[Day: Saturday, February 22nd. Time: 2:50 p.m.] [Weather: It snowed last night! It's cold! Winter isn't over yet, it seems.] [Yesterday, a bunch of goons from Serizawa High came to the school. One of them even asked Kyon out! Today, you gather at the lockers as usual. Except Kyon and Katie, for some reason.] [Session Start!] * Satoshi does the usual locker thing. Open it up, put books in, take books out, close it and look around and see who else is here. * Haruko wanders down the hallway, looking somewhat distracted and disatisfied, just somewhat though. She waves at Satoshi. * Satoshi waves back. "Heya, Haruko." * Kaede comes to the locker, carrying his kaban, oddly enough, in his arms crossed around his chest instead of the usual slung over the shoulder style. He seems to be looking around the lockers nervously. Heya, Kaede. Something wrong? Where is she..? I can't find her anywhere. * Taki walks down the hall, fashionably late. Who, Katie? I'm sure she'll be along. * Satoshi waves to Taki. "Heya, Taki." Yeah but I just wanted to remind her that Nanami wanted to have dinner tonight. She SPECIFICALLY asked for Katie. Hey Kaede, hey Taki. * Taki waves back to Satoshi and then to the others, "Hi Satoshi, Haruko, Kaede." * Kaede rubs his head slightly. "If I don't find her, I don't know what she'll do to me..." Oh, right. Well, I'm sure she'll be here. She probibly has something to do...or maybe Chikako found something yesterday, and that why Kyon isn't here either. * Haruko nods, not really paying attention to Kaede's dinner woes. "Oh, and Taki, I talked to my Dad, if you'd still like the electronics blessed we can make arrangements." Thankyou so much. * Kaede quirks an eyebrow slightly. "...Blessed...?" Blessed... electronics. Right. Are you...feeling alright, Haruko-san? As opposed to cursed electronics that keep setting fire to dinner. * Haruko nods. "No reason to go for an exorcism when a blessing may suffice." Um. Yeah. * Kaede gives Satoshi a look for a second, pretty much an "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" one. (Satoshi can accept the Arcana, but the idea of exorcising a stove freaks him out. ;p) People often bring cars to the shrine. It's a pretty standard ritual. Although house calls are somewhat unusual. * Satoshi looks back at Kaede and nods. (That's cause he's never seen Taki's dad try to cook :P) (Cars bit is actually true, I did research. ^^ ) (Neat. I wonder if Chie blessed her motorcycle. ;p) ( Suddenly the school is washed away in a tidal wave! :P ) So, Haruko. Would now be a good time to go do... whatever it is you need to do? (I *hate* it when that happens) * Haruko nods. "I have one other little errand to run first. I'll stop back here right after." * Satoshi nods. "Okay." So I should wait here for you? * Kaede 's gaze follows Haruko but he doesn't speak up, leaning his back against the lockers. * Haruko nods. "Sure, but you don't have to." She then heads out of the school. * Satoshi folds his arms. "So, Taki, have you recovered from that last practice?" * Taki blinks, "Uhm...bye? ...Wait how am I suposed to know when she gets back if I'm not here?" * Taki stops pondering for a bit, "I think so, but I'm not up to another nearly all day session." Oh. Didn't think about that. Well, we can always call or something... or arrange another meeting place. Next one's not going to be all day, but the game has to be coming up soon... I think there's some sort of scheduling problem, which is why it's been so long. Gives us more time to practice. So it's not all bad. * Taki nods, "That makes sense...we could leave a not saying that we're at the rink." * Kaede just remains quiet, looking back and forth along the hallway. Oh, I didn't mean right now. Just that we're probably going to be having another practice soon. Possibly tomorrow. I'll call you and let you know, if that's okay. Ohh, so much for that plan to kill time...And it's perfectly allright with me if you call. * Kaede looks out towards the doors, checking to see if the weather has changed any but doubting it. [It's not snowing outside, right now.] * Satoshi smiles. "Great! And maybe..." He blushes slightly. "Ehh, I'll talk about that later." * Kaede thinks outloud, under his breath. "So not out there probably..." * Taki smiles up at him, "Now that we know what we're doing later, we need to think of something for right now." Yeah. We could wait