If I had a nickel for everytime Rei caused something supremely bad to happen but managed to slink away via extreme Charisma, I'd have two nickels. The other one was with Mai.
Looks like we won't be having that double update, because now I have something interesting for you all to vote on. Update soonish.
I suppose this is a good time to reveal this: Senkesha was actually me game balancing since you got Himari. She was supposed to show up as the Nemesis for Arc 2.
I suppose this is a good time to reveal this: Senkesha was actually me game balancing since you got Himari. She was supposed to show up as the Nemesis for Arc 2.
I suppose this is a good time to reveal this: Senkesha was actually me game balancing since you got Himari. She was supposed to show up as the Nemesis for Arc 2.
I actually just realized something: that last roll was a (60/90/120) split. You guys can make that last one better (and make sure that Kira doesn't consider you scary) by adding 12 more EP to that last one.
I actually just realized something: that last roll was a (60/90/120) split. You guys can make that last one better (and make sure that Kira doesn't consider you scary) by adding 12 more EP to that last one.
I actually just realized something: that last roll was a (60/90/120) split. You guys can make that last one better (and make sure that Kira doesn't consider you scary) by adding 12 more EP to that last one.
Probably something to do with her being "Void-Bound". We should absolutely have her consume a Shade Soul next week.....if we don't need to get her one of them immediately.
Next up in the plan:
-[X] Look more into the Void Glyph with Kira's help.
Monday, February 26, 2080. 8:30 PM
Rei's Place, Somewhere in Tokyo
You are Rei Maruki, and you're in bed right now. Today's been exhausting— Jun made you, Himari, and Akemi jog 7 miles around Tokyo in about an hour. And apparently, he'll up it to 8 next week.
You hope he'll at least let you transform and jump on the rooftops next time…
Shaking those thoughts out of your head, you set down your bag on the floor, and place the mysterious brown deck on your bed stand. You take one last look at it before turning off your bed lamp and hopping into your bed.
Goodnight, Rei.
>Night.
>gn nerd.
"Goodnight, all of you. Don't be too loud."
You close your eyes for a few seconds. The talking of the spirits lowers to a murmur, and your thoughts seem to drift aimlessly for a few seconds.
Then, something tells you to lock in. You open your eyes, and look up at your ceiling. Instead of seeing the flaky white popcorn that you're used to, there are four faces looking down at you. Three of them in strange masks, and one of them that looks very… simian.
There are ninjas. And a monkey. On the bedrest. They're perching on there, just looking at you. What the fuck.
"I assume that you four woke up a bit later after I talked to Akemi?" you whisper, not really feeling like raising your voice right now.
The three ninjas look at each other, before looking down at you. The one on the left, a girl with brown hair, speaks first.
Yeah. Any idea why we're here? -Hatsume
At the very least, unlike the Malice girls, these new people don't seem to be very loud. You're thankful for that, your brain can only take so many migraines.
You hear the sound of the deck slowly shaking on the other side of the bed, and Atry pops out, manifesting herself as a floating spirit. "Introduce yourself. Quickly please, it's getting late."
The three ninjas (and the monkey) quickly say their hellos. The one in the full-head helmet and shurikens is Fuma, the one that spoke first is Hatsume, and the last one with the sheathed katana (and the monkey, what) is Kizaru. They haven't named the monkey. Their master apparently just gave them one to help out with ninja work.
They all politely bow, before disappearing, likely into the subspace within the deck. Atry murmurs something about "getting them up to speed with what's happened so far" before saying goodnight and disappearing as well.
You roll over and go back to bed. You're too sleepy for this. Tuesday, February 27, 2080. 9:30 AM
Rei's Place, Somewhere in Tokyo
"Rei! It's good to see that you got a nice apartment of your own."
Akemi looks around your place, before deciding to plop herself down on the couch. "It definitely feels more homey than Jun's place. No obvious secret documents that he keeps in the cupboards or bulletproof glass."
