Magical Girl Monster Quest

Walker · Sep 5, 2016

[X] The Anarchist's Cookbook: Magical Edition
[X] Japan: Magical Cultural Appropriation
[X] Enmerkar and Lugalbanda: The Perils of Power
[X] A weapon. You'll need to kill your enemies and make sure they don't kill you.
-[X] A sword, made of some strange black material. Traditional and effective.
[X] A Monocle of the Forbidden Eye. Gives you the ability to see things that aren't there.
[X] A Violet Crown. When worn, it will enhance your pride to a degree that is almost excessive.
[X] A strange pendant, made of metal. It is heavier than it should be. There is a catch, but you cannot open it.

[X] Try to figure out what's up with the local forces of darkness. Your dossiers on them are woefully incomplete.
-[X] Try to find out what is up with that mysterious overlay of Sin you found. That was not in any way normal.

The three books your master has given you are all, as is her habit, tagged with sticky notes. The one on the Anarchist's Cookbook just reads "Useful. Learn it." The one on Magical Cultural Appreciation says "Know thy enemy." The note on Perils of Power is the mos elaborate, stating "An informative example, for better or for worse." You sigh. Somehow, you just know she's going to quiz you on the meaning and relevance of these notes, and you're fairly certain you don't want to get your answers wrong.

Well, you'll study later. For now, you want to see what other things you've been allotted. The first and most obvious, of course, is the sword. It's a very pretty sword in your opinion, but you don't know much about swords. All you know about them is how to hit people with them, and that too you're pretty sure you only learned because your master wanted an excuse to hit you with a stick. That lasted right up until you got good enough to hit her with a stick instead, at which point she promptly pawned you off on Wrath, so that his apprentices could hit you with sticks. You learned to hit back very quickly.

Along with the sword, you also have a monocle. Putting it on allows you to see with a sort of monochrome Sin-vision, which makes it very easy to detect all sorts of interesting things, whether you want to or not. Extended use can be hazardous, but it can also be very useful in a pinch or even just when looking for something.

You also have a Crown of Violet. You pause. Calmly, you consider this information. What the hell? The Crown of Violet is a unique artifact that has been in the possession of the Circle since its founding. Though not nearly as potent as some other artifacts you could think of, it is still a significant status symbol. It significantly enhances the wearer's Sin, for better and for worse, while reducing the wearer's Virtue, and would allow you to survive opponents who would normally be able to shatter your Pride with a casual flick of the wrist.

As you sit there, staring incredulously at the legendary artifact someone has decided to saddle on you, you notice something odd. There seems to be a chain caught on one of its ends. The chain, in turn, is part of a pendant made of metal. It's a remarkably unremarkable pendant. As far as you can tell, there's literally nothing unique about it. You slide the completely uninteresting pendant on.

Having suitably equipped yourself, you set out for a night on the town. You need to figure out what's up with that weird network of Sin you found. That's not only unnatural, but also concerning. It means there's another Major Player in town, and you need to know what they're up to, if only so you can take them out. Or to keep them from taking you out.

Fortunately, your new gadgets have made your job a lot easier. Your monocle allows you to perceive the network of Sin in the area, so you can clearly see that it is set up like a net of fine, hazy strands drifting in the wind. Moreover, you can see that the strands are waiting yo be triggered by some unknown stimuli - and that they're not responding to your use of Sin, which makes no sense to you. Why would a detection system made of Sin fail to detect a use of Sin literally right next to it.

Finally, you can see quite clearly that each strand of Sin connects back to a central location which is emitting multiple strands of Sin, in a radius of about 100 meters. Those locations in turn are connected by larger strands of Sin to some nexus within the city. Clearly, you must go investigate one of these locations. Not the central one, that's just asking to be ignominiously defeated like some two-bit peon. Instead, you'll go investigate one of these mini-nexuses. Nexii? Nexusii?

You get there quite quickly, which is only logical, since you chose a nexus that was close enough to be easily acessible without leading directly back to your house. The nexus in question is rather underwhelming when you do find it. It's just a paper tag, stuck to the wall of a jewelry store. It's a very pretty paper tag, certainly, and the writing's quite nice, but it's not-

Something inside the jewelry store shatters, just as all the Sin from the tag goes wild, swarming at whatever is inside the store. Naturally, being the concerned citizen you are, you peek around the corner to see what could possibly have caused that commotion. You can safely say you did not expect what you saw.

It's a blue...thing, carrying an orb, and gliding along the ground in the most bizarre fashion. You don't know what it is, but you really hope this at least gives you some answers. You're really confused right now. You watch quietly as the thing drifts away from you, when suddenly it freezes.

Slowly, it turns. "Standing Orders: Eliminate All Witnesses." it announces. You can practically hear the capitals, you muse, as-

SWORD!

You desperately throw yourself out of the way as its sword slams into the side of the building. When did it even get a sword? Where would it keep it?

You dodge rapidly as it swings ferociously at you. "Is this really necessary?" you inquire helpfully. "Perhaps we could find an alternative?'

You need an opportunity to draw your sword. That ought to put you on an equal enough footing to eliminate this...whatever this is.

You get that opportunity in the strangest of ways. Your fight is interrupted by a strange masked figure who announces himself by body checking the thing into a wall. This one is wearing some sort of strange mix between a traditional stage ninja outfit, a bathrobe, and military armor.

"Found you, Haemonculus." He announces in a tone of undeniable satisfaction. "Now, I have some very important questions, and you are going to answer them. And if you're too stupid to tell me anything useful, well, I'm sure we can find something out from your corpse@"

"Standing Orders: Eliminate All Witnesses." it repeats tonelessly. It pauses and rotates to point its sword at the man.

The man seems to notice you now, of all times.

"A civilian? Whatever, I'll dispose of you after I've killed this puppet." He turns back to the newly-identified Haemonculus and settles into a combat stance. With a wordless cry, he throws himself at his opponent, ignoring you entirely.

Well. You can safely say that this was not what you were expecting tonight. You rest a hand on the hilt of your sword as you consider your options.

What do?
[] Fight. Target the Haemonculus.
-[] How?
[] Fight. Target the masked man.
-[] How?
[] Fight. Attack both.
-[] How?
[] Flee. You've seen enough.
-[]How?
[] Observe. This will likely be informative.
-[] Anything else you want to do?
[] Write-in

QM: First fight scene. This should be fun. Discussion is, as always, welcomed.

Walker · Sep 6, 2016

[X] Observe. This will likely be informative.
-[X] Get ready to fight the winner while looking as much like a civilian as you can. Ham up the 'paralyzed by fear' look so you get a good look at the whole fight and listen in. Draw the sword as it nears conclusion.
--[X] If someone else intervenes before the fight is done, try to remain unnoticed and leave.
[X] Socialize with Kaho. Your classmates think this is a fool's errand, but they have clearly never met anyone as charismatic as you.

Quietly, you plaster a terrified mien across your face as you back away. If they think you're an easily eliminated civilian, they'll likely be far more free with any pertinent information than they would if you realized you were a Daemon. You plant yourself in the rubble and pretend to hyperventilate. This way, they should overlook you most of the time while they fight, and you might just be able to glean some useful data about their combat styles, and more importantly, whichever organization sent them.

Unfortunately, neither of your opponents seems overfond of banter. The Haemonculus just grunts and growls whenever the other man hits it, and the warrior is too busy fighting to comment. He is, you will admit skilled. Unfortunately for him, his opponent is still winning, partially thanks to the fact that it has actual armor instead of random bits of cloth. His opponent is also physically more capable, and has a weapon where he has none. The only reason why he's not already dead is because the construct is also trying to protect the orb it is holding even as it fights.

Mentally, you compose some short notes on each combatant's style of combat for the future. The Haemonculus is essentially an intelligent murderous robot. Its armor is capable of taking direct hits from the warrior, but a strong hit can still crack it. Its sword is essentially a normal sword, albeit unusually sharp and hard. It fights mechanically, with little innovation or adaptation, but it fights with terrifying efficiency. It seems primarily focused on protecting the orb, which hampers its combat ability significantly. It is also unnaturally strong, terrifyingly fast, and does not tire. A formidable opponent, all told. It's rather concerning that you have no warning regarding an entity of this nature.