here for Haruko, or we could go somewhere and leave Haruko a note. * Satoshi turns to Kaede. "Kaede, you got anything in mind?" * Kaede snaps out of his thinking. "Sorry, what were you talking about?" Ways to kill time until Haruko gets back. Was there something you needed to do? Oh... * Kaede thinks. We could wait here and then call you when we need you. Well, not much I can think of. Although... Yeah? Although? * Kaede rubs his chin. "I just thought of it..I was considering the whole reading thing..my mind brought up Saori." Saori... the fortuneteller who goes to the same girl as your sister, right? * Kaede nods. Did you find out anything else about her? At the very least, I could try to catch Nanami out of school and make sure of the plans. * Kaede shakes his head. "Nanami doesn't really know her that well..just the fact that they're in the same class." Ah. But you could go over there and see if you could find out more? Maybe... * Kaede slings his kaban over his shoulder. "Are you still coming to dinner tonight though? Nanami will want to know if I see her and I can't just brush her off.." Oh, sure. It's very nice of her to invite me. Tell her thanks. * Kaede shrugs. "She wants to thank you all for the rescue last week. I agree with her." * Satoshi smiles. "Well, thanks." It'll be at 7 tonight. Tell Katie if you see her. [Satoshi has an orange cat on his shoulder.] * Satoshi nods. "Will do... huh?" * Satoshi blinks at the cat. I wil.. But...um...you've got a cat. [The cat blinks back.] Yes. Yes, I do. * Kaede pauses just short of the door. "Hi Meimi?" * Satoshi looks at the cat. "Um, hi there, kitty. Where'd you come from?" [The cat grins. "Nyah! I just got here!"] Mimi? * Taki tries to remember the cat-girls name. * Cat grins and turns into a catgirl! She's still sitting on Satoshi's shoulder. * Satoshi doesn't even seem to notice the weight. Um... could you please get off my shoulder? * Satoshi blushes a little. That looks like fun though. Nyah? * Kaede brushes his hair out of his face and lets out a deep sigh. "Does this happen often?" * Mimi nods to Taki. "Nyah!" Catgirls on my shoulder are a new thing. Nyah to you too. But Mimi tends to show up every so often. * Satoshi blushes even more at Taki's statement. This is only the second time I've meet her, and I'm sorry to say I forgot your name untill Satoshi reminded me. * Mimi pouts. "Nyah." * Satoshi looks at Mimi. "So, did you just come to say hi, or do you have a message from Meimi?" * Kaede looks Mimi carefully over. "Are you going to tell us why you're here, or just keep going Nyah?" * Mimi grins and nods. "Nyah, what would you do if Katie got kidnapped?" * Satoshi pales. "...no. * Kaede blinks. "Katie..." Uhm...Panic? Please tell me that's a rhetorical question... * Kaede runs forward and grabs Mimi by the shoulders, shaking her. "What are you talking about!? * Satoshi doesn't even stagger when Kaede does that. [Kaede finds he can't reach her shoulders.] Kaede, please don't... and Mimi, tell us exactly what you mean by that. Now. * Kaede was shaking her by whatever he COULD reach then. :P * Haruko walks in from outside, she looks fairly startled by the scene she finds. * Kaede lets go at Satoshi's prompting though. "Sorry..." * Mimi eeps and grabs hold of Satoshi's head to keep from falling. * Satoshi turns redder, probably from a combination of anger and embarassment. * Taki gives Mimi a bit of a hard look, "Why don't you climb down from there before Satoshi dies of embaresment?" * Kaede looks up at Mimi. "What happened to Katie really?" Nyah! But it's comfy up here. What do you know? Mimi, please get down. It's getting hard to breathe. * Haruko walks up, she tries to act casual. "Oh, hello Meimi, wait.. Katie, did something happen to Katie?" She seems more worried as she talks. And tell us what happened. Please? * Mimi pouts. "Nyah..." * Mimi gets down, though. * Haruko turns to Satoshi. "What's this about Katie?" Thank you. * Kaede turns to Haruko and sighs deeply. "Meimi..or Mimi here..or whoever...says she was kidnapped...maybe." * Satoshi looks at Haruko. "Mim just showed up... yeah." It might have been rhetorical but.. But she hasn't either confirmed or denied that. Yet. * Haruko widens her eyes. "By the band?" We don't know yet. * Mimi smiles. "Nyah!" * Satoshi eyes Mimi. "She hasn't said by who, or even if it's true yet." * Kaede turns to Mimi and scrutinizes