[Day: Wednsday, February 19th. Time: 2:50 p.m.] [Weather: Huge blizzard two days ago. since then it's been clear, but the snow hasn't cleared up yet. It's sunny, but chilly.] [Yesterday, you talked a lot. Riko came along and nearly beat Kaede up, and Haruko got a date with arguably the handsomest man in school (arguably because there's a bunch of people like that, including the principal). Today, you all gravitate towards the lockers. Except Kaede. He's not there for some reason.] [Session Start!] * Haruko skips along the hallway, which is slightly less dangerous than her running, so she hasn't hit anyone yet. * Satoshi puts some books in his locker, shuts it, and waves to Haruko. * Haruko happily waves back. What's up? You sure look happy. * Katie is sitting at her locker. An open textbook is on the floor, and a notebook in her lap. She's writing in it, but not getting much done, as she's constantly glancing at her watch. * Taki comes walking in from the direction opposite Haruko, "Haruko! Just the person I wanted to see!" Oh, just in a good mood, nothing new. Ah, hello Taki! What's up? * Satoshi waves to Taki, then walks over to Katie and sits down next to her. "Hey, Katie. How're you doing?" Just out of curiosity...Does your temple do exorcisms? * Katie doesn't look up from her trigonometry problems. "Could be better." Things have caught fire in my kitchen twice in one week, and while that could be expected from my father...I was under the impression that Kaede could cook. What's wrong? Or is it none of my business? * Haruko purses her lips and thinks. "Mmm... Occassionally, we don't specialize in that though. But my father certainly knows someone who does." * Katie sighs and just shuts the textbook, then looks up at Satoshi. Kendo practice is today. Ohhh. Yeah. What do you need exorcized? If you're going, want me to come along as backup or something? My stove? It could just be bad luck, but... * Katie bites her lip. "Well, Ryuji would be there, so things should be all right." * Satoshi nods. "Yeah. But if you want me along, just say the word. That's what friends are for, right?" * Haruko nods. "That shouldn't be too hard. How bad is it? If it's only weird than a simple purification ritual and a blessing may do the job." * Katie fidgets some, then sighs and slumps a bit more. "It's my problem, really. But if you want to come, I won't stop you." Okay. I'll see what the others are up to, too. It started about a week ago, remember that day I missed class? My dad started a big fire, and then two days ago Kaede manages to set something on fire and there wasn't enough of it left to tell what it was supposed to have been. Other than that I haven't noticed anything. * Haruko nods. "Then an excorcism may not be necessary." She then glances over to Katie with a worried expression, and starts paying attention to her conversation, a bit too late. * Taki blinks and looks where Haruko is looking, "G'morning Satoshi, Katie...What's wrong?" * Katie twists the pen in her hands, then glances at her watch again. "Kendo practice today," she says, giving the same answer she gave Satoshi. * Kyon comes around the corner, bag in one hand, a small stack of papers in the other. He looks down towards the group, looks back down the hall, then stalks over towards them. * Haruko nods and frowns. "If you don't mind me asking, decided what to do about Taro yet?" Eughh, on the bright side it's an oportunity to hit him with a stick. * Satoshi stands back up and laughs at Taki's last remark, then looks over and notices who's arrived. "Oh, afternoon, Kyon." * Katie sighs. * Taki turns again, "Hi Kyon." I'm going to try to break up with him today. * Satoshi looks back at Katie. "Good." * Kyon nods quickly to the others, and looks down at Katie. He smirks. "If he tries anything, just blow him away." * Taki nods and then shakes her head. * Haruko nods approvingly. "If there's anything I can do to help, let me know. I can give you a few pointers if you like, but breaking up with or rejecting someone compassionately never gets easy." * Katie rolls her eyes. "Yes, with my amazing powers." She waggles her fingers. "Ryuji should be nearby, at least." * Haruko smiles at that, but pauses before she speaks, as this isn't the best time to share her happy news with Katie. I don't know how compassionate this is going to be, Haruko. "I'm sorry, but you scare me, so let's maybe just be friends" is about the best that'll happen. * Kyon shakes his head quickly. "Think your captain will be able to help enough? Skewering team members isn't great for the membership drive." He drops his bag, and looks dispassionately at the paperwork. * Satoshi snaps his fingers. "Darn, so that's what I've been doing wrong." ...Okay, so that probably wasn't all that funny. Sorry. * Katie eyes Kyon. "If he tries to skewer me? I hope he does do something." * Taki eyes Satoshi. * Satoshi catches Taki's glance and looks down, embarassed. * Haruko ignores Kyon. "By compassionate I mean being somewhat concerned about his feelings. You're rightfully scared, but do you think he's actually a bad guy or just a bit immature and perhaps unstable?" * Haruko ends