The warrior, on the other hand, is interesting for an entirely different reason. The warrior is interesting because he should, by any reasonable measure, be dead. Several times over, by your last count. He is merely mortal, while his opponent is rather more. Yes, he is more skilled, and yes, he is able to read and adapt to his opponent's techniques, but none of that should be capable of saving from a sword that moves so fast you can feel the wind of its swings from ten meters away. And yet, the man is very definitely not dead.

You frown. Nothing for it, then. Surreptitiously, you slide your Monocle out of your pocket and on to your face.

The first thing you notice is the orb. You don't know what it is, but it shines bright enough with some strange energy that it is nearly blinding, even through the Monocle. Dismissing it, you move on to the Haemonculus - which is nothing but a blank void. No Sin, no emotion, no independent thought, nothing but a strange core in the very center of its chest, just below where a person's sternum would terminate. Finally, you look at the warrior, and the mystery is revealed in an instant. He's using Sin. There is a distinct and potent flow of Sin running to his eyes, and its color is green, signifying Envy. He's somehow using Envy to enhance himself such that he can see how to move in order to predict the Haemonculus' actions!

That...should be impossible. If there were any competent groups of Sin users in the area, the Circle would surely have warned you!

He's also not very good at it, you notice. He's only barely staying ahead of the Haemonculus' strikes, and he can't quite seem to find an opportunity to retaliate. Eventually, he slips, and the Haemonculus catches him in the side with its armored fist. You can practically hear his ribs break as he goes flying across the street. You wince sympathetically, and prepare to be attacked. You think you can take this guy. It'll be a hell of a fight, and it'll hurt, but you should win.

So, naturally, you're interrupted.

By the Princesses.

Of course.

And now, they're giving a speech about how those who "defile these institutions of beauty and gentility will never be forgiven!"

No. You've had enough. You've discovered that some madman has been making artificial life, that said life is trying to get yet another magical artifact, and that there are apparently Sin users here. You're done. You're going home. You'll be back in the morning.

Next morning, you find yourself tentatively considering your next step. You've spent the week trying to get closer to Kaho. Your progress has been...lackluster at best.

A short summary of your efforts:

Day 1:

"Hey Kaho-"

"Go away"

Day 2:

"So, Kaho-"

"Screw off!"

Today's the third day, though, and you know how the saying goes. Maybe you'll have more luck this time?

Well, here goes.

You smile warmly at your soon-to-be friend, and pause. She does not look good. It's hard to see, but her eyes are faintly red, her posture is slipping, and she took a moment to register your presence. Either she hasn't been sleeping, or she's just stressed. She doesn't look like she's going to cry, but she looks very tempted to maim someone. Hopefully not you.

So, you sit next to her quietly and simply wait. If you say something, it'll just annoy her. So you won't say anything. She looks at you askance, practically waiting for you to speak so she can tell you to go away and stop bothering. Unfortunately for her, you've caught onto that trick. If you say something, she has a reason to tell you to go away. If you just wait, then she has no reason to make you leave. So you smile, and wait.

Finally, she gives in. Your plan is a success!

She reaches out and grabs you by your tie, dragging your face in close so she can look you in the face. Her eyes lock onto yours and you very much want to look away from the sheer Wrath emanating from them. But you have your Pride, and you meet her gaze firmly and silently.

"What do you want from me?" she inquires in a disturbingly flat tone.

Nonplussed, you blink at her.

"Everyone wants something." she helpfully explains. "Some people want money, some people want power, some people want fame. When people try to be my friend they do so for a very limited set of reasons. They might try because their friends pressure them into trying to associate with me. They might think they have something to prove by 'redeeming' me. They might just want to have some useful muscle on hand."

"But you don't have any friends in the area, you don't need to redeem me to prove yourself, and you're a model student; you don't need protection."

"So what do you want, and if I give it to you, will you go away and leave me the fuck alone!? Because I am sick and tired of your bullshit!"

"And don't try to lie to me about wanting to be my friend." she adds as you open your mouth. "Everybody wants something from me. So tell me what you want, so I can make you screw off!"

You pause. How do you answer this?
[] Write-in.

QM: Update! And I'd really like to see some discussion about this choice, because this will have a significant impact not only on your potential friendship with Kaho, but also with regards to how Victor views possible social interactions in the future. Poor Kaho has not been having a good night.

Walker · Sep 14, 2016

[X] I want it all. Didn't I say I will be ruling the world in 20 years? Is it too strange for me to want to take a closer look at my future subjects?
-[X] I guess I am intrigued. You said you wanted to be an accountant, but that was not the whole truth, is it? You could say I am drawn other people who have something to hide.
-[X] Your classmates say you are 'too proud for your own good'. I can relate to that.
-[X] Plus, it's natural for me to attempt to succeed at something that apparently no one has managed before.

You stare at her for several seconds. Then, slowly, you smile.

"Do you remember where I told everyone I'd be in twenty years?" you ask her. "I told them I'd be ruling the world."

"Most of them laughed, or gave me funny looks." You continue. "A few of them looked like they wanted to object to the idea of a dictatorship. They thought I was joking. Let me tell you, here and now. I am not joking. I will rule the world. I will be king. This is fact."

"The measure of the king is determined by three factors. The greatness of the king. The greatness of the kingdom. And the greatness of his people."

"My inherent greatness should already be clear. I haven't yet established a kingdom to make great, so I can't really prepare for that. But I can start collecting subjects now. And I want you to be one of my subjects."

"So, to answer your question? The thing about you that I'm interested in? Is you."

She blinks at you blankly. Then comprehension makes its way across her features. Along with anger. Oops? "You mean you just want me? Like some kind of trophy? Proof of your superiority?"

And of course she misunderstood you completely. Of course. Well, if you deny it, she won't believe you, Better to misdirect her. "No. My superiority is self-evident, we already discussed this. I want you because you're interesting."

"Our classmates say that befriending you is impossible. I don't believe them. I think that most of the time, when someone says something is impossible, they just haven't been trying hard enough. That, or they're doing it wrong."

"Befriending you isn't impossible. It's just difficult, because you push everyone away. No one is this cold or this irate all the time, not unless they have something to prove or they want to hide something. I don't think you have something to prove. You told us all you wanted to be an accountant. Well, I don't believe you. I think you were lying. I think if you became an accountant, you'd probably murder your first client within a week or something. I think you're hiding from us and from yourself. And I think that that makes you interesting. I think it makes you unique. So yes, I want you, but I want you to be my peer, not my pet. And if you don't want me? Then you're out of luck, because I'm damn well going to be your friend anyway!"

You're breathing hard when you finish your diatribe. Your face is flushed, and you're starting to realize that you may have gotten a little heated when she accused you of not recognizing her own identity, her own Pride. And then you stop, because your finely honed instincts are telling you that something you may have said might be coming across the wrong way, because Kaho has just turned so pale that she'd blend in perfectly with a snowstorm.

Her mouth opens. "I don't-." She pauses. Tries again. "You shouldn't- ". She shakes her head. "That's not a good idea." She finally informs you, in a voice that completely lacks all of her typical confidence and hatred. "Being friends with me isn't a good choice. I had friends before when I was young, in elementary school. They never lasted very long." Her face fills with determination. "Don't try to be my friend. For your own good."

You glare at her. This annoys you. You might even go so far as to say it pisses you off, just a little bit. "Fuck. You. You don't get to tell me what to do. I'm going to be your friend. That's final."

"I'm trying to protect you here!" She hisses.

"I neither want nor need to be protected." You inform her icily.

"You arrogant self-centered egoistic-"

"Problem?" You inquire faux-helpfully.

Surprisingly, she punches you. In the face, right on the nose. Ow. As your head snaps back, you have to commend her for her accuracy and strength, if nothing else. If you were a normal person, that would have broken your nose. As you recover from her sudden violence, she slams to her feet and stomps out of the classroom.

There is silence.

"Women." You sigh with feeling. "At least I'm not injured. Can we get on with the lesson now?"

-INTERVAL-

You seek her out again after school. You'd looked for her at lunch, but hadn't found her. Now, you'd indulged that arcane sixth sense of yours, and found her lurking in a stairwell. You walked down and sat next to her.

"If you want an apology, you're not getting one." She finally growled.