Jun keeps secret what in his cupboards? Wouldn't it be more efficient to keep them underneath the floorboards? -Fuma
"Yeah, it would be, but convenience is a tempting thing. Also, you're new. I imagine Rei found you thanks to me?"
You roll your eyes, as you continue to text Kira. "Yeah, they showed up as I was going to bed. They're like… the seventh, eighth, and ninth voices in my head."
>You forgot Gargoyle! They're actually 8, 9, and 10 respectively.
Akemi just giggles. "I'm gonna be honest, that sounds like it's gotta hurt. Both me and Himari can only hear the spirit-voice dudes in your head when we really focus our ears on looking for them. I imagine it's different for you?"
You faintly think back to your first meeting with the Malice girls, which leads you to also faintly remember the ginormous headache that came with it. "Just a tiny bit different, yeah."
[...] Understatement of the year, Rei.
If Akemi is conscious of the battlefield that is your brain, she doesn't show it. Instead, she kicks back her feet and relaxes. Purrson is also here, but he's asleep on Akemi's shoulder. "Oh, and by the way. Are you making good progress on that Kira thing? Getting an Archmage's help could be a huge asset for us."
"Um, I'm getting to that."
>You're gonna take ages to do it, aren't you?
…It's not looking good right now, I'll say that much. -Kizaru
The collection of twinks and waifus (>Wait, what?) in your head are unfortunately correct. Kira does not seem to be on board with your idea.
Mini-Mage (Kira)
> No. I'm not letting you "bring a close friend" to our appointment today.
GiveMeABreak (You)
> But c'mon! She's really important to me, and is also suffering from similar things.
Mini-Mage (Kira)
> No. Nope. Nuh-uh. I'm used to people wanting to get to know me, and I'm not letting a single fangirl/fanboy into my private residence.
GiveMeABreak (You) > Seriously, woman! Are you an Archmage, or not? You're probably one of the only people on the planet who can help me and her with this weird new Glyph.
Mini-Mage (Kira)
> …fine, but this better be worth it.
GiveMeABreak (You)
> I promise, it will.
Mini-Mage (Kira)
>Opening portal now, get out of the center of your living room if you're standing there.
You look up from your seat on the floor, and hear a gust of air run through your home. Purrson yowls and jumps off of Akemi's shoulder, as a green glowing portal to Kira's house appears in front of you.
How quaint. We could probably do something similar on a smaller scale, now that I think about it. -Hatsume
You can teleport with the powers of your newest Overlay/spirits? Now that's interesting. Something to think about, as you and Akemi step over the border of the portal and into Kira's house… 9:35 AM
Kira's Place, Somewhere in Kyoto
Kira's place is unsurprisingly unorganized as always. Akemi almost trips over a book when she walks into the house, and Purrson immediately chooses to jump off her shoulder and hit the floor.
Kira herself is sitting on the couch where you found her last time, scrolling through something on her phone. "Rei, it's good to see you. Have your friend sit on the other side of the couch, and you sit next to me."
"My name's Akemi, y'know."
Kira seems to ignore her as she summons a book with a gesture. It flies from the bookshelf and lands in her hand, and she immediately starts reading. "I'm sorry, but I'm probably not gonna remember your name. I meet so many people on all my stupid Archmage things that I've met like seven Akemis by now. Rei, stick out your arm."
Purrson growls, but doesn't try and go for Kira's face just yet. "How rude…"
I've gotta agree with the cat here. You put up with this lady? -Hatsume
You hesitantly stick out your arm, and as you do, Kira tears out a page from the book and throws it at Akemi. Akemi just barely catches it in her hand, before turning it around and beginning to skim. "Akemi, if you really wanna stay here, sign that NDA, that MDA, and any other things that just came with that batch of documents I just threw." Kira says.
As Akemi looks through the documents, eyes skimming through Japanese and legalese alike, you turn your attention to Kira. "So, did you figure out anything new?"
She nods. "Yeah. I'll just need you to focus some of your prana into your arm for this one. I'll explain as we go, trust me."