her. "Is that a yes?" * Kaede grits his teeth. "Tenjirou..." * Haruko walks around so she can speak to Mimi straight on. Please tell me it's not him... * Mimi giggles. "Nyah! Off to Tokugawa Academy!" * Mimi vanishes Wait you... Gah! Shit. Time to panic. How could this... how did this... * Kaede swivels around and punches a locker, and immediately regrets it. "Gwah!" * Kaede shakes his hand. Dammit, we need to get over there. Right now. Somebody call Kyon. * Haruko looks quite anxious. "Tokugawa, who goes to Tokugawa?" The Band goes there. All except Shingo and that Zein guy. And we're about to go there. * Satoshi slaps his forehead. "I've got a cell phone. I'll call Kyon." * Haruko thinks for a moment. "Wait, if the band had her, why would Mimi go there next... Maybe that Matthis guy." * Satoshi takes out his phone and dials Kyon's number. * Kaede 's still shaking his hand, almost snarling. "I don't care WHO has her! I'll kill them!" I don't know...I don't. * Haruko stares at Kaede. "Rage wouldn't help, at least not yet." * Satoshi waits for an answer. ( Taro agrees with Kaede. ) * Kaede looks at Haruko for a second and frowns. "You're...you're right...but if it's Tenjirou..." And for all we know, this is another one of Meimi's games. Should I go try to recruit Saki and Ryuji? I say we find where she is and go in force... But you could be right Taki... Someone should call her house next. The Band's the most likely suspect though...they never liked Katie. "Kyon? It's Satoshi. We've got a *big* problem." * Taki nods at Kaede. * Haruko then looks to Kaede, her voice is frosty. "Oh, and if it is Tenjirou.. You won't be alone in fixing him." Hmm, I think we should call them, and tell them what's going on, and that it might not actualy be going on. * Kaede smiles shakily. "I'm...glad you think so, Haruko-san." "Meimi's catgirl just showed up and asked us what we'd do if someone kidnapped Katie. Who isn't here, by the way. Mimi wouldn't give us a straight answer, but she said something about going to Tokugawa Academy. We think it's the Band." * Kaede frowns. "Didn't the Band mention something between Takeo and Meimi...?" * Haruko smiles back at Kaede. "No question, he wanted to get me, remember." "Yes. You and whoever else you think would be good to have along. " Yeah, but Takeo didn't seem to know Meimi was active. Which makes her going to Tokugawa even weirder. She'll probably be in disguise. I think she used be his girlfriend. Maybe she wants him to know now.... * Kaede 's taking deep long breaths, still holding his hand by the wrist. * Haruko shakes her head. "Maybe, but we can't count on that, she can do even more damage otherwise. And damn it Kaede, did you hurt your hand again?" I'm...I'm sorry...I don't know what came over me... "I don't think so. Let me check." The same thing that'd come over any of us if we stopped to think about it. * Haruko holds out her hand. "It's called rage." * Satoshi puts his hand over the phone for a second. "Have any of you been to Tokugawa before?" * Haruko shakes her head. If I had...we'd be there by now. * Kaede looks over at Haruko and holds out his hand. "I..." * Kaede answers Satoshi. "No I haven't" * Satoshi nods quickly and uncovers the phone. "No, none of us have. Which means Taki can't get us there." * Haruko takes Kaede's hand and does that voodoo that she do so well. I don't know...I don't normally rage like that. It's like... * Kaede scratches his head with his free hand. * Taki starts paceing and trying not to think of how stupid it was of her to let Katie go by herself... So what's the last time anyone has seen Katie? Wait, has anyone talked to Chikako? She'd know if Katie was just out of town or something. Chikako hasn't been by yet either. She said she was going to go visit Meimi yesterday. Could...Takeo have been visiting Meimi at the same time? "Right. Anybody else we should get? Saki, Ryuji, anybody?" Remi. Let's walk to Chikako's office as we plan. We can check in with her just in case. ::Haruko starts walking:: * Kaede suddenly looks a whole lot paler. And I thought that I'd followed her enough and that she'd be fine by herself and ...and...Argh... * Kaede nods and shakes his hand to get the blood flowing back to it, walking quickly behind Haruko, just short of overtaking her. C'mon Satoshi. ::walks:: * Satoshi catches the others walking away out of the corner of his eye and