You shrug. "Don't want one." You inform her. "I just wanted to let you know that you missed the English project we've been assigned, and you'll probably want to finish it out of school, since it's due tomorrow." You pause. "Also, we've been selected to be partners for this project." Mostly because you requested it of the teacher, but she doesn't need to know that.

"So, your house or mine?" You inquire helpfully?

"Not mine." She declares. "There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near my family. Maybe we could just finish it up at school?" She offers.

You're about to have an excellent opportunity to spend several hours getting to know Kaho better. Where do you want to do it?

[] Insist on her house. You want to meet her family.
[] Just do it at school. Maybe she'll be more inclined to talk if she feels like she's gotten a concession out of you.
[] Let her come over to your apartment. There's no way this could go wrong.

QM: Yeah, bit of a lengthy break, sorry about that. In my defense, the first dialogue did not want to be written at all. I'm still unsatisfied with it. Also, just be aware that while this quest may have short hiatuses, as dictated by my life, it will never die so long as people are interested.

Walker · Sep 25, 2016

[X] Let her come over to your apartment. There's no way this could go wrong.

You smile warmly at her. "I have a better idea." You suggest helpfully.

For some strange reason, all the blood drains from her face and she quickly reaches out to steady herself with the railing of the staircase.

"…yes?" she inquires finally.

You blink bewilderedly at her. "Is something wrong?"

"...I'm just concerned this will be hazardous to my health. You seem to come up with dangerous ideas "

"And you insist on quibbling about things of no importance." You retort promptly. "But I was thinking, if you don't want me to come over to your house, you could just come over to my apartment."

She's staring at you again. "Really. You're just going to invite a girl you've known for less than a week over to your apartment. Just like that."

"It's more convenient than staying at school, and for some reason, you don't want to invite me to your house." You explain reasonably.

"People will talk." She finally points out.

"They'll talk about me anyway. I may as well provide them something interesting to gossip about."

She sighs, and rests her head in her hands. "…let's just go. Before you say something stupid. Again."

That is both cruel and inaccurate. Everything you say or do is brilliant- people just don't realize it sometimes.

-INTERVAL-

Your journey back to the apartment is mostly uneventful, aside from a strange interlude. Kaho stops you at the school gates, tells you to wait, and walks away. She returns two minutes later with her hands in fists, wearing what you have taken to affectionately calling her "murderface", and is impressively even more ill-tempered on the walk to your apartment than she usually is.

No, you wouldn't have believed it possible either if you hadn't seen it yourself.

On the bright side, she seems irked at something other than yourself, which is an opportunity for you! It's also something of a novelty, you'll admit. Usually, the only thing that can get that sort of anger out of her is you, which makes you feel special. And a little bit threatened.

As the two of you walk towards your apartment, you try to engage her in conversation. Unsurprisingly, your efforts prove to be fruitless, for the most part. You do, however, learn one detail of interest. The conversation goes something like this.

"So, what was that about, Kaho?"

"Don't ask."

"Why not?"

"It's family business, which means you need to keep your nose out of it. Now change the subject."

"...so how about that weather?"

You continue to chatter on about innocuous topics like the weather, school, and the current state of the world. The longer you talk about these random topics, the calmer she seems. By the time the two of you reach your apartment, she's downgraded all the way from 'will murder anyone who breathes at her too loudly' to 'wants to strangle Victor because he won't shut up', which is practically her normal emotional state. You're quite proud of yourself for managing that.

As you deliberately fumble with the key, you run through your mental lists. First, your stuff. Your sword is hidden inside the lining of your bedding, your crown is in its case and hidden in the closet, and your books have jackets from random novels and are mixed with other books. Second, your objectives. You want to get your project done. That should be feasible. You also want to get Kaho more comfortable with the thought of working with you, and less inclined to punch you in the face. Again.

All this flashes through your mind as you unlock the door and usher Kaho in. Your apartment is not large, but it is big enough for you. There is a front room, which also doubles as a very small entrance hall. There is a dining room which also functions as a living room. The kitchen is located past the dining room, at the very end of the apartment, and is sectioned off. The bathroom is on the immediate left as you enter the apartment, and the bedroom is just past the bathroom.

"Welcome to my humble abode." You murmur dryly.

"More like, come in to my parlor, said the spider to the fly." She snorts.

"Oh, you wound me so."You retort. "Want anything before we get started?"

She considers. "Not now, thank you."

You blink at the sudden politeness. She reddens slightly at your sudden incredulity. Apparently, even you merit some politeness when offering someone the rights of a guest. You shrug it off, and get to work. The two of you spend the next several hours complaining at each other as you write up a report on the life and times of Takeda Shingen. Kaho proves to be very good at this, and is a font of obscure and interesting information. It makes it much easier for you to write your report and begin drawing the poster the two of you have designed. She is also good company, and is quite willing to socialize with you while you work. The work is complete much earlier than you expected, and your report is completely written as well. You sit back and smile.

"That, I think, was well done." You declare happily. "We work well together."

"I suppose you're not useless, when you're not doing your creepy friendship thing." Kaho responds.

"I'm not creepy." You protest wryly. "Well, I'm going to start on dinner. Would you-"

You are abruptly interrupted by the sound of a loud knock on the door. Kaho's head swivels, and all the blood drains from her face. She snaps to her feet and sprints to the door, slamming it open with such force that she's probably dented the wall.

At the door stands a young lady with a flower in her hair, fist still raised to knock. She's dressed in a very nice suit, and the blue flower almost matches her eyes.

"Hello, sister" she breathes, and her voice is like a melody. You blink dumbfoundedly.

"Where have you been? Mother and Father have been worried sick about you." She leans in to the apartment. "I see you've made a new friend. Is this the classmate who you're doing a project with."

"He's not my friend." Kaho hisses. "Let's go." And with that delightful comment, Kaho grabs her sister by the arm and drags her off into the night, slamming the door behind her. You're starting to worry about the structural integrity of your apartment.

You pull yourself to your feet and check. Yes, it seems Kaho did actually dent the wall when she opened the door. You need friends who cause less property damage.

So, that was your week. Now you have a weekend. What do you want to do with it? (Pick 2.)
[] Go exploring. See the city, look for new and interesting people, maybe punch them in the face.
[] Some of your classmates are planning on holding a get-together/study-session so that everyone can get acquainted. Join in.
[] Go looking for a faction of Darkness. You have lots of questions and no answers.
-[] Which faction?
[] Go looking for a bunch of Heroes. You have a very good reason for this.
-[] Which faction?
-[]Why?
[] Spend an entire day training. You don't like it, but you know it needs to be done.
-[] Train what? How?
[] Experiment with your gear. You need to familiarize yourself with your gear to use it well.
-[] Do what?
[] Hit the books. Do some studying on the books you've been sent.
-[] Which book?
[] Try to map out the magical world in the area. You need to know what's happening.
[] Find more information about a certain faction. You're practically operating blind here.
-[] Which faction?
[] Write-In

QM: ...Is apologetic.

Walker · Sep 26, 2016

[X] Some of your classmates are planning on holding a get-together/study-session so that everyone can get acquainted. Join in.

Your classmates, regardless of how seriously they take their studies, are still middle schoolers, and so still do typical middle schooler things like they should. Which, of course, is why they've decided to host their little get-together at a cafe right next to an arcade. Somehow, you suspect that very little studying will get done at this study session, which is heartening, in a way. It means they're still children, in the end. They deserve the chance, you suppose.

It's also an opportunity for you to really establish yourself with your classmates. It's important to have a respectable and reputable cover identity, as your teacher has often emphasized, and you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself if you didn't do your utmost to cement your reputation as a fine and upstanding member of the community.

You arrive a little early, just enough to check the area beforehand. Not that you expect anything to go wrong, of course, but it's always wise to be aware of the area. Just in case. You find that the cafe has large easily broken glass windows, booths that are comfortable and catch sound well, as well as tables that give excellent views of the surrounding area, and three doors for customers to exit through. It's very comforting.

The cafe is mostly empty of your classmates, except for a grumpy kid in a funny hat who is listening to music in a corner and a gaggle of gossiping girls. The kid in the hat doesn't want company, from the way he glares at the waitress, who squeaks and runs off, which leaves the ladies. Wonderful.

