = 90 VS DC ???. Success!]
"There is a high chance. I can sense...sense something. Something similar to my kind. It was in this room for a moment, but has since left. I believe it is dangerous. And possibly hidden amongst the humans here."
"So, what? There's a supernatural creature here? Besides you and Yameko anyway?" you look around, feeling your body tense up the sudden knowledge. Then you turn back to Yato, "Got any clue what it is?"
"I...I feel like I should...but I can't remember. It feels familiar. But I can't recall where I saw it last. I apologize, my Lord. But, I do know that it is dangerous. And I don't believe you should go to the next match without me nearby."
"Hmm," that's a bit of a tall order. You could probably convince someone to carry Yato for you. But you're not sure if the judges will be OK with it. Maybe if you promise to not use them during the fight?
[] Take Yato with you. You'll carry him and try to convince the judges to let you keep him.
[] Take Yato with you. Have one of the twins carry him into the match, just in case you need him.
[] Leave Yato here. Things should be fine. You think.
[X] Alright. If he's sure about this, then you're not gonna let him down. Promise him you won't hold back...at least not as much as you already have been.
[X] Take Yato with you. Have one of the twins carry him into the match, just in case you need him.
[X] Alright. If he's sure about this, then you're not gonna let him down. Promise him you won't hold back...at least not as much as you already have been.
To not would be to insult him and his effort, we can't do that, but I don't feel we're close enough with either of them to point him in Estella's direction.
[X] Take Yato with you. Have one of the twins carry him into the match, just in case you need him.
Can't wear him, that'd be bad, so may as well have him on standby if need be. Besides, with a supernatural martial art we hopefully may not actually need him for an opening blow.
[X] Alright. If he's sure about this, then you're not gonna let him down. Promise him you won't hold back...at least not as much as you already have been.
[X] Take Yato with you. Have one of the twins carry him into the match, just in case you need him.