her sentence with a voice that implies emotionally immature and unstable is nothing new or unusual. * Katie leans back and tilts her head towards the ceiling. "The second, but that doesn't make me any less worried about my health." * Kyon folds his legs under him, and takes out a pen. He looks bemusedly up at Haruko. "There's a difference? Someone willing to go through as many people as possible to get at someone whose already given up, whether insane or evil, doesn't promise chocolates and presents when you kick them aside." ... * Haruko smiles at Katie and doesn't respond to Kyon for the moment. "I'll be you're more dangerous than Taro any day. Sides, we'll all back you up" * Katie laughs. * Taki nods, "Yes!" I'm dangerous? * Satoshi looks back up. "Yeah, like I said. We will... well, most of us will, anyway." * Kyon smirks. "Yeah, you've got that dangerous glare. Pull that out. Always works on our tech boy." He reads over the first sheet, and starts marking it up. * Satoshi looks around. "Where is Kaede, anyway?" * Katie snerks. "Sure, Kyon." She checks her watch again. * Taki shakes her head, "I haven't seen him since the day before yesterday." We all saw him yesterday, when he... oh, yeah. We think he might have found one of his powers. Oh? * Haruko shrugs, then turns to Kyon. "Yeah, there's a huge difference between evil and your standard awkward, immature, and even sometimes creepy high school guy. I know from experience that most of the later aren't dangerous." * Katie blinks. "Really?" Yeah. It has to do with being able to make electronics do weird things, or knowing stuff about computers that he really shouldn't, and stuff like that... he's probably the best one to explain, though. And none of us are really sure how it works. Sounds like a power all right. * Haruko chuckles. "He might not be the best to explain, I think he's still have trouble accepting it." * Taki blinks, "...So if I got him to hit my TV again the picture would go back to what it was?" * Satoshi frowns slightly. "He messed up your TV?" * Kyon shrugs as he writes, and doesn't look up at Haruko. "Actions are actions. You saw what he did." * Taki shrugs "Sometimes it works better, sometimes it's worse...and maybe I could get him to hit a few of the stations so there's something worth watching during the day." * Kaede walks back down the hall, his kaban slung over the back of his shoulder. * Haruko looks at Kyon, she lowers her voice a bit. "Which is why she should dump him. But he was trying to hurt one of her enemies, and didn't mean to hurt her. She should be prepared, but..." Well, you don't want me hitting your TV, that's for sure. And speaking of... heya, Kaede. * Satoshi waves. * Haruko smiles and waves at Kaede's appraoch. If you do, you get to help buy a new one, and hi Kaede. * Kaede walks straight over to Kyon, reaches in his jacket pocket, and hands him a card. "Four of Cups." * Katie blinks up at Kaede. "Hi. What's this about?" You meet another Arcana? * Kyon shakes his head tersely, and still doesn't look up. "Not her enemy. Not even a threat, at that moment. He wasn't going to do anything." * Kaede nods. "The computer club VP. He's the Four of Cups." Oh, no. *That* guy. He drew it twice in a row. He got frustrated the second time and drew this. * Kyon looks up at him. "Yeah? Good. He should be on my side now." * Kaede pulls out the 8 of swords and sets it down. Why him of all people? Hmm... I didn't actually see it, that makes a difference. I can see 'dumb guy logic' justifying an attack like that, but it's all in the specifics. Good chance your right for this case. * Kyon looks at the second card, and shakes his head tersely. "So. He pulled two different cards." * Kaede looks over at Haruko. "What are you talking about?" * Kaede scowls at Kyon. "No. He drew the Four of Cups TWICE, got frustrated that he pulled the same one and then pulled the 8." * Katie glances at her watch again. I know how to do this, Kyon.. [Along comes Chikako!] * Kaede sighs and shakes his head. "I don't know why I bothered telling you if you don't even think I do it right.." * Kyon smirks. "Never seen you do it before. He stick the first card back in the deck before the 8?" * Haruko looks up to Kaede and starts quietly. "Taro, but that conversation is done." * Kaede shakes his head at Kyon. * Kyon nods tersely, and looks a bit thoughtful. "So the Four wasn't in play when he drew the Eight?" * Haruko glances over to Kyon. "Please, do be sure to teach him some manners when you recruit him." * Chikako walks up and gets right into the conversation. "What Eight? Black Jack? Black Jack is so cool!" Are you starting a card game club? That'd be so cool! I could do an article on it and everything! * Kaede nods again. * Katie blinks and looks up at Chikako, smiling with some amount of relief. "Hi Chikako." Oh, heya, Chikako. What's cool today? We're still working on the rules, so there's no club yet. * Haruko looks to CHikako and waves happily. "Hey Chikako, I got some cool information for you that you hopefully won't need to use." * Kyon looks over to Chikako, and nods a quick greeting. Then he looks down to the papers