You plaster a warm smile on your face and amble over to their table. Your introduction goes over well, and soon they're happily filling you in on all the interesting gossip in school. Apparently, being a mysterious transfer student is a great way to make friends. The information is useful too. Most of it is just random chatter, this teacher is getting married, this teacher is getting divorced, etc. However, you do hear a few interesting things. It seems a gang of delinquents showed up from another school to issue a formal challenge according to the Wrecking Crew rules, and promptly "got wrecked". Also, the first inter-faction event is coming up. It seems they'll be electing their officers. This is also, apparently, the time when the freshmen start officially declaring their allegiances.

The flow of information is abruptly cut off when a red-headed kid stands up on a table and starts yelling at the room. You suppress a surge of annoyance and pay attention to his words.

"Hello, everyone, and thanks for coming to our first class meeting! For those of you who don't know me, I'm Akagi Kenko." he calls. Oh, wonderful, he's going to give a speech. You can't wait.

"I'm sure some of you have friends that didn't come to this meeting, and if you could pass everything we say on to them, that would be wonderful! Now, I'll try to keep this short and sweet, since I'm the only person here who loves to hear myself talk."

"There are a few things we must cooperate on, as a class. First and foremost, academics. We are all capable students, and each of us has something to offer. I've already contacted most of you about setting up tutoring opportunities and cram classes. For those of you whom I haven't, please get in touch with me, and let your friends know."

"Second, I plan on running for class representative. If anyone else wants to run, please let me know, and I'll make sure you have everything you need to be effective. For those of you who don't plan to run, I strongly urge you to think about which candidates you want to support, as they will be shouldering a great deal of responsibility."

"Finally, we have the matter of the three houses. I know some of you are a little confused, so I'll give you a brief explanation. This has already been cleared by the Kings of the Arbiters and the D's, so there's no need to worry."

"The three factions in this school are a competitive system, where students can strive to best each other in various pursuits in order to earn honor and glory for their team. You can choose not to participate, of course, but I recommend you do. It's fun and you'll learn. There are upperclassmen from each of the alliances present today, and I recommend you talk to them."

"Thank you for your time, everyone. We've rented the cafe for the afternoon, so please, enjoy yourselves in a safe and responsible manner!"

Rented the cafe? You're impressed. That's not cheap. Absently, you note that someone has, at some point, handed you a flyer. For the most part, it just summarizes what Kenko's been saying, but it goes into greater detail on some things he'd skimmed over. Apparently, he actually was trying to keep his speech short.

Most importantly, it informs you of what each of the three factions espouses. The Suits, formally known as the Business Men, or the Men in Black, prepare their members to be part of the great machine that is the Japanese economy. Every gear will know its place. They also have a very predictable dress code. The Arbiters, also known as the Lawmen or the Blues, teach their students to follow the laws, and to serve their glorious country as best they can. They only require a piece of blue cloth on every student. Finally, the Delinquents, or the D's or Thugs, are essentially glorified anarchists.

Each group also has a domain within the school, wherein they are absolute. The school is split into quadrants, with one quadrant reserved for the uninvolved students. The other three quadrants, during non-school hours, are considered faction territory, and faction members can invade each others' territory. The most common reason is to try to steal the flag of another faction, or to try to steal their symbol. The symbol of the Suits is a signet ring, the symbol of the Blues is a scepter, and the D's have at least three different symbols at the moment.

You're rather surprised. This is a very elaborate system for what is clearly a longstanding tradition. But why would they bother?

How do you feel about this in-school game of thrones?
[] Write-in

The get-together will last for another few hours. Do you want to socialize with anyone in that time? (Pick up to 4)

[] The quiet girl with glasses. She and a friend are sitting together, sharing a pair of earbuds. She hasn't noticed a single thing said so far.
[] The grumpy boy who arrived early. He looks like he needs a friend.
[] The blonde girl, who has already established herself as the class ditz. She might at least deflect suspicion.
[] The thin wispy boy wearing glasses. His nose is buried in another book.
[] A tall boy in green who has spent the last few minutes glaring at Kenko.
[] The violet-haired girl who just went up to speak with Kenko.
[] The waitress, who seems rather harried by the sudden influx of customers.
[] The upperclassman from the D's, who is perched on top of his booth.
[] The upperclassman from the Suits, expression inscrutable behind his sunglasses.
[] The upperclassman from the Blues, who leans against the wall with casual arrogance.
[] Actually, you'd rather not.

QM: The other vote is technically still open, but I don't expect it to change much. Pick your friends carefully. Not sure how much I'll be able to update over the week, but I'll try.

Walker · Sep 30, 2016

[X] Factions? That's just silly. They are divided when they should be united under their King: you!

[X] The quiet girl with glasses. She and a friend are sitting together, sharing a pair of earbuds. She hasn't noticed a single thing said so far.
[X] The blonde girl, who has already established herself as the class ditz. She might at least deflect suspicion.
[X] The waitress, who seems rather harried by the sudden influx of customers.
[X] A tall boy in green who has spent the last few minutes glaring at Kenko.

The alliance system, in your opinion, is silly. There should be a single ruler of the school, not three individuals vying for the same prize. One individual from each generation, firmly establishing their dominance over the entire student body. Of course, being the peerless prodigy you are, the ruler of your grade should be you. Now, how to manage that...

You continue to ponder, even as you rise from your table and move towards the first of the individuals who has caught your attention. She is very Japanese, with long straight black hair, and black eyes. Her friend, on the other hand, is not. Her hair is bright purple, for heavens sake! Said friend is also writing out music on a sheet of paper on the table while the black-haired girl looks it over and occasionally comments.

You smile warmly at them as you slide into one of the two free chairs at their table. The black-haired girl looks back at you with a faint expression of amusement, while the purple-haired girl...doesn't seem to have noticed you, actually. She seems so completely engrossed in the music that it's like she's in her own little world. You cough politely, and her head snaps up so fast you think she might give herself whiplash.

"Hi. I'm Victor Crowne. It's nice to meet you." You smile warmly and extend your hand.

Black-haired girl looks at you for a moment, before reaching out and shaking your hand. "I'm Sakushi Mai; she's Anastasia Bravura." The other girl mumbles something that you think might have been a hello, if only you'd been able to hear it, and draws back and into her friend. She's also blushing.

"So, what can we do for you, O future ruler of the world?" She inquires faux-politely.

"Well, first, I'm planning on becoming the God-King of the Universe, so if you could get my title right, that'd be great. Second, I need your help." You lean forward intently.

"I need... a leitmotif."

She blinks.

"Every person of significance had a musical theme attached to them. The President of the United States has Hail to the Chief, the Pope has the Pontifical Anthem and March, and Vader had the Imperial March. If I'm to rule the world, I need a proper theme to announce my greatness. Can you do that?"

Instead of answering, she turns to look at her friend, who has perked up from behind her and has her face screwed up in an intensely adorable frown of concentration. Suddenly, Anastasia grabs one of the sheets of lined paper on the table and begins scribbling, muttering fiercely under her breath. Then she turns to you with a sudden intensity that is almost disconcerting.

"What kind of theme do you want?"

You pause. "Sorry?"

"What impression do you want your theme to convey? Do you want it to be dramatic and ominous, a declaration of power and might? Do you want it to be regal and royal, the precursor to the rightful ruler of the Cosmos? Do you want it to be majestic and uplifting, the sign of a hero? Basically, what image do you want to present?"

Her shyness has literally disappeared. You seem to have touched a topic that is near and dear to her heart, and now she is going to do everything in her power to give you the best damn leitmotif she can, it seems. She's so enthusiastic that you almost feel impressed; this sort of dedication is to be respected.

What impression do you want your theme to give off?
[] Write-In

Eventually, Mai is forced to drag the two of you away from your collaboration and hauls Anastasia off to her music lessons. You sigh at the loss of your Royal Composer, but decide to take advantage of this opportunity by moving onto your next person of interest.

He...doesn't seem particularly pleased by your presence, but he makes no moves to urge you away either. Instead, he just glares at you. You smile back at him, and wait. His glare intensifies, but he's got nothing on Kaho. An angry Kaho can murder foliage from a hundred paces. This guy couldn't murder a flower if he were handed a pair of clippers. You just wait; smile intensifying.

Finally, he snaps. "What. Do. You. Want."