You nod in response, before stretching out your arm a little bit more. You haven't really used that spell that Kira gave you, but you know the basics of this kind of thing. Just push away all outside stimulants, and focus purely on your arm…
The stylized black hole of the Void Glyph on your right hand glows an ominous purple. Kira opens a compartment on her couch, and pulls out a few magnifying tools. Akemi and Purrson lean in, interested.
>This ought to be interesting.
Kira checks your arm, and speaks as she does. "Alright, what I've figured out is that this thing sort of… inhibits your emotions. Well, that isn't really the right word. It extremifies them. While you have it, good becomes great. Bad becomes worse. It takes the generic memories that would otherwise be used in any spell and…twists them."
"And… I imagine you have some way to fix that?"
"Yup. Are you good with needles?"
Acupuncture? -Fuma
>What? That's too obvious, droll, and stereotypical, she obviously has some sort of vaccine or…
Kira pulls out a few tiny needles— about as long as your pinky and thin enough to fit through the eye of another needle.
>…I stand corrected.
"With the help of some of my Archmage levels of mana and prana… I should be able to make a sort of "seal" over the strange Glyph you've got. Similar procedure as those who get Fire, Water or any other Glyphs stuck on them, just amplified by a few hundred times."
"Void. It's called a Void Glyph, sounds catchier." Akemi interjects.
Kira opens her mouth to interrupt, but closes it when she looks at the whole "black hole" on your hand. "…I'll think about it. But anyways, as I was saying. Let me stab you with these and some of my magic so that you won't have any nightmares or adverse effects from that Void Glyph."
…you feel weirdly calm about that offer. This isn't the first time someone's offered/threatened to stab you. Should you be worried about that?
Uh, yes??? -Kizaru
Girl, what???
Another thing to never talk about with anyone else, got it. "Is there anything I need to do?"
Kira sighs. "Yeah. I need you to add a memory component to be a Rune replacement here. Got any good memories? Real, joyful, core memory type of stuff?"
You look at Akemi the second you hear that, and she just looks at you, silently panicked.
Purrson manages to pick you up, thankfully. "Rei. Focus. Remember the people who you hold at the center of your life— Jun, Akemi, maybe Himari on a good day. Remember that time when we got back from the Archfiend fight? Think about that, about reading manga in the middle of the night along with your friends."
To finish off his speech, he raises a single paw up.
…if you didn't know better, you'd swear that he's trying to give you a thumbs up.
>He's definitely a real one.
You turn back to Kira. "I've got my memory ready. Hit me. I'll be fine."
Kira seems a tad bit surprised by your sudden change, but doesn't let it stop her. "Alright, close your eyes, shut them tight. Focus on your arm and the memory, and I'll do the rest."
You close your eyes.
[Magical Check; DC 32]
[71+21+8(EP)=100. Incredible Success!]
It's a bit harder focusing on your arm and silencing your mind, but thankfully there isn't much stimulus to deal with. Akemi seems to have set her phone to silent, and Purrson doesn't make a move.
For a few seconds, you feel nothing. You feel tiny pricks on your arms, but from what you can tell, Kira's activated some sort of local anesthesia. Instead, you forcefully will your body into a state of zen.
Wait, you can't be "forcefully willed into zen"— -Fuma
Shh! -Hatsume
Even the voices in your head start to quiet. And for once in a long, long while, it's just you and your thoughts.
Just perfect, unending, quiet. What begins—
And then, the whispers start. You've felt these noises. They're the same thoughts that worm into your brain when you transform into… a Striker? No, a Masked Warrior is a better word for it. They're the thoughts that led you to butcher those six men and women a few weeks ago. The thoughts that almost had you kill Himari, a girl who you now consider one of your best friends. Ends—
Those thoughts are the same as the parts of you that they bred in the Assassin's Guild. The same thoughts you were encouraged to think. How long have you had those thoughts, on your own? Did the Void give you new violence, or simply rekindle the old? Were they beaten into you, or were they always within you?
What begins, ends.