again. * Chikako grins and pulls a back from her pocket. "Sugar Beans!" She grins, shaking it a bit. Sure enough, the bag proclaims in big red letters 'Sugar Beans'. "They're so cool!" she adds. Want some? Oh, sure. Thanks! * Satoshi holds out his hand. * Kaede turns around and blinks, just noticing Chikako there. "Oh, hello Chikako." * Haruko nods. "Thanks." * Taki blinks, "Why not?" and holds out a hand. * Chikako gives everyone a handful of Sugar Beans. * Kyon doesn't hold out his hand, and so doesn't take any. * Satoshi munches. "Hmm... sugary." Sure, I guess. * Katie eyes the sugar beans. Sugar, sugar, sugar. She pops one in her mouth. * Taki tries a Sugar Bean. * Kaede looks down at his handful. He doesn't even remember sticking his hand out. "Um..thanks?" [The sugar beans taste quite good if you like sugary candy. Not so good if you only like soy beans :P] * Kaede picks one up between his thumb and forefinger and squishes it lightly up and down. Squishy squishy. These're pretty good. Thanks. * Haruko sticks out a hand to take one and eats it, "Mmmm. Thanks again." * Chikako grins. "Cool! They just came out." I did a super cool article on them in today's paper. * Chikako takes the opportunity to distrubite said paper. * Taki chews a bit, "These are great, Where'd you find them? Or should we just read about it?" * Kaede pops one in his mouth and winces a bit. "Um...on second thought, I'm not all that hungry. Anyone want mine?" * Kyon looks up at her again, but still doesn't take any beans. Does take the paper, though. He opens it and starts reading. * Katie munches on another one and reads the paper. * Taki takes a paper with the hand that isn't full of beans and tries to open it. If I take yours, I think my teeth are going to die. * Haruko grabs a paper and starts reading, she then does her best fake casual mention to Chikako. "I found out what Ryuji likes in a dinner date, Teriyaki for one thing, and simple food in general. " Really? Cool! * Chikako grins. "I'll do a super-cool report!" [Nothing great in the paper. The article on Sugar Beans is quite well written, though.] * Satoshi tries to nonchalantly stuff the remaining Sugar Beans in his pocket. * Kyon turns from the paper to smirk at Haruko. "Bet he'll be real happy to see that written up." * Kaede looks at Chikako for a moment, calmly. "You'll report that one of the most popular guys in school, according to your Valentine's report, has a favorite restaurant.." * Haruko grins, shakes her head, and continues. "Mah, that was just for you, reserve it for worthy people." * Taki fumbles with the paper and beans for a bit. He does? Cool! Which one? * Kaede rubs his forehead and groans. "I'll never get you, Chikako..." * Satoshi skims over his paper. * Chikako grins. "People say that all the time. It's so cool!" Just...I'll take a paper. * Katie checks her watch yet again. And pops another bean in her mouth. * Kyon shakes his head at Chikako. "Remind me not to tell you where I like to go." He goes back to the paperwork. * Haruko looks at Chikako, vaguely worried. "I really didn't mean for a report, you just said you didn't know what he'd like, so I thought it would be cool for you to not have that knowledge gap." * Taki puts the paper down, opens her bag one-handed, deposits most of the beans within and the triumphantly opens her paper. * Katie sighs and stands. "Okay. Wish me luck." Oh... Ok... That's cool too. * Kaede watches Katie. "You're leaving?" * Katie grabs her satchel and stuffs her notebook in, followed by her pen. Cool! Good luck Katie! ... ... Whatcha doing? Yeah, well. Kendo practice and breakup. Oh. Want me to come? It'd be cool! I'd give him a piece of my mind. * Katie smiles weakly. "More worried about the breakup, but hey." * Kaede stops short and looks down at the ground. "...oh. Good luck, Katie..." * Taki closes her paper, "I wish you the best of luck, and if that doesn't help, I will." * Haruko waves to Katie. "Yup. I'll be here, ready to teach him not to bother you if need be." * Kyon doesn't look up from his papers as he waves curtly to Katie. * Kaede looks down the hall in the opposite direction then closes his eyes and leans up against the lockers, hands in his pockets. * Katie blinks at Chikako. "Thanks. If... well, if you want to come, that's okay, but-" She hesitates. "I have no idea if I'm supposed to do this alone or not," she says with some amazement. "I should probably do it alone." * Chikako tilts her head. "Why? It's cool either way." I- I don't know. I'm just... I should go. I'm going to be late. * Haruko nods. "Private may be less painful, but if you feel threatened, that is more important." So, we should be nearby...but not too close? * Kaede shakes his head. "The words are for her and him alone..." * Chikako frowns sympathetically. "Well, ok... But if he does anything mean, it's cool to come to me." * Satoshi nods at Taki's statement. "We don't want to barge in on your privacy, but if he's gonna freak out, we don't want you getting hurt, either." * Kaede bites his lip and looks off in the other direction again. * Katie smiles a little more fully this time. "I know. Thanks." She gives Chikako a