Your grin broadens. "Well, I couldn't help but notice you don't seem overly enamored of our dear prospective class representative. As a confused and uninformed transfer student, I was hoping to get another perspective on our glorious would-be leader. He appears nice enough, after all, but appearances are, as they say, misleading."

He seems rather bewildered. "...really? People actually spew proverbs like that? Huh. I thought that was just a thing the old guy did. But yeah, I'm not really a fan of his."

He leans in and begins speaking more softly. "Wanna know why? Because he doesn't do shit. He's talking nice and all right now, but wait and see just how long he'll last. The only reason he ever gets anything done is because other people are willing to step up and cover for his mistakes. I would know. I've made the mistake of trusting him, and all I ever got out of it was more pain and suffering. He's naive and innocent, and he just can't make the hard decisions."

"I'm Kazekata Kubo, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Crowne."

"Likewise, Mr. Kazekata." You smirk. You've got a reputation already, excellent. "So, I take it that you don't feel he's a good choice for class representative?"

"Hell no." His expression darkens. "Honestly, anyone else would be better. Literally anyone. Even you, truth be told."

Even?

"I mean, you'd have a tough time of it, just cause you're not Japanese, but you guys need someone a little more aware of the world than him. I'm not even from your school, and I can already see the competition forming. That faction system of yours? Is basically going to-"

He is abruptly interrupted by a certain redheaded boy walking quickly up to the table.

"Hey, uh, hate to interrupt your conversation, but we need to go."

"What the hell do you want?" Kubo inquires in an impressively icy tone.

"No, seriously. We need to go. Now." Kenko seems almost desperate, to your suprise.

Suddenly, the blood drains from Kubo's face. He surges to his feet and nearly sprints out of the restaurant, Kenko hot on his heels.

You stare bewilderedly after them. Is this going to be a regular thing every time you try to have a conversation with someone?

"What is up with these people?" You muse quietly.

"What is up with what people?" Inquires an innocent voice from right behind you.

Carefully, you resettle yourself into the chair you sent flying and count to ten to resettle both your heart rate and your temper. Then you turn to face the newcomer.

Wonderful. It's the class ditz, Tamashi Hinata. It's been five days, and she's already got a reputation. Every single day so far, she's showed up late, forgotten her homework, forgotten her lunch, etc. It's always something. That kind of laziness irks you on a very fundamental level. Nonetheless, anyone can be a resource if properly cultivated, so it's time to be personable again.

"Ah, it's nothing," you quickly assure her. "People just keep disappearing halfway through interesting conversations. It's very inconvenient."

"I can see how that would be a problem." she agrees thoughtfully. "It would be difficult to give orders to people as their reigning deity if everyone kept leaving halfway through your commands."

"Yes, it would be, wouldn't it. And of course, if I'm going to be God-King of the Universe, I need to be able to give commands, or I'm a king in name only, which is unacceptable." you confirm.

"Hm. Do you actually plan to become God-King of the Universe?" she inquires dubiously.

"Of course I do. Why?" Why on earth would people think you would ever do anything else?

"Um...I just wanted to know why." she finally replies. "Why would you want to rule the world, rule humanity?"

Why do you want to rule the world?
[] Write-in

After that conversation, you spend a little while sitting at your table. Thinking.

Eventually, your reverie is interrupted by the waitress, who scurries over to your table, and starts quickly cleaning up after you. Unfortunately, she's also trying to balance a stack of plates in her other hand, without dropping any of the utensils she has piled on top of that stack. This...goes about as well as you expected.

First, the stack starts to sway. She tries to compensate, but overbalances, and is about to fall over when you intervene. You reach out and grab the top half of the stack, the section which was sliding off, from her and add your own dishes to the pile.

"Just tell me where I need to put it." You grin at her.

"It's alright," she tries to insist. "You're the last customer here anyway."

"Well, consider my assistance an apology for the inconvenience I've caused you then." Surprisingly, this actually does convince her, and she leads you to the back room, where there is a pile of dishes.

"Thanks for the help, I guess." she grumbles. "I'd've been in trouble with the manager if I dropped them. I could have gotten them by myself, though."

"That doesn't mean you should have had to." You retort easily. "Besides, I don't mind."

"Yeah, well." She shrugs. Then she pauses, and leans in to look at you more closely. Slowly, her brows wrinkle. You raise an eyebrow. She sniffs the air and leans back. You blink. Do you really smell that bad? You showered just before you came here.

"Are you wearing jewelry?" She inquires suddenly.

"No, why?" Apparently, non sequiturs are just going to be par for the course here.

She frowns and leans slightly towards you again. "Because something about you just seems...golden."

Shit.

"No idea what you're talking about." You reply, with the ease of a born liar. "But if there's nothing else you need help with, I'm going to head home."

She snorts and waves a hand. "Get going." she snaps.

You're out the door before she finishes talking. It's all you can do not to break into a run the moment you've exited the cafe. You walk as quickly as you can back to your apartment, and immediately check your reflection in the mirror.

You're not golden. Instead, the golden sheen has faded entirely. Your skin looks entirely normal with your Pride active, unless you deliberately channel your ability.

Then what did her question mean?

[Contacts Acquired!]
[Sakushi Mai: The Musician]
[Anastasia Bravura: The Composer]
[Kazekata Kubo: The Fifth and Green]
[Tamashi Hinata: The Cruelest Lie]
[Mysterious Maid Maiden:???]

QM: I hate writing social things. Hate it. Also, this update ran surprisingly long. There are some very important choices here, by the way. Choose carefully.

Walker · Oct 10, 2016

Thuban sighed. She'd been doing a lot of that lately, it seemed. Not that she didn't have good cause to, of course. Sometimes it seemed like the last four millennia had just been a constant downward spiral. Ever since she'd been displaced from her place at the top by that upstart, her position and power had just continued to degrade. She'd gone from being the respected and feared Apex Ascendant, to the Keeper of the Right Wall of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, to the Dragon's Tail, and it had just gotten worse from there. Day after month after year after century after millennium. She'd striven so hard, risen so high, and now look at her.

She had been placed as an infiltrator. She, formerly one of the greatest and most potent engines of destruction ever to grace the universe with her wrath... was playing infiltrator.

If her enemies could have arranged a more demeaning fate for her without killing her, she would have been very surprised, and very unhappy. Infiltrators were the lowest of the low. They were the sacrificial pawns, sent out by entities infinitely greater than themselves to locate objects of power, to distract rivals, to delay enemies, or just to be murdered in amusing and laughable fashions. She herself had done so quite a few times, although most of the time, she grew impatient with their inevitable incompetence and decided to handle it herself. So often, she had scorned them for being useless and inconvenient, and now look at her.

Infiltrating.

"You all right?" A voice intruded on her thoughts. "I didn't hit you that hard, did I? How many fingers am I holding up?"

She looked up at the individual who had just punched her hard enough to knock her off her feet, no mean feat even when she was in her puny and inelegant human form. Another reason to dislike humanity; they managed to be simultaneously fragile and inelegant. If she hadn't been ordered to play human...

"Nothing to worry about, Jack." She assured him with a smile. "I'm tougher than I look."

"That's a relief. I'd hate to lose my favorite sparring partner." He grinned back and helped her to her feet.

"I'm your only sparring partner, dummy." She pointed out helpfully. "You keep breaking all of the other ones."

He winced at that. Thuban steadfastly ignored the warmth of his hand and checked herself over to ensure that he hadn't done any significant damage to her form. Not that she was attached to this identity, of course, but it would be inconvenient to replace it if something were to happen.

She seemed intact, which was good. Trying to explain the typical healing process of one of her kind without breaking her cover would have been...problematic.

She glanced around the large hall in which they had all been sparring. Most of the other pairs seemed focused on their own bouts, which was for the best, as it meant there was no chance anyone had seen just how hard he had actually hit her. In truth, she was unsurprised that no one else wanted to spar her partner. He'd hit her hard enough to put several large cracks into her skull. Were this back in society proper, she'd have suspected him either of trying to kill her or court her. (The two were very similar.) As it was, the fact that they were both technically members of the same faction made it seem unlikely that he was actively trying to eliminate her. As did the adorably puppyish guilty looks he shot in her direction.