You cannot answer those questions. Not yet. They aren't something that you can simply "take on" or "beat down". Not something as easily killable as a life. But perhaps that just means that the lessons you'll learn along the way to answering them will be twice as valuable. For all the time that you've spent outside of the Guild, you still know nothing in the grand scheme of things, after all.
Begins, ends.
But what you do know is that you will not have it end this way. You are Rei Maruki, and that's who you'll always be. A hero, a weapon, even a monster… in the end, those are just going to stay labels others assign to you. And isn't it a ridiculous label, when you've met monsters that are arguably more human than you?
BEGINS, ENDS-
(For a second, your thoughts drift over to the Archfiend. Would you have done the same atrocities that he was willing to commit in order to save Akemi?)
(Who are you kidding? You know the answer. Yes. Absolutely, without the slightest bit of hesitation. And you'd do whatever it takes to save Akemi, Jun, Purrson and Himari, over and over and over again until either you're able to rest or you break.)
THE GOAL OF LIFE— TO END-
Through the endless blackness you see it. Your right hand, simply laying there at your side. There is a Void on it, a black hole centralized on the opposite side of your palm. With your other hand, you almost instinctively grab onto it, to try and push it off. No luck. It's like trying to move a mountain. Worse. It's like trying to move a god.
But you think about getting a normal job for once. About a reunion with an old friend. You think about reading manga and being in the cold together. The Void pulses, the whispers growlouder-
ENDS, BEGINS, ENDS-
And you grab tightly, and crush your own hand. 9:38 AM
Kira's Place, Somewhere in Kyoto
You move forward with a jolt, almost falling off of the couch. You almost lose your balance, but both Kira and Akemi catch you before you can fall.
Ohmystars- Rei! We thought we lost you!
>You went completely dark there! Don't scare us like that!
Akemi passes you a towel, and you realize that your forehead is caked in cold sweat. Kira grabs your hand, examines it with religious fervor, and then looks back at you. "What the hell, Maruki? I thought you died!"
You blink in confusion. "I… I lived, I guess. How does my hand look, Dr. Kira?"
Akemi checks your hand, and sighs. "It's not bad, but it's probably gonna leave a mark."
You take a look yourself, and let out a breath you didn't know that you were holding. "Could've been worse."
There's a collection of tiny scars where the jagged edges of the Void Glyph used to be, all of them about as long as a thumbtack. Whatever Kira's magic needles did must have accelerated the healing, because while the skin on your hand looks fine, underneath it feels like it was ripped in dozens of places. You'll probably have to get a glove.
Purrson examines your hand along with you. "It looks like whatever Ms. Kira just did worked. While the presence of the Void is still there, it's been… lessened, somewhat."
[Rei can now make write-ins more easily, and follow more complex combat plans!]
[Rei gained access to Void Burst!]
Tutorial: Void Burst
When she casts Void-aligned Spells, when an enemy is killed by her, or when ???, Rei makes a Social Roll, DC 10. On success, the DC for that increases by 10, while on failure, she enters the Void Burst state for 3 turns. (After Void Burst wears off, Rei may not use it for the rest of the Scene.)
During this state, all Void spells gain new effects, and Rei gains a buff to all her stats except for Social, which you gain a debuff to. She also goes pretty crazy, only barely being able to distinguish friend from foe. The stat buff is equal to 5+your current level x2. So that would be a +13 to every stat except for Social, which takes a -13 instead. Rei may also take an extra action each turn, at the cost of paying 5 Health per extra action.
Rei may also choose to enter the Void Burst state on command as a free action during combat. This may have some uses later on.
Your Flaw is changing…
Old: [Those Who Cannot Change]
THEPOWERTHEPOWERITHURTSITHURTS— [Write-ins will be harder to find opportunities for, and write-in combat plans will be interpreted through the lens of someone blood-drunk on combat.]
[You may only pop one Form Change each scene, not counting ones triggered by [Awakening].]
New: [Those Who Cannot Change]
The power inside you is a raging torrent, an all-devouring beast— if you do not take a firm hold of it, it'll destroy you entirely. [Rei will be able to make write-ins, but if she kills too many enemies or comes into close contact with the Void, she may enter the Void Burst state, making her temporarily lose her mind.]