compulsive hug, then waves to the rest of the group. "I'll be back later." Cool! Good luck! * Satoshi sighs. "Okay. Good luck." ...Good luck, Katie... Goodluck! May the Kami watch over you. * Kyon waves quickly again at Katie's back as she heads off. * Katie hurries off to practice. * Kaede holds out his hand towards Chikako and replies calmly. "While we're at it, paper me." * Chikako hands Kaede a paper. * Kaede unfolds the paper with a flick of the wrist, leaning against the lockers at a diagonal and looks for anything important...and more particularly, any other embarrassing articles about himself. * Haruko looks to Chikako. "This is also just for you, but I know what he likes because I got a date. I'm sure you'd hear anyways, and if possible I'd prefer that to stay quiet for a few weeks." [Kaede finds his entire life story on p.4, all the embarressing bits included. Well, no, not really....] (*snerk*) * Taki re opens her newspaper and reads about the Sugar Beans she's eating. * Chikako pouts. "Aw, you guys never let me report anything cool." * Satoshi sighs and attempts to go back to reading his newspaper. * Haruko grins. "You'll be the second to know if we start going steady." * Kyon smirks at his papers. "You don't want to be swarmed by mad kendo fangirls?" * Kaede closes his eyes. "You don't need to report people's intimate details to have an interesting report, Chikako. Like how many chocolates they got for one thing.." * Haruko grins at Kyon. "I want Ryuji, or I think I might, maybe I could set up the fangirls with some freinds of mine." That's not intimate! It's cool! You know I just... * Kaede lets out a deep sigh. "Never mind." * Kyon nods quickly. "It is. Why do you care if people know how many chocolates you got? Embarassing for people to know that girls give you things?" * Satoshi finishes looking at the paper, folds it back up, tucks it under his arm, and looks down the hallway in the direction Katie went. * Chikako grins at Kyon. "See? Cool!" I just don't put too much stock in it, okay. And besides, I'm not...all that popular as is. I just...don't want to make a big deal out of something that isn't one. * Haruko leans against the locker and glances over to Satoshi. "How long do you think we should wait before we start loitering outside the Kendo room?" * Kyon shrugs. "It's newsworthy. People want to know. So it's a big deal. So deal." * Satoshi frowns. "Not sure. I don't know how long it'll take her to talk to him, or, rahter, how long it'll take him to start reacting." * Kaede rolls his eyes. "Right. And so are the dining habits of Ryuji then. People will read ANYTHING these days then." Should I come? I don't want Taro to do anything uncool. * Haruko looks at Kaede, somewhat flustered. "That wasn't for the newspaper, I just, Chikako didn't... nevermind." Why not just put anything that happens in the paper? We're meeting by the lockers. That's big news. Let's report that..." Yeah Chikako, you should definately be there for Katie either way. * Chikako eyes Kaede. "But... it's cool!" * Kyon still doesn't look up. "Up to you to keep these things from the press. That was public. You see me caring?" He smirks up at Chikako. "Feel free to report that we meet at the lockers." * Kaede shrugs and lets out a deep breath. "You're missing the point Kyon. As usual." (If Haruko fan boys start showing up, I'm blaming Kyon :P ) * Chikako furrows her brow. "What point?" * Kaede shakes his head. "Don't worry about it, Chikako. Report what you want." Can we hold the conversation on the freedom the press someplace else...like in front of the kendo room? * Chikako grins. "Ok. Cool!" * Kyon shakes his head bemusedly, and goes back to the papers. * Kaede turns around towards Taki and narrows his eyes. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. What was the point of all that talk about privacy if you're not giving Katie any?" * Haruko nods at Taki. "We can probably go there now reasonably discretely, let's get going." Look, I know that she could get into trouble, but if she's NOT in trouble, then we're invading. * Haruko looks at Kaede. "Outside the room Kaede. Outside." But all the Kendo students are there anyhow, so it's cool! If people start yelling we'll go in, if not, we wont. Yup, we won't be eavesdropping, we won't even be watching. * Kaede sighs deeply. "Alright, fine. I still don't like it..." * Satoshi looks at Kaede. "Would you rather that something happened to Katie because we weren't there?" * Haruko gives a slight smile to Kaede. "Trust me, it's alright, I have experience with this sort of thing." Katie can take care of herself...I trust her... * Chikako looks at Satoshi and frowns. "That wouldn't be cool at all." * Satoshi sighs. "It's not that I don't trust Katie... it's that I don't trust that Taro guy. Not one bit." * Kaede picks up his kaban. "Let's go then...you're right..." * Taki nods at Kaede, "I trust Katie too, but I don't trust Taro at all." If Taro really cares for Katie, I mean really cares at all, he won't touch her.. * Kyon shakes his head quickly. "Already has before." * Haruko gets walking and comments in a resigned tone, "I hope he's just