follows. * Satoshi hangs up the phone. Kyon's going to meet us at a convenience store near Tokugawa. He said to find whoever else we want. * Haruko glances back but keeps walking. "Then they'd put up a field and get her at home Taki. Shit happens, don't worry about guilt, plan.." * Kaede rolls his eyes. "That's helpful. Why can't he actually help us for a change by gathering who he knows? * Taki nods at Haruko, "The past is the past, there's nothing we can do about it." We don't have time for me to go back to my place and get Jin, and I'm not sure how much help he'd be. We could try for Saki and Ryuji. I don't think we have time to get Remi, either. * Haruko nods back to Taki, before looking to Kaede. "Not Matthis certainly. He may turn on us." I don't even have his contact info. Kyon's got that. Lets go to the roof after talking to Chikako, we could split up, but it might be better to just stay together and act quickly. Try Remi anyways. * Satoshi nods. You have her number, Kaede? You could call her while we walk. Although...bringing her in when we don't know if anything is actualy happening... * Haruko speeds up a bit, anxious to get to Chikako's office with a determined look on her face. * Taki walks faster as well. Remi is Katie's friend like the rest of us, she'd want to be called. [They get to the paper's office, just as a girl is coming out. She's a bit short, with indigo eyes and black hair tied into a single braid over her shoulder. You may or may not recognize her as Arisu Sanada.] * Kaede nods slightly and pulls out his phone. "I..think I remember it." * Taki nods, "Sorry, I'm not thinking things through right now." * Kaede steps back from the office, letting other people do the talking while he gets the phone, his fingers pretty much dialing on autopilot. * Haruko looks to Taki. "None of us are, so keep on your toes for our mistakes." She smiles wanely with the last comment. * Satoshi looks at Arisu. "Hi. Is Chikako around?" * Taki nods. "Hello. Is this Remi? It's Kaede." (Before this is over there's going to be a *Kirby is now known as Army_of_NPCs) (No kidding.) * Arisu shakes her head. "I haven't seen her since classes ended. It's a shame, too. I wanted to give her the article I wrote. It's a really good one about the different sports and their popularity here at school. I think it'll be very successful, but I wonder if I included enough information on each type..." She seems to go off into her own world. * Kaede raises an eyebrow. "No? Who is this then?" * Haruko interupts. "Sorry to be impolite, but do you have any idea where she could be?" * Satoshi looks disturbed. "Chikako's not around, either? That's really strange." * Taki worriedly nods. "Hopefully it's unrelated." Yeah, hopefully. "Um...I DO have the right number, don't I?" * Kaede rattles off the phone number he just dialed. * Arisu looks up. "Hm?" So, how's the hockey team stand? * Satoshi eyes Taki, and doesn't want to admit that he's somewhat curious about the answer. ;p * Haruko is polite but firm. "Do you have any idea where Chikako might be? Or her number?" "Yes. Isn't this her phone?" "Remi Okui." Oh. They're somewhere near the bottom. All things considered, I'm surprised Sakuragaoka even has a team. I guess there must be some demand, but it seems odd that they would give funding for them..." She trails off. We'll just have to work harder then...Now could you answere her question? * Satoshi frowns at Arisu briefly, but there are much more important things to worry about now. "She's not? Do you know where she is?" * Arisu looks up again. "Hmm? I'm sorry, what question?" The one about knowing where Chikako might be, or her phone number. * Kaede blinks. "She what?" "Did she say where she was heading after school?" "Okay..okay. Thanks for your help, Nanako." * Kaede hangs up the phone and sighs. "Well this doesn't bode well..." No Remi? * Arisu shakes her head. "I'm afraid I don't know where she is. If I did, I'd hand her my article. I'm sure she'd love to read it. She always seems to like my work...." She trails off. (It bodes... poorly?) * Haruko nods. "Thanks, hope to make your acquantence at another time." She bows and is on her way to the roof at a brisk pace. Aww, crud. * Satoshi nods to Arisu. "Thanks, miss." He follows Haruko. * Arisu is busy talking to herself and doesn't notice you leave. Maybe she's allready on her way over. Sorry to bother