[You may only pop two Form Changes each scene, not counting ones triggered by [Awakening].]
You stretch out your arms towards the sky, groaning as you do. "Thanks, Kira. At least I can disguise this as some scars instead of a shitty tattoo."
She nods, but you can tell that there's some tension behind it this time. "No problem, Maruki. It was my first time trying that out as a procedure, but it worked great on you. Anything else you notice?"
"...aside from the pain in my hand from being stabbed?"
Kira blushes and noticeably averts her gaze from yours. "Ok, I never claimed to be an acupuncture expert, just an Archmage. Could've been worse. We thought you had a stroke and a heart attack for a few seconds."
"Ok, but can I go through the procedure now?" Akemi suddenly asks, "I want to have my Void thing turned off as well."
Kira blinks. "I, uh… y'know what, I'm in a good mood today. Rei, get up, and let Akemi take your spot."
You move away, and Purrson deftly leaps from Akemi's shoulder to yours. Kira still hasn't noticed him, which begs the question of how the hell Himari was able to see the cat (-like thing). Questions for later, you suppose.
Akemi rolls up her sleeve, revealing the black claw mark on her shoulder. Kira seems a bit surprised by how different the manifestation of the mysterious Void looks from yours, but continues anyways. The spirits in your head and Purrson quiet down as Akemi closes her eyes and stretches out her arm for Kira to look at. Kira slowly reaches down, and with a gust of wind, an acupuncture needle like the one that she poked you with floats out of a secret compartment and into her hand. As Akemi's breathing steadies out, Kira channels her prana into the needle, the metal beginning to glow green. The world stands still for a second, as you hold your breath.
[Magical Check; DC 40]
[d100=3. [U]Critical Failure[/U].]
[Akemi loses 4 Magical!]
[Akemi's Deadline goes down by 1 week! She'll need to consume a Shade Core next week, or else…]
Kira pokes Akemi's shoulder, and Akemi jolts in surprise, gasping-
And then everything fades to black. ?:??
???????, ????? begins, ends… You come to consciousness quickly. When you pick yourself up off the ground, there's not much to note. You can't tell where you are right now, but it seems very fancy. Old fashioned candles lit by Fire Glyphs line the walls, and the floors are adorned with marble tiling. Some sort of fancy hotel?
You reach out, and almost consider trying to transform. But there's nothing. The Driver, the belt that gave you the power to become a masked warrior- it's not responding to your calls. You can't feel the mysterious brown deck in your pocket either. You can vaguely feel Atry's presence in the back of your head, but not much else.
From behind you, a door opens and closes, and you follow the sound of footsteps on marble floors.. It looks like a private room, and despite all your instincts telling you to go away from something so unimportant, there's also a draw to it. A powerful instinct- fighting it would be like fighting breathing. You reach for the doorknob, and open the double-sided door.
Inside, there is the aftermath of a massacre. Men and women alike lay dead, fancy suits clearly having done nothing to save them from a well-placed bullet. Or from what you assume was a spray of a gatling gun- some of the business men on the side are riddled with tiny, inch-thick holes.
In the center of the carnage, there is a single person. They turn almost instantly when they hear you open the door, but you manage to close it and crouch behind a knocked-over dining chair. You can hear their heavy breathing, as they take one of the corpses and drag it over to the otherside of the room. Almost on a whim, you slowly poke your head above the chair, and squint to see them in more detail. The person is masked with what you assume is Magic, since their entire head seems like it's covered in a cloud of gray static… but there's something familiar about them. They're average height, they have white hair…
That's Akemi.
The thought alone makes you duck below the chair. It would only make sense. Akemi was the one that just got poked. And from what she told you, Akemi actually talked to a Voidish being before getting her powers.
But what is she doing here? She hasn't been a Cleaner for years. On that note, why are you at what's clearly the aftermath of an assassination?
Some kind of flashback as a Void safety measure? The Void has safety measures?