dumb. That seems like too much to ask for lately though. You were probably right Kyon." * Kaede frowns and heads off with them. "That was still an accident...I'd hate to see what kind of person would do that on purpose..." * Kyon smirks. "Yeah." He finishes off a paper, pulls out his seal, and stamps it. Then moves to the next one. * Chikako follows. "Do what? What'd he do? Oooh, that guy is so uncool." Which is why we're going Kaede. I can't believe I told Katie he had a crush on her. How could I do something so uncool? * Haruko shrugs, she seems torn. "That type of person does exist. Let's hope Taro isn't one of them." She whispers a prayer to herself as she walks. It's okay, Chikako. You didn't know. None of us did. He...seemed like a nice guy, Chikako... Yeah, sometime this sort of behavior only shows once the person is in a relationship. Not your fault Chikako, you didn't know...how could you have? 'Cause my information network is super-cool. They shoulda told me. Has he dated anyone before? * Chikako shakes her head. * Haruko nods. "Thought as much." I've been wondering about that, Chikako...where DO you get your information from? * Chikako grins at Kaede. "That's a secret. A supercool secret." * Kaede rubs his forehead. "Should have seen that coming..." You'll just have to let me know all the dirt you have on me sometime then at least.. So you can fix any errors she has? * Kaede sweatdrops at Taki's statement. "...no." * Chikako just grins and says nothing. * Haruko eyes Chikako for a second, then resumes her normal demenor. [You arrive outside the kendo room. Inside, they're practicing forms. Nothing seems unusual.] * Satoshi glances in the door, looking for Katie and Taro. * Kaede stays a ways down the hallway, so he can't see inside, folding his arms and plunking down on the floor. * Taki waits for Satoshi to finish looking. * Haruko quietly asks Chikako, "How late does Kendo normally run?" Until 4:00, I think. Or 4:30? It runs an hour, at any rate. Cool, huh? * Kaede takes out his notepad and starts writing on it. * Taki blinks, "...The things we sould remember to ask before we come all the way down here...What time is it now?" [Time: 3:30.] * Satoshi pulls back from the door. "I didn't see either of them." [They're all facing away from you] [They take a break, and you see Taro and Katie conversing :P] * Satoshi peeks in again. "Okay, there they are. Talking to each other." Ahh.. * Kaede lets out a deep breath. "Good. Let them talk..." * Haruko smiles. "Good." * Kaede shakes his head and frowns. "It's bad to be here though..." * Satoshi keeps an eye on them. Since he can't read lips, he has no idea what they're saying. Can you think of a better place? Tell me the minute he starts to act uncool. No..but if we're here, Taro might think we had something to do with the breakup.... Then if he comes this way, Satoshi will tell us and we'll move. * Satoshi nods, though he doesn't turn around. "Exactly." See? Simple as that. * Kaede folds his arms again, not looking too convinced but letting out a little breath. "I guess..." * Haruko smiles over at Kaede and quietly comments to him. "It is sweet of you to be so concerned and respectful about privacy. Don't let us convince you otherwise." * Kaede blinks a bit and looks up at Haruko, but says nothing, leaning back and closing his eyes. * Taki starts to pace, "I need to get a hobby that's a little more portable than cooking..." * Chikako grins. "Be a reporter! It's cool!" * Kaede puts his finger in front of his lips and shhs Chikako. "They'll hear you." * Taki stops and leans against a wall to think about it. * Chikako mouths an oops and stays quiet. * Satoshi pulls back from the door briefly to make sure no one notices him. * Haruko quietly grabs a sheet of paper from her bag, and starts doodling to pass the time. She's clearly drawing something mechanical, but she doesn't have any real talent. * Taki then shakes her head, "I don't think I'll have enough time with hockey. So it'll have to be something protable, but doesn't take up large pieces of time." * Satoshi looks back in. Still talking? [Yes] * Satoshi says quietly, "Still talking." Oh... Video games? They're cool! * Haruko sits on the floor and continues to doodle on her sheet of paper, she seems a bit entranced. * Taki blinks at Chikako," You mean like one of thoes little ones?" ::holds her hands about five inches apart:: * Chikako nods. "Uh-huh. I don't play them, but... Well maybe Kaede can tell you. He's into cool stuff like computer games." * Kaede mutters under his breath and scribbles some more marks on his notepad, putting it away and looking into his arms, thoughtful for a bit. * Kaede doesn't look up. "I'm not actually into them in that way. I just try making them on occassion. Nothing too fancy." * Taki blinks, "You make them?" Well, nothing official really. * Chikako grins. "See? Cool, huh?" It's just good practice. It's still cool! It was when I was in the club. I picked up a bit from being in there. It wasn't...one of ...Thoes...games was it? ::eyes Kaede:: Wait, nevermind. I'm sorry I asked. It's...not exactly what I wanted to learn. * Kaede still doesn't look