you. * Taki runs after Haruko untill she catches up. * Haruko glances back. "Someone call Katie's house, in case one of her parents might be home and know where she is." On it. * Satoshi dials Katie's number. [Nobody home!] * Satoshi shakes his head. "Nobody home." Well, if we want to get Remi, we have to drop by her school...do we have time for that? I don't think so. Not unless it's on the way. * Kaede sighs. "Let's hope we don't run into trouble then..." Hey, Taki, have you been to Remi's school? Have the energy to jump there? * Kaede nods. "If Taki jumps there, someone go with her. I think I can take whoever's left with me on my bike." I've been there, and it's a LOT farther than I've ever gone. Could you make several smaller jumps? What if somebody saw? It'd be kinda hard to explain. We may just have to take that chance. Are there any places nearby you could go where there wouldn't be a lot of people? Say thermoptic camoflage experiment and ask them not to tell anyone for national security reasons. They won't buy it but you can get away while they're confused. * Kaede rubs his forehead. "You know. I'm in a state right now where I could care less who finds out what. Katie's in trouble." [You (finally) get to the roof! Eriko and Saki are there, but no Ryuji] * Haruko walks up. "Hello Saki, hello Eriko. We could really use your help, Katie may have been kidnapped!" * Kaede runs out to the roof, starting to talk but stops at Haruko's explanation. That works. (Wow. Not mincing words, are we.) * Taki lets Haruko do the talking...she has such an eloquent way of it. (Nope! ^_^ ) * Kaede puts his hands on his knees and pants. Probably wouldn't have been good to talk like that anyways. * Saki looks over at Haruko. "You're kidding." * Kaede catches his breath and looks slightly up. "She's not." We aren't. One of Meimi's illusions just told us. * Haruko nods. It may be the band, may not be, but regardless, we'll be much more capable with you two at our side. * Saki blinks. "One of wha-?" She shakes her head. "Ah, nevermind." * Haruko fidgits anxiously, as if she needs to contantly vent her rather high level of energy. * Kaede looks at Saki and speaks evenly. "The Moon." * Saki turns to fully face you. "So she's been kidnapped. Where is she now?" What about it? We think Tokugawa Academy. That's who told us. Tokugawa, where's that? Across town. We have directions to a place nearby. * Haruko keeps her tone polite, but still fairly fast. "We're going to do something about it now. If you are willing to come with us, we should discuss it on the way." * Taki nods. * Kaede nods and looks at Eriko a bit pleading. * Saki sighs. "Alright. Long as it doesn't take long." * Eriko nods. "I'll come too." (Just half an hour to get there!) Great. Thank you. ( An hour, actually ^_^ ) * Kaede lets out a deep breath. "Yes. Thank you." * Haruko bows, fairly deeply, "Thank you both very much. If you ever need anything fixed or maintained, come to me." She then gets moving to the subway station. * Satoshi turns to the others. "So, should we get Remi or not? It'll take us a while to get there regardless." Is someone still going to get Remi? Since Saki has a motorcycle, she could get there faster, right? Thankyou very much, and now I think we get going. Right. Where to? * Kaede runs down the steps, speaking as he goes. "She goes to Seiryuu." Saki should probably take someone who knows Remi, stop by the school. Eriko could come with us on the subway. * Taki runs twords the stairs, "Can three people fit on the bike?" Or we could get a cab, but I doubt that'd be much faster. Seiryuu? That'll take too long. * Kaede nods. "I'll go." Fine...I can go get Remi myself and meet you there later? * Satoshi sighs. "Okay. With the six of us - seven actually - we ought to be able to handle things." Or you could do that. * Kaede nods. "Alright...I still think she should know though.." * Satoshi rubs his forehead. "I don't know... this is so confusing. Let's just go." * Kaede takes a deep breath. "I don't want to leave you alone if things go badly." You're right, but I don't think we have time to tell her. * Saki looks to Eriko and rolls her eyes. Eriko just shrugs. * Kaede heads quickly for the subway. Yeah, unless you can do it Taki, we shouldn't split up and risk having one less person there. * Satoshi goes for the subway. * Haruko keeps pace with the subway people. [Time: 4:30 