Lost in your thoughts, you almost tip over the chair, but you manage to just barely grab it. As you do, the figure, or Akemi, walks over to a corpse sitting at the far end of the room. Unlike all the others, he's still sitting on his chair for the meeting.
It looks like someone ripped out his heart— there's a gaping hole all the way through his chest. The person that could maybe be Akemi walks over and sighs. Though the static cloud makes it a hundred times harder to hear what they're saying, you still manage to make out a few things.
"Stupid- ruta- so messy- how inconvi-"
The stench of two metals permeate the air. Copper and lead. You thought the fight back at Animate was bad, but this? This is bringing back all sorts of unpleasant memories? You swallow the bile, and stay calm. They're just a Cleaner. As long as you aren't spotted, they have no obligation to kill.
Eventually, all the bodies are moved to one end, and the Cleaner takes a brush and starts to sweep. Slowly, due to some Magic you can't quite identify, the blood staining the floor and the guts spilling out of the corpses slowly begin to gather in one pile. If the Cleaner, who by now you are almost certain is Akemi by the way that she's almost smacking the floor with that broom, is almost done, you'll almost certainly have to fight.
But just as you get ready to reach for your gun, you hear a bump. Akemi hears it too. In one smooth motion, she walks over to the file cabinet on the other end of the meeting room. And she talks, clear as day this time.
"I know you're there."
The file cabinet remains silent. Akemi sighs.
"Let me be clear with you. I'm only the crime scene cleaner. The forensics girl. Get out, and I can take you back home to your parents, kid."
She says that, but you know what she's obligated by the Guild to do. She pulls out a small silenced pistol from behind her back.
The person in the cabinet, if there is any, stays silent. So does Akemi. Even through the cloud of static, you can sense her pensiveness. After a few seconds, she reholsters the pistol.
"…that's ok, then. You're a smart one, a survivor, you remind me a bit of a friend I had. We call her Roze— I think you'd like her."
She walks across the room again, and then looks at the pile of dead bodies she organized. She surveys her "handiwork", before nodding. She takes out a single match from her pocket, and blows on it. It lights up into a light violet flame.
Crematefire. The spell that burns dead bodies, and only dead bodies. Akemi's favored tool.
Akemi turns to the cabinet one last time, and drops the match right as she starts speaking. The blood and bones of the deceased immediately begin to start burning away, and she nods.
"You're gonna meet crueler people than me downstairs, kid. The second I leave this room, start running. Otherwise, you'll die."
You blink a few times, and all of a sudden, the scent of blood begins to hit you almost a hundred times more. Your head goes dizzy, and you fall down…
9:41 AM
Kira's Place, Somewhere in Kyoto
You awaken again in a cold sweat, and immediately look at Akemi. She's completely passed out, and her eyes are closed.
What are you doing? Quick, check on her!
By Atry's recommendation, you scramble over to Akemi and check her pulse and breathing. When a quick look-over reveals that she just seems to be in a deep sleep, you let out a deep sigh of relief. That could have gone badly.
You feel a hand on your shoulder, and almost jump before you realize that it's Kira. You turn to face her, and you see this haunted look on her face. The bags that were underneath her eyes seem to have deepened tenfold, and you would not be surprised if you saw a gray hair pop up on her.
Kira opens her mouth, closes it again, looks away, and then after a moment of silence from her, finally begins to speak. "Maruki. What was that?"
[Social Check; DC 60/90/120]
[91+17+12(EP)=120. Incredible Success!]
It takes you a second, but the realization hits you like a truck once you're able to read her expression. That expression on her face isn't anger- it's guilt, and self-loathing, mixed with a little bit of fear. She thinks it's her fault that the vision triggered and you just saw that. She isn't judging Akemi- she's just really, really freaked out. You would not be surprised if she's only about five seconds away from a panic attack.
>Poor kid…
You place a hand on her shoulder, and adopt a comforting and low tone of voice. "Kira. I don't know what in the world we just saw. We need to make sure that Akemi's ok right now, alright? Help me out with carrying her down to the floor."