up, but turns his head slightly away from Taki. "Do I *look* like a pervert, Taki?" (Don't make us answer that.) (Who asked you? :P) * Haruko has now gone from a bit entranced to completely zoned out. Though it's now clear that she's puzzling out something involving a motorcycle. * Satoshi turns around briefly and eyes Kaede, then returns to spying... er, making sure Katie's doing okay. No, which is why I apolgised for asking. One of the reasons anyway. * Kaede goes back to brooding. * Satoshi looks away from the door. "They're still talking. Somebody else want a turn at door-watching duty, or shall I keep at it?" * Haruko doesn't seem to have heard Satoshi. * Kaede still doesn't look up. "I'm not spying on them." * Taki tugs on a lock of bright red hair, "I'm not the most inconspicious person we've got." Is anything cool happening? They're talking. Which is cooler than fighting. Much cooler. * Taki nods. [The break ends. It was surprisingly long] Okay, they're going back to practicing. Whee, another half hour of trying to figure out who around here would know about electric game...thingies... * Satoshi walks away from the door. "Well, so far so good. Maybe we overreacted?" [Inside, the club is forming space for two people to have a practice match.] * Taki shakes her head, "Better safe than a repeat of Valentines day." True. * Kaede takes a deep breath. "It's still uncomfortable waiting out here though...it doesn't feel right..." * Satoshi walks to the door and looks back in. "Looks like they're going to have people spar one-on-one." Though...if Katie were hurt.. * Kaede frowns. One-on-one? Can you see who? I'm trying... But they wear the armor and the masks, so it's going to be tricky. Ooh... I'd never forgive myself if Katie got hurt. That'd be so uncool. * Kaede frowns even more. "If it's Katie and Taro, he could make an "accident' look real..." * Satoshi continues watching, trying to see who's going to spar. "I know, I know..." Not much we can do from here though... * Kaede stands up and goes over near the door, trying to peer over Satoshi's shoulder and see if he can make them out. * Haruko continues to look totally taken with whatever she's working on. Quiet voices certainly aren't drawing her attention. * Satoshi sighs. "I know that, too." If he were Kyon, he'd probably notice Kaede about now and say something sarcastic. But he's not, so he doesn't. ( :P ) * Taki leans on the wall where Kaede was. [Zoom! Twenty minutes later, Ryuji declares the meeting over and people start dispersing.] * Satoshi backs away from the door. "People are about to leave. Should we clear out for the moment?" * Taki nods. * Kaede nods and heads back towards the lockers. * Haruko continues to look at her paper. * Satoshi follows Kaede away. * Kaede nudges Haruko as he passes by. "They're clearing out." * Haruko looks up, slightly startled, then embarrassed. "Thanks, I'll stick around to talk to Ryuji, then join you guys." Ok. Cool. * Kaede still heads back. * Taki nods at Haruko and walks down the hall. * Chikako grins at Haruko. "Cool, good luck!" then she follows the rest. * Satoshi nods. "Yeah, it'd make sense for you to be waiting here. Let us know when everybody else is gone, please?" * Haruko nods. Thanks. * Satoshi follows the others. * Haruko puts away the messy piece of paper, and takes out a rather nice set of directions she made to the Teriyaki place. * Kaede frowns as he heads back. "Actually. I'm a bit more worried now. Did Taro seem..upset at all that you could see, Satoshi?" * Satoshi frowns as well. "Yeah, he did. They both seemed upset. Not violence- level upset, but not happy, either." * Kaede lets out a deep breath. "Good, I was worried for nothing..." * Taki nods "He took that better than I expected." * Chikako nods. "I'm glad everything's cool." I can't believe I let you make me worry... Well they might not be *done* yet. Yes, but if he took it too calmly, that'd be even worse... He's taking it normally, which is good... Yeah. * Satoshi sighs. "This isn't a good situation in any light." * Katie comes walking down the hallway in a daze. * Kaede turns around and adjusts his glasses. "Everything go alright?" Yes? No. I'm... not sure. * Kaede raises an eyebrow for a second, then lets out a deep sigh. * Satoshi notices Katie and feels much better. "Well, he didn't freak out completely. That's a good thing, at least." * Chikako hops right up to Katie. "What happened? Did he do anything uncool? Want me to write nasty articles about how uncool he is?" Can you tell us what happened? It might clear things up a bit. * Katie blinks, then shakes her head, trying to snap out of it. "I tried to break up with him, he wanted to know why, and we yelled at each other for a while." * Kaede eyes Chikako. "Look, there's no reason to take anything out on Taro. He...can't help being how he is..." Tried? But... you guys did actually break up, right? I think so? * Kaede looks at Katie for a second and shakes his head, his fingers on his brow. "Oh Katie..." * Satoshi looks puzzled. "Isn't this one of those things that either is or isn't?" * Taki nods at Satoshi. * Katie sighs and leans against the wall, sliding