p.m.] I'd like to find out just how far I can go without worrying about what might happen if I can't. [You all take the subway to get to the convenience store near Tokugawa Academy except for Saki, who took her bike, and Kyon, who's already there.] [Everyone is at the convenience store! Except Saki.] * Haruko looks at Kyon. "Any sign of Saki? She was driving to meet us here." * Kaede walks towards the convenience store, a little slower at seeing Kyon and averting his gaze. * Kyon is leaning against the outside of the store. He throws an empty bottle into the recycling can there, and shakes his head tersely. "Nah. You're first to show up. And you took long enough." He looks them over quickly. "Tell me what you know." Meimi's catgirl showed up and implied that someone had kidnapped Katie. Or, at the very least, asked us what we'd do if someone had. We couldn't get a straight answer out of her. Then she dropped a hint about the school and vanished. * Kaede chuckles nervously. "I guess this is what we do. We panic." Yeah. Said she was going to Tokugawa next. We checked around. Looked in the newspaper office, but the girl there said she hadn't seen Chikako all day. * Haruko takes out her notebook and starts writing something down. We didn't have enough time to get Jin or Remi, Ryuji's not around, but Saki's coming. And Eriko's here, of course. That's everybody we could think of who could either come and help us or give us information. * Kyon blows out a breath, and turns to look towards the school. "If they took her, must've been after I left." He looks sidewise at Satoshi, nods quickly, and jams his free hand in his pocket. * Haruko looks up from her writing. "Left where?" * Taki opens her mouth, but decides to let Kyon answere that one. * Kyon looks off down the street. "Left off following her." * Haruko nods. "When, yesterday?" * Kyon nods tersely and mutely. * Taki then blinks as she gets a diffrent answere than she was expecting. * Haruko also looked surprised by the answer, she just wasn't phased. ( I'd like to see him nod noisly c.c ) (His neck could crack loudly, or something.) * Kaede stares at Kyon. "You...followed Katie?" Wow. You guys are paranoid. Don't worry about it now Kaede. Alright, we may want to wait a minute or two for Saki, but if she doesn't come, I say we leave a note for her and head in. Comes with the territory. * Taki nods. * Kaede looks at Haruko oddly but says nothing, again shifting his gaze from Kyon. If she didn't find something else to do, Saki probably went right to the school. She's not the type to wait for stuff to happen. * Kyon turns to look at Kaede sidewise with a cool expression. "You'd rather she go alone to someone that's been screwing with us since we heard of her? Where we ran into Sho and a Band member?" He shakes his head quickly, and picks up his bag. Then we should get over there. I didn't see her go in. I thought she didn't know where it was. * Kyon gestures at the store. "And I've been here the whole time." I'd RATHER you respect her decision and let her decide what's best for herself, Kyon. * Haruko nods. "I'll leave the note just in case. But that makes sense Eriko, we shouldn't wait." Or do you always have to be in control of every aspect even when you're not? Suit yourself. * Saki does, in fact arrive and, after parking her bike, heads into the school. :P Okay, *now* she's here. Let's go. * Haruko takes the note up to the person at the counter also she takes out two hundred yen in coins. "Pardon me.. Oh, never mind." * Kaede watches Saki. "Guess that's our cue." * Kyon shrugs, and gestures curtly to the others. He stalks over and in behind Saki. * Haruko puts the coins away and runs over to Saki. * Kaede walks towards the school before Kyon can respond, even if he's not going to. * Satoshi follows Kyon. * Taki takes off after the rest of the group. * Eriko shrugs. "Or she could be late." And follows them over. * Haruko comments to Kaede as she runs. "If it's not obvious they kidnapped her, be careful not to aggravate them, it could waste time if Matthis has her." [Tokugawa Academy is a nice looking campus (though not as good as Seiryuu). The building is brown, three floors, with a clock tower in the middle. There's two Cherry Blossom trees left and right of the walk, but they're not in bloom. There's not a lot of students here, 'cause it's 4:30 p.m.] * Kaede takes a deep breath. "I'll