She shot him a warm smile, which seemed to assuage his lingering guilt, and moved back into a ready stance. She did rather enjoy fighting him, he had the decency to take her seriously. Naturally, as soon as she was ready to continue the first proper scrap she'd had in far too long, they were interrupted, by the head of the dojo and their nominal superior.

"Hey losers, listen up!" she snapped. Despite the seeming softness of her voice, she was clearly audible to every individual present. "You lot need to be on your best behavior today! A very important guest has decided to show up, and we need to look good, or else we'll get in a very awkward situation with him."

Then she stepped aside, and suddenly there was a person in the room with them. He was a nondescript man in a grey suit, who looked for all the world like one of a thousand businessmen working for a hundred companies.

"This" she announced much more loudly, "is a guest of ours who'll be staying with us for a few days. If you'd like to introduce yourself?"

It seemed he would. Thuban sighed, and prepared to be speeched at.

"Ah, hello everyone." Thuban twitched. His voice was ear-gratingly cheerful, and she was fairly certain that if she listened to him too long she'd be overcome by a sudden urge to stab someone. Probably him.

"My name is Satsujinki Midori, and let me just say how pleased I am to be working with you all. Your astounding efforts in keeping this city a safe and secure haven of are an example to us all. I hope to learn a lot from and about you."

He continued on in that same vein, but Thuban tuned him out. Something was wrong. Instincts honed across a thousand battlefields screamed at her, and she began surreptitiously moving to prepare.

Jack turned to her as well, smoothly sliding into his own systema stance. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know." she replied. "Just... be ready, al-"

The wall exploded, a thunderous detonation that knocked the entire front half of the room over. As the ringing in her head subsided, Thuban dragged herself to her feet and began swearing profusely.

Black Legion. She recognized the style of the armor, if not the individual unit. She'd killed quite enough of them in her spare time. This was bad. Either she kept her human mask on, and died thanks to her reduced capabilities, or she exposed herself as a Youma, killed them all, and then was executed as a failure of an infiltrator.

There was a moment of silence as the five Legionnaires looked at the roomful of Wreckers and the roomful of Wreckers looked back at the Legionnaires.

"I'm going to tear your spines out and flay you alive with them." The Boss politely and calmly announced from her position behind the five, and all hell broke loose.
A smiling man carefully stepped out of the way and adjusted his suit. This was not the turn of events he was expecting when he'd borrowed this identity, but it seemed likely to prove informative, and more importantly, entertaining.

QM: Just a reminder that there are other people in town aggressively pursuing their own agendas. Also, if people want to submit suggestions for your theme music, that would be great. I need 4d100 by the way, preferably from separate people.

Walker · Oct 16, 2016

[X] Try to map out the magical world in the area. You need to know what's happening.

Once you get home, you spend the next little while doing all the tests you can to figure out what on earth could have caused that maid to figure out your...unusual nature. Unfortunately, results are mostly inconclusive. While you do emit a slight metallic scent, it's hardly noticeable unless you know it's there to look for it. Moreover, you only smell metallic instead of gold, so her mention of that specific metal only muddles things further. You sound the same, although you like to think that your Pride gives you a certain...gravitas. You even look similar enough to normal that any changes in coloration can be dismissed as natural variation or tricks of the light.

So how on earth did that maid know?

And come to think of it, what was her name, anyway? You can't just keep thinking of her as "that maid chick", can you? (Well, you can, but that would be rather rude of you.)

You sigh and dismiss these nagging thoughts with a shake of your head. You're going to go take an enthusiastic walk. Hopefully you'll figure something out. Also, this way, you can report that you've been working on reconnaissance as well as developing an information network, proving the sheer diversity of your skillset.

Your first discovery is that the nexus at the jewelry store, the one you watched get destroyed, has been repaired, which is concerning. It means that whichever group has arranged that has the resources to replace a broken detection system with reasonable promptness. That might be a problem, if you decide to take a subtle approach with them. Either you'll have to refrain from using your Sin, lest it be detected, you'll have to be prepared to face their entire might as soon as you trigger their alarm system, or you have to sabotage their system. Honestly, you prefer the last. It seems the most efficient.

You do some more exploring, and find that the network they've established is extensive to say the least. You can understand establishing redundancies across the network, with nexuses (nexii?) overlapping and detecting each other, just in case. You can understand the use of fields over key areas to ensure that if anything happens anywhere interesting, you can see it coming. You can even understand the need for cross-nexus communication, to ensure that the center is not the only location from which the network can be accessed or controlled. However, while you can appreciate the sheer amount of preparation and effort that went into establishing these networks is impressive, even you have to concede that this is perhaps rather too much for what is supposed to be a simple alarm system.

You stand there, simply goggling at the sheer intricacy of this network, when your thoughts are abruptly interrupted. Again. Is there something in the water, perhaps, that makes people enjoy surprising others? Or do people just like to sneak up on you?

"Huh, did someone else find a Remnant before us?" the brunette inquires, visibly shocked. "I thought we were the only ones looking for them, Skopeo."

"no, i don't think he realizes quite what he's looking at. i think he's just a bystander." the other responds. Something is very wrong with her voice. It grates against you, like the sound of nails on a chalkboard. It shouldn't be happening. It's wrong.

"Oh? Well, in that case, you'll probably want to move on, innocent bystander! This area is about to get a lot less interesting, you know!"

"Of course," you reply amiably. "I was just out on a stroll, anyway. No particular objective, I just couldn't sleep."

"well, move on." the dark one responds. "this place is ... private."

"Wait, don't I know you?" The brunette interrupts. You blink at her. Is she really... "I do! Don't you go to Kunugigaoka? You're that new transfer! You're...um..."

You can't help but grin. Your fame is spreading. Excellent.

"Victor Crowne, at your service. A pleasure, miss. And you are?"

"Ah! I'm-" she is interrupted by her blonde friend. "representatives kaleido and skopeo, of THRONE. you should leave the area now. we're trying to work."

"Drop by and say hello at school sometime!" you chirp at the brunette. "It'll only do good things for my ego!"

You wave as you walk away. The one in white waves back, while the blonde just watches silently. As you amble homeward, you note with no small amount of amusement that she appears to be remonstrating with her friend. How gratifying, to know that your fame is already spreading.

You are brought up short on your journey homeward by a rather unexpected occurrence. Namely, two awkward looking individuals lurking outside your apartment looking as shady as is reasonably possible. They do have very nice suits though.

Both of their heads snap around as you loudly walk down the street, with the sort of reaction that suggests they've been trained to react to sudden surprises, but not well enough to hide those reactions. Hmm. You stop about five feet away from them- that is to say, about two and two-thirds meters.

"You seem conflicted. And rather lost." you observe helpfully. "Can I help you?"

They exchange glances, and begin whispering to each other. You can hear their conversation well enough to make out the gist, which is 'do we really want to ask this random kid? well, who else are we going to ask?'

Finally, the silver-haired guy steps forward. "Do you, by any chance happen to live here?"

"I do." You respond. Quietly you consider. Something about this situation seems very very wrong.

"Excellent. We're looking for a certain resident of this building, but he doesn't seem to be home. Could you help us find him?"

These two seem more and more morally dubious, now. You slide one hand to your carefully concealed sword, and slip into a stance.

"That depends. Who are you looking for?" Throughout the entire exchange, your smile remains warmly fixed upon your face. It'd take a better dissembler than these two to realize you might be faking it.

"His name is Victor Crowne. Do you know him?"

...

Well. With a straight line like that, how can you possibly refuse.

"Know him? Why, ladies and gentlemen, you're looking right at him!" you brag with a smirk and an elegant flourish. One which your audience, from the way they're looking at each other, do not seem to appreciate.

"Well, now I just feel bad." Silver murmurs.

His partner does not seem to share his emotions. Get on with it, she motions emphatically.

"Right, sorry about this, kid, but orders are orders. You know how it goes." Silver sighs, as he pulls a pair of black sticks out of his jacket. "Nothing personal, no hard feelings. You just did something to annoy someone higher up the food chain, and now you get screwed for it. Sorry."

Even as he says this, he strikes in a lightning-quick motion of each stick that would be too fast for any normal eye to catch. Unfortunately, you're not normal. To you, he's certainly fast. But. He's not fast enough.