to the floor. "It's so complicated. He said he was sorry, and then Ryuji said break was over, and I don't know." Did he seem interested in talking to you afterward? Yeah, but... Katie, if you want it over with, he's GOT to know, firmly. * Katie blinks. "Over dinner. I have dinner with him at six. I was so out of it I didn't even realize." What? ...That doesn't sound very over to me... * Kaede looks at Katie and just stares... * Chikako blinks. "A date?" I- I think... * Katie blinks. "No! Not a date. I made sure it wasn't a date." She thinks, then nods. He might not see it that way, though. You're NOT really thinking of seeing him alone...are you? I might suggest calling him. * Satoshi would, again, say something sarcastic to Kaede if he were Kyon. But he's not, so, again, he doesn't. ;p Restaurants are hardly the most private of places. (Quit that :P) * Katie frowns a little as she considers. "And I really don't think he'll try to hurt me." * Kaede shakes his head. "No, but they're strangers there. Here, you have the kendo club. He wouldn't try anything in front of THEM." * Satoshi shakes his head. "Starting a fight in a public place is a bad idea, Kaede. I don't think he'd try anything there, either." * Chikako nods. "He better not try anything uncool." Do you want me to come with you? It'd be cool with me. He'd have less of a reason to restrain himself though. And there's always...the walk home... * Kaede frowns. * Kaede rubs his forehead. "You all made me paranoid. Thanks." * Satoshi chuckles. "Kaede, I'm willing to bet you were paranoid before you ever met any of us." * Kaede looks at Satoshi evenly, and replies the same. "No. I wasn't." I...think that going to dinner with him is a very bad idea, and that you should find him and talk to him someplace public..but that we can't be seen from... * Kaede glares a bit at Taki. "No. No spying." Well, whatever. If I thought Taro wasn't all that familiar with us, I'd suggest maybe a couple of us going along, but I don't think that would work. * Katie blinks at Taki, then smiles faintly. "What, you're going to spy on me?" Ok, that we can't see from. * Satoshi sighs. "Argh." * Haruko skips up to the group she drops to a regular walk when she sees Katie and remembers the serious business afoot. I'm sure there's a fine line between concern and invasion of privacy, and I don't really want to cross that line. But I'm still worried. I know, I know...it's not your fault, Satoshi. Me too! * Taki shrugs, "Stay nearby and listen for things like howling winds, yells of pain, that sort of thing." * Kaede thinks for a bit. "Katie. Here." He holds out his cellphone. * Katie takes it. "Call if there's trouble?" * Kaede nods. "Taki'd probably be best. She could get there fastest I assume." * Satoshi looks over at Taki. "I'd really hope that things won't get to that point." * Haruko looks a bit confused. "Are you going to be seeing him again soon?" Go ahead and put her on autodial so you don't even have to fiddle with it. ...Uhm...I'd like to point out that I don't have a cell phone either. * Satoshi pulls out his own and hands it to Taki. "Now you do." * Kaede sighs a bit. "Fine. Even better. Satoshi's already on autodial." Or she could just call your house. Either way. * Haruko continues to look confused, but doesn't further interupt. * Taki nods at Satoshi "that wor...wait, where are you going?" * Katie looks at the phone. "Okay. Mind showing me how to get to the menu, then?" * Satoshi blinks. "Home? Unless you want me to stay with you?" * Kaede looks up slowly at Katie and smiles a bit. "No problem." He takes the phone and sidles up next to show how to work it. I can hardly bring in the calvelry if I don't know where it is now can I? * Satoshi looks embarassed. "Of course. Well, the number for my apartment is in there, too, but, yeah, it'd make more sense for us to stick together." * Katie grins once Kaede explains it. "Thanks." * Satoshi shakes his head and reaches out for the phone. "Geez. This's got me so worried I can't even think straight." * Chikako grins. "Cool! I've never been to your homes!" * Kaede nods and smiles a bit. "I hope you won't need it though..." Uh, so what's happening? Right, now I just need to know where I'm supposed to be going. * Kaede loses his smile at Haruko's question and sighs. "It looks like Taro can't take hints..maybe." Me too. * Haruko tilts her head. "Oh?" Well, it'd probably be a bit unfair for your dad if we all dropped in, so we can go to my place. Though I don't have much in the way of food. Maybe we should hit a restaurant and pick something up on the way. ...We could drop by the resturant that Katie's going to so we'll have some idea of what to expect sort of thing. * Kaede nods. "I'll drop by as soon as I can. I'll need to let Nanami know what's up first so she doesn't hit me..or worse." * Satoshi looks at Kaede. "Worse?" * Chikako puts in helpfully, "I bet I know some cool restaurants." * Kaede nods, not changing his expression. "Worse." Nanami's...not easy to deal with. * Kaede smirks meekly. ...Suddenly I'm glad I'm an only child.... Me too. * Chikako grins. "Cool, huh?" * Haruko starts to get