Kira blinks, and nods, before half-heartedly reaching an arm out and casting a gust of wind that takes Akemi down to the floor. Both you and Kira sit down on the floor, right next to Akemi. She halfheartedly points to something behind you. "...get me a lollipop from the pantry over there, Maruki. I need some sweets to get through this clusterfuck."
It almost doesn't feel right to hear her curse, but you do so anyway. You walk up, grab a strawberry pop from a bag, and throw it over to Kira. She pops it into her mouth, but shakes her head. "I don't know what just happened, Maruki. I… don't know anything about this situation. I should refer you to one of my colleagues, they'd be a better fit for the problem you have."
As she looks at you, on the verge of tears, you realize something. For once in a while, Kira's almost certainly not the smartest person in the room now. Her Archmage authority doesn't mean anything… she probably just feels like a scared kid.
What do you do now? You don't have much experience helping out with this kind of thing. But you're the only one who can help. [ ] Full Disclosure We're in too deep to be dishonest here!
-Tell Kira everything. The Guild, Umbra, the fact that you're a Masked Warrior and Akemi's a Magical Girl, and what little you know about the Void. Purrson will try and help with that last one (+3 to roll), but the rest is up to you.
-Rei will make a Social check, which will decide the DC of Kira's next ?????? check. If she rolls over that DC, she won't panic. If she rolls under…
-Chance of progressing Kira's questline and unlocking new magic features.
-Chance of Kira revealing to you what she knows about the Void, Umbra, and the disappearing buildings.
-Chance of Kira kicking you out for the next three weeks. -Chance of unlocking Secret Mission Missing Piece. [ ] A Tiny Lie >Maybe going in so fast wouldn't help us much here…
-Tell Kira that she needs to help you (true), you have no idea what just happened (mostly true), and that there's no way that was real (untrue).
-(DC 65 Social Check, Purrson will give a +5.)
-Chance of progressing Kira's questline and unlocking new magic features.
-Chance of Kira attempting to help you out independently. However, she might not let you bring Akemi back for a while. (Every once in a while, she'll call you in as a Free Action.)
-Chance of Kira kicking you out for the next two weeks.
[ ] A Plea for Help Why are you all like this? Can't we just ask the obvious authority for some advice?! -Hatsume
-Be honest and just say that what you just saw with Akemi freaked you the hell out.
-Since you'll be more scared and anxious than her, the mom friend instinct will kick in and Kira will try and protect you.
-You will be unable to take Akemi back to Kira for the next three weeks.
-Will progress Kira's questline and unlock new magic features.
-Kira will share with you a bit of what she knows about the Void.
[ ] (Write In) [???]
-You better say something good.
Atry: …what the hell? Red_I: Oh, things just went from 0 to 100 much too fast for my liking. Rei, be careful here. Fuma: You all live like this? Oh, I wish Master Shien was here already…
[X] Plan Focused Efforts
-[X] Reading Up!
-[X] Investigate a rumor you heard. -[X] Look more into the Void Glyph with Kira's help.
-[X] Have a "talk" with Purrson.
-[X] Work on being "a real superhero team"
-[X] Try to do some research on that mysterious deck.
-[X] Get some help with the voices in your head.
-[X] Work at Animate, but only part time.
-[X] Explore Tokyo. -[X] Ask Akemi to touch your deck-- I mean, give you a new form.
-[X] Train your technopathy powers.
-[X] Get situated. -[X] Train to defend the weak.
-[X] Accompany Rei on one Major Action.
--[x] Look more into the Void Glyph with Kira's help.
Author's Note:
Yeah, that Crit Fail hurt you all a lot, though you could probably tell. If Rei hadn't hit that crazy 120, there was a small chance Kira would have kicked you and Akemi out by throwing you back to Tokyo. At the very least, now you know that Akemi's Void Contract is ingrained into her soul much deeper than what you've got, so… yay?
Right now though, you've got a choice to make. Happy voting, heroes! Choose wisely.