Even as both of his sticks fall, you've slipped to the side, out of their path. Your blade swings around, to the side, and-

"Motherfu-" he gets out, before you cut through him in a single neat slice, severing him at the waist as you slide around to stand behind him. You stay tense until you hear the sound of him falling, and throw a quick glance to make sure that he's down. Which he is, although his skin is crawling in a truly disturbing fashion.

That addressed, you turn back to the woman and start stepping slowly forward. Your every instinct screams at you to beware, to be careful, to be cautious, that this one is a more dangerous for by far. You heed them, stopping at over seven feet away from her. She smiles at you, approvingly.

"Good." she rasps, in a voice like she's been gargling glass.

And then her arms light on fire, from her fists down to roughly mid-forearm. The fire is a pure white, a beautiful unnatural shade that screams its nature for all to see. It wants to hurt. It wants to hurt you, specifically. You can feel it.

You feel it in your bones, and in your Sin. This woman, like you, bears a Sin. That flame of hers...Wrath, you think. The expression of what Kaho might be.

She shows her teeth, as she begins circling towards you. She, at least, is enjoying this fight. You're glad someone is.

You just chopped a guy in half, and his partner is now trying to light you on fire by punching you. What do, SV?
[] Write-in

QM: I'm writing this on a phone, through the flu, so please point out any errors. Also, first actual fight scene where you're involved. Except not really, since he rolled so badly. Hopefully she does better. Also, music suggestions please. You need a theme.

Walker · Oct 28, 2016

[X] Play defensively, ceding ground and keeping her talking (with an aim to find out who sent her if possible) while 'coincidentally' backing over to where those hero-types happened to be with the aim of getting them to mob Victor's assailant. Use Sin as needed to survive intact, but preferably minimized especially around the sensor and any heroes.
[X] Stab the guy on the ground in the head.

Right. Time to follow a policy of judicious engagement. Specifically, a policy of not picking fights that you don't have to. You have Pride, yes, but you take Pride in being alive and successful, while all your enemies are dead and destitute without a cent of restitution.

First things first. You take a step back, and stab the man on the ground behind you in the head, without taking your eyes off your immediate opponent. The way his skin is shifting suggests that he's not entirely down for the count, and you don't want to have one of your enemies suddenly resurrect on you. That would be very annoying, and possibly unhealthy.

The sound of your sword piercing his skull is astonishingly loud, in the middle of the silent street. The woman pauses in her circling and raises an eyebrow at you.

"I wanted to make sure he stayed down and out," you explain. "It would be very embarrassing if I were to beat you only to fall because I forgot to make sure my other opponent was dead."

"Don't worry. That won't be a problem," she assures you. Her grin broadens. "After all, you'll be dead."

"That seems a bit excessive," you observe. "I don't think I've done anything to warrant such a response? Not yet, anyway."

"I don't really care," she confesses "I just like hurting people. You just got unlucky that they sent me after you, kid."

Wonderful. A psycho. This means that although any psychological levers you find will be remarkably effective, there won't be very many of them and they'll be hard to find.

Why can't you ever get the normal ones?

"Well, I can understand the appeal of that," you comment helpfully. "But you have to admit, it's also rather limiting in a sense, is it not? After all, if your main pleasure in life is hurting people, might you not derive more plea-"

You react more on instinct than conscious thought, as she suddenly strikes out with a jab so fast she leaves a literal trail of flame in the air behind her.

"Oh," she notes with disappointment. "You dodged. Well, we'll see how long that lasts. Try not to die too quickly? I don't want to be bored."

You don't bother with a reply, being rather too focused on not being incinerated or pummeled. You don't know whether you'd feel the fire or her fist first, but you really don't want to find out. It seems likely to be unhealthy, and so you concentrate on survival rather than witty banter.

It's a good thing you do, as the next thirty seconds are essentially a frantic sequence of you trying to dodge the flaming crazy lady, without touching the trails of fire she leaves. You don't know what they do, but you suspect it's painful. On the other hand, your sword can take a few impacts, you quickly find out, although each hit leaves you feeling oddly drained.

The madwoman stares at you, before glancing back at her hands. Her gaze flickers between the two, as a strange smile spreads across her lips. The smile is made all the stranger because you recognize it. It's the fight junkie smile you see all too often, whenever one of your more violent comrades gets to enjoy a really good fight.

Well, you hate to disappoint a lady, but the mission comes first. As she steps back in preparation for your counterattack, breathing just a little harder, you smile. And then you turn around and run like hell, as quickly away from her as possible. Behind you, you hear an infuriated shriek, followed by an incredibly imaginative stream of impassioned invective. You take mental notes, just in case you can use any of her commentary at some point.

In the mean time, you'll settle for getting away from her and finding a hero to deal with the situation, so that you can at least pretend to keep your hands clean. And by fortunate coincidence, you happen to have met a pair of heroes who might just be inclined to help you out. You probably won't even need a cover story.

You spend the next few minutes running away very quickly while the lady tries her best to catch up with and murder you. You're faster than she is, especially with your Sin active, but she's annoyingly persistent, and also knows the streets so well that she's clearly a native, seeing as she never so much as stumbles.

You've never been so glad to see a jewelry store in your life. You sprint towards it, putting on a burst of extra speed to ensure you get there first, and look around hopefully for the magical girls you just encountered. You have no idea what powers the ladies of THRONE have, but you suspect you'll find out shortly.

You look around for them, and notice something odd. There's none of the side-effects that one would normally expect from a pair of magical girls doing magical things at a given location. There's no light show, no explosions, no sense of impending violence or screaming civilians. Heck, you're not even seeing or hearing any collateral damage. Either Kaleido and Skopeo are way more subtle than they seem, or...

Suddenly, something clicks. Kaleido. Skopeo. Kaleidoscope. Those two are the Kaleidoscope magical girls you were hearing whispers about in town. The ones who are remarkable for the distinct lack of collateral damage from their operations, because whenever they go somewhere to do something, they always disappear before the encounter actually starts and then reappear roughly half an hour later. And it hasn't quite been half an hour since you left them.

Well. You'll just have to take the psycho on by yourself then. No big deal.

You settle into a ready stance and wait for her to catch up. She looks mildly winded, and very unhappy.

"I am going to kill you!" she screams as she throws herself at you. You roll under her and spring to a standing position, backing away slowly.

She seems disinclined to let you disengage again, and throws herself at you in a flurry of blows. This time, her patterns are much harder to read, backed as they are by her immense rage, and she nearly clips you several times with her wilder and less predictable swings. You're not quite sure how you manage to survive the next minute unscathed, but you do, which only serves to irk her further.

She says something very rude about your parentage and makes a very unhealthy-sounding suggestion at you, when suddenly a shadowy form surges up behind her and wraps its arms around her neck in a chokehold. She's unconscious in less than a minute.

You stare unabashedly at this anticlimatic resolution to your problem. It seems very unsatisfying somehow. You were expecting to have to fight her off yourself, instead of be interrupted by some random stranger throttling your enemy into unconsciousness, before...tying her up? Your eyebrows make their slow way up your face.

The boy flushes. "Look, there's a good reason why I'm doing this, okay? I'm with the Wrecking Crew, and we've been looking for her for a while now, alright? She keeps getting away, so when I saw how fixated she was with you, I took the opportunity."

Off to your side, a sudden lightshow announces the reappearance of your old friends, who both happen to look distinctly the worse for wear.

There are several seconds of awkward silence.

"I presume there's a good reason why your friend is tying up a woman in a suit, Victor?" Kaleido asks in a pointedly mild tone of voice.

"He's not my friend, just a passerby working with the Wreckers," you correct. "And, well. She tried to kill me, so she had it coming."

"I think I would like context for this." Kaleido finally decides.

"Look, how about this.," Wrecker boy suggests. "Let me drop her off, then we can all go eat or something and figure out what's going on. I have some questions I'd like answered."