it. "Oh, so your breaking up, but talking about it. Make sure he can't confuse that with a date. Otherwise, it'll just be harder." * Katie nods. "I did that, I think." * Haruko smiles. "Good, sadly, you may have to keep doing it. I went out with Hiroji once two weeks after we stopped dating, but I had to make clear a couple times that he had no near term hope. The friendship worked out though..." * Kyon comes back down the hall towards the lockers, stalking towards them quickly. He discreetly looks over Katie for wounds as he comes up, then gives a curt nod to people. * Chikako wavewaves to Kyon. * Taki tries this for the third time, "Katie, what restaurant are you going to? And where is it?" * Katie glances up at Kyon. She looks fine, if mildly confused. I'd better go. I hope things are cool, Katie. Okay, Chikako. See you later. Me too. I'll call you tonight, okay? Bye Chikako! Oh, whose house are we meeting at? * Kaede turns to Chikako and nods. "They'll work out fine." * Haruko waves as Chikako leaves. * Kyon looks down at Chikako, and nods somewhat less tersely back. He goes down the hall a bit with her as she goes off. * Chikako nods to Katie. "Sure! That's cool." Oh, my place, I think. But I'm not sure when. It's cool. Call me when you do, ok? Sure. Cool. Bye! * Chikako heads off! * Kyon tags along with Chikako! For real this time! * Kaede watches Chikako go, then turns back to Katie. "Something's else has been on my mind, but I didn't want to ask when she was still here.." Are we sure Taro isn't arcana..? * Katie shakes her head. "No." * Kaede takes a deep breath. "Wonderful." Wonder if Ryuji would know? Ryuji probably would have said something before. * Haruko grins a bit. "He's helpful that way." If he knew...we can't expect he'd know all the arcana at the school. * Kaede shakes his head. "Hirokazu doesn't know...that or he's a good actor. And he definitely doesn't look the type to be a good actor." * Haruko nods. So we're going to have to be carefull... * Kaede nods and shakes his head, letting out another sigh. "I was actually hoping Chikako wouldn't come. If she didn't, we could have teleported right there.." How mad do you think she'll be if I don't call her until after Taki leaves? I can always tell her that the plans changed. * Kaede blinks and looks up at Satoshi. "Chikako? Mad? You've GOT to be kidding me." And for all we know, Kyon is talking her out of it right now. * Katie looks thoughtful for a moment. Why can't Chikako know? About us being Arcana? * Haruko shrugs. "Can she keep a secret?" About the Arcana? Because she has a tendency to put things in the paper as soon as she finds out about it? * Satoshi frowns. "I think that if it's really important, she wouldn't say anything." I...hope so. Because she's your friend, and therefor you get to decide? You'd know best if she can be discrete Katie. But... I dunno. It's hard enough for us to deal with... I wouldn't really want to dump it on somebody else. * Kaede looks at Katie. "If you think she won't, I'll go with your decision. But I really don't know..." * Katie shakes her head. "I don't want to dump it on anybody else, either, but she's my best friend and she's *always* kept every secret I asked her to." I'm sure Nanami would like someone normal to talk to about it too... And... I know it's selfish of me, but it's getting harder and harder for me to lie to her about these things. * Haruko nods. "She'll also probably figure out sooner or later, given her resources and how much she does with us." * Kaede shakes his head. "It's not selfish, Katie. She's your friend." It hurts to keep secrets from friends...if they're important. If you think it's for the best, for both of you...Then tell her. ( Now sucky trivial friends, I lie to them for fun. Uh, not that I'm refering to you guys. ^^) () * Haruko nods. "If you think it's best Katie, I'd also support telling her." * Satoshi nods. "Yeah, me too. She's your best friend, you know her better than any of us do." * Katie smiles. "Thanks." * Kaede nods. "Now where's this restaurant so you spend as little time on the phone as possible. If he's mad enough, he could always knock it away before you give directions." Ah, yeah. A sukiyaki place; it's not far from here. * Katie gives Kaede directions. * Taki stares at Kaede How did..how... ::shakes her head:: * Satoshi pats Taki on the shoulder. * Haruko giggles a bit. * Kaede pulls out his notepad and writes them down. "Thanks." [Meanwhile a male student comes walking down the hall. A girl comes up from behind, yelling, "Wait a minute, Makoto!"] * Makoto turns around as the girl nearly tackles him. * Haruko watches the students with a bit of amusement. [She groans mockingly. "You're always leaving me behind."] * Kaede looks up and adjusts his glasses, then clears his throat. * Makoto laughs. "Sorry, Makoto. Let's go." They leave arm-in-arm. * Taki looks up. ( I said I was going to be Makoto today. And I was! Twice! :P ) * Kyon comes back down the hall enough behind the pair as to have missed them. ...That must get confusing. (Argh! There are too many! Too many!) * Haruko tilts her head. "Okay...." Um. Yeah. ( ^_^_v ) [Session End]