What do you say?
[] "Sounds good. I'd really like to know why some random woman in a suit tried to punch me. With fire."
[] "I'd rather not go anywhere with strangers, thank you. See you at school, Kaleido."
[] "Actually, I'd prefer to speak to you privately. No need to drag others into whatever this is.
[] "Look, it's the middle of the night, I'm tired, and someone just tried to kill me. I'm going to go home, take a shower, and go to bed."
[] Write-in

Also, congratulations, you've killed a person. Now that you're coming off your combat high, how do you feel?
[] Apathetic. You've killed before, and you likely will have to again.
[] Regretful. You've killed, but you feel their lives could have been better spent, serving you.
[] Horrified. This was your first kill, and the feeling of taking the life of another sapient is shockingly unpleasant.
[] Calm. This was your first kill, but if this is what it takes to reach your destiny...
[] Write-in
[] Good. There's something very right about killing...

QM: I should probably have been more obvious with those magical girls. It all worked out in the end, though, so all's well that ends well.

Walker · Nov 1, 2016

[X] "Sounds good. I'd really like to know why some random woman in a suit tried to punch me. With fire."
[X] Calm. This was your first kill, but if this is what it takes to reach your destiny...

"Yes, that sounds good." you note blandly. "I'd really like to know why some random woman in a suit tried to punch me. In the face. With fire. Is this a thing you people normally do in Japan, or am I special? I've heard you guys are xenophobic, but attempted incineration is taking it several steps too far, don't you think?"

"Er..."

He winces. "In all fairness, she's really not our fault. She's not actually affiliated with us, exactly the opposite in fact. You could say she represents the antithesis of everything we stand for, really. This is, however, not a conversation that we should be having in public. I know a nice cafe a few blocks down..."

"Wha-"

"No cafes, please." you cut in. "I'm still traumatized from the last one. And while we're on the subject, why are you so hesitant to talk about these people in public? It's a nearly empty street, as far as I can tell."

"Would-"

"It's not nearly as empty as you think it is," he warns. "Our enemy is hardly as simple as-"

"Ah-hem." your conversation is interrupted by a striking strident tone promising only misery if you continue ignoring its speaker. Instinctively, you shy away from the fearsome wrath of that female tone. The disconcertingly irate brunette inquires in a tone of deceptive mildness "Would one of you please like to elaborate on exactly what you are talking about? Now?"

You and your equally terrified counterpart exchange glances. He gestures for you to go first. You gesture that this situation is his responsibility, and therefore his to explain. He gestures that she's clearly your friend, and so you have priority. You gesture back that it's his fault you're both in this situation in the first place, so he can suck it up and deal with it. He gestures that if he has to explain, he's not paying for the food. Also, he technically saved your life, so you owe him this favor. You gesture that he is a dick. He smugly gestures that he's not the one doing the explaining. Dick. (It's a very eloquent series of gestures.)

You step up to take your punishment like a man. "Well, I'm about as uninformed about the situation as you are, honestly. The first I knew of this situation was when I was accosted in the street. By this woman and her partner, specifically. Her significantly less competent partner attacked me, first with a sword, which I removed from his possession, and then a pair of sticks, at which point I sworded him with the sword I removed from his position. His partner took that as encouragement to attack me, at which point I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and decided to remove myself from the situation, especially as she was on fire and I am not fireproof. Or magical. To that end, I decided to find someone who was, and so resorted to trying to find you. That's the sum total of my involvement with the situation."

With that, you both turn to look at the other party in this situation. He has quite thoroughly finished tying up your problem, and has made sure to keep the rope well away from her hands. He sighs, and leads the three of you down the street, being careful to keep the one hand not busy keeping his prisoner in a fireman's carry well away from his body and clearly visible. He leads your little group to the corner of the street and then promptly hops up the nearest building, which appears to be a convenience store of some kind. Both Kaleido and Skopeo fly up to join him. You sigh, and wait patiently. Roughly thirty seconds later, a blushing Kaleido flies down, picks you up under the arms, and flies you up to the roof with the rest of them.

Expectantly, the three of you all turn to your erstwhile host. Well, you and Kaleido turn. Skopeo just sort of sits there. He looks at you. Finally, you break the silence. "Well? Exposition, now."

"Exposition? What am I, an NPC?" he mutters incredulously. "Well, there's a lot of complicated stuff about it, but I'll try to keep it simple. This chick, and probably her associate, were both members of the Kagemusha clan of Daemons. The Kagemusha clan was founded, as far as we know, during the Sengoku period, roughly 500 years ago. They ruled the area as cruel tyrants, growing ever more powerful all the way up until 1854, when they fought in the Boshin War, and lost. Badly. They spent the next century restoring their power, and then World War Two happened, and they basically had to start over again. Unfortunately, their resurgence has occurred with a speed and efficiency that can only be called alarming. However, they also made a number of enemies in their rise. One of them is the leader of our Wrecking Crew, who used to be a member of their clan before she saw through their lies and chose to join the forces of good and fight against them instead of for them. Now, she recruits those who have no purpose and no hope to fight with her for a greater cause against a greater enemy. Questions?"

"Why did we have to come onto a roof to talk about this?" you inquire immediately.

He blinks. "Well, you know how I mentioned they were Daemons? That basically means that they embody the Seven Deadly Sins so strongly that they can actually use them to do things. For example, a Wrathful Sinner, like the one you saw, could create fire, or make their own touch injurious, or a Prideful Sinner could make themselves faster, or tougher, or a Slothful Sinner could make others slower or make themselves faster by storing energy. One of their family heirlooms allows them to create some sort of detection network around the area. We don't know quite how it works, but it was probably triggered by your encounter. So we're waiting up here to see what shows up."

You frown. That...doesn't make sense. They'd seemed perfectly adequate Sinners to you. But what he's describing makes them sound incompetent, almost childish. You'd picked up the skill of simultaneously augmenting yourself in speed and strength and toughness by the time you were ten. And yes, you were a bit of a prodigy, but you knew Wrath's apprentice (that asshole) could not only create fire which was actively injurious to his opponents, and could project it along his weapons. It was why he was such a gun nut, after all. So, were they incompetent? Was this woman more skilled than she seemed and had you just gotten lucky? Was the organization just less powerful than you realized?

Kaleido takes your silence as an opportunity. "You said you fight them? The Kagemusha?" At your host's affirmation, she continues "How? Do you just beat them up? Or do you try to kill them?"

...you really hope she's not an idealist.

Apparently, your new friend agrees. "We do what we have to. Usually, we try to eliminate them nonfatally, but sometimes we have no other options. In that case, we do what we have to do. You must have some idea, considering that you yourself face monsters, so you have to know that our duty is to stop the monsters, even at the cost of our own peace. After all, miss..."

He pauses.

"We haven't done introductions yet, have we. I'm Shinku Kui, lieutenant of the Wreckers, also known as the Crimson Man. My specialty is using blood to empower myself."

He looks to Kaleido, who looks markedly irked by his sudden change of subject, and is showing it quite clearly on her face.

"And who are you, exactly?" he turns to you. "And how did you handle your other opponent?"

How do you reply?
[] I'm Victor Crowne. I'm just a normal kid who got lucky.
[] I'm Victor Crowne. I just happen to have some significant martial arts training.
[] I'm Victor Crowne, expert martial artist, and I've been training since I could walk.
[] Actually, I'd quite like you to finish answering my friend's question please. She's raised some relevant concerns, in my opinion.
[] I'm Victor Crowne, Daemon of Pride. You can't take me, trust me. (Unlocked by Pride)
[] I'm Victor Crowne, Daemon of Pride. Would you do me a favor, Mr. Shinku, and please die?
[] I'm Victor Crowne, Daemon of Pride. I'm sorry, but all of you need to die now. (Unlocked by Chronic Backstabbing Disorder)

QM: T͜͟hus̀ ̷̧í̵s wri̛tţe̢n: À̧̕cco͜͠r͏d̢͡inǵ̵ ̢t̕͠o ̸th́e͘͏ ̴p̕r̴͜o͏p͠h͘e̛c̢̨y! Lots of dialogue here. Pretty sure I got all the grammar right. This choice at the end is a pretty important one, and will have very significant consequences. Consider what story you'd like to see, and then choose the vote which most closely approximates that story.

Magical Girl Monster Quest

Recent threadmarks

Walker

[INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE]

Walker

[INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE]

Walker

[INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE]

Walker

[INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE]

Walker

[INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE]

Walker

[INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE]

Walker

[INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE]

Walker

[INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE]

Walker

[INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE]

Walker

[INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE]

Recent threadmarks