try...but if Tenjirou's here, I can't make any promises..." Remember, we can castrate him later, we need to be careful and under control for Katie's sake. I wouldn't hold you to them. * Saki looks around. "What a pain. Okay, where're we going?" As for the other one... * Kaede takes his breath. "I'll only defend myself." ...I think we look for the cat girl... * Kaede nods slightly. * Haruko shakes her head and walks up to the nearest friendly looking student, even if they are fairly sparse. * Kyon looks around the area for anything important looking. ( Just then Chie walks by and tries to sense them for you! But she can't 'cause they're not spirits. Oh well. ) * Taki looks around for Mimi. ( Hey, you never know about these things.) (Katie BETTER not be a spirit >.<) * Kaede looks around and cups his hands over his mouth, calling out. "Nyah?" [Haruko notices that the friendlies of the friendly looking students still don't look all that friendly. :P] * Satoshi just STARES at Kaede. * Saki eyes Kaede. * Kaede shrugs. "It's worth a try, right?" ...right. * Satoshi shakes his head and resumes looking for... something. Anything. [And a bunch of girls laugh at Kaede.] ...It might have worked. * Kyon rolls his eyes and looks very, very bemused. [Satoshi sees a tree!] * Satoshi sees a very nice tree. Now, he looks for something relevant. * Haruko deals and talks anyways to the nearest guy. "Hey, pardon me, do you know the Band Arcana? They go to this school and..." * Kaede looks at the girls and turns away a bit embarrassed. "...right." 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Haruko (2d6-2) and gets 7. (dr) 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Haruko (2d6-2) and gets 5. * TokugawaStudent is a snobbish-looking sort who turns to Haruko and grumbles. "Not now, I'm-" he stops when he actually catches sight of her. "Oh, sorry about that. What is it?" * Kaede rolls his eyes a bit at that, but out of sight of the student. * Haruko smiles nicely. "Wow, isn't just the band members that are cute.... But, the Band, Arcana, they go to this school and I'm a big fan and they said I could stop by to meet them." Have you heard of them?... Oh, yeah. Who hasn't? * Kaede takes a deep breath, wondering why she couldn't have used that ploy earlier. Right, know where they hang out? I lost the specifics. Yeah, sometimes they use the music room after school. Well, Takeo and Natsuko, at least. * Haruko smiles sweetly. "Thanks, in case they aren't there, know anywhere else I could find them? I really appreciate this." * Kaede frowns a little then whispers to Haruko. "Well it shouldn't be so bad with Natsuko there." Don't know much about the others. Tenjirou always leaves with a girl or... several. Sumire never sticks around much and Senshiro... * TokugawaStudent shudders. "That guy's creepy." * Haruko nods. "Thanks! How do I get to the music room?" Oh, third floor, all the way on the left from the stairs, right at the corner. * Haruko bows. "It's really nice of you to be so kind to strangers. See you around if I visit again." She then waves and heads in. * Taki breaks off her fruitless catgirl seach and follows Haruko. * Satoshi follows Haruko. Apparently, he's been staring at a tree the entire time. ;p * Kaede shakes his head a little and takes off behind Haruko, waving in thanks to the student even though he probably doesn't care or notice. ^^; (...A Larch?) ( You were looking for something. You saw something :P ) ( You never know... Got to keep an eye on those trees. :P ) * Eriko follows too. (The trees have eyes! They're coming!) * Kyon stalks along behind the others. (And Kyon stalks well.) (They just won't leaf us alone!) (*hides*) * Saki does too. (...) * Haruko keeps the hurried pace and follows the directions. * Kaede walks a bit slower, keeping an eye out for curious cat girls and suspicious sexy siameses. * Taki follows Haruko up the stairs. * Haruko mutters to herself as she goes. "Could have guessed the music room... didn't have to do that..." She sighs. (Kaede's thought patterns are surprisingly alliterative. ^^) (Thank you ^_^) [The inside of the school is nice, too, but you miss that in your mad rush to the music room. There's only one person there: Natsuko. She's practicing on the drums, and isn't bad at it.] * Kaede stops shortly at the door and blinks, peeking inside. * Natsuko is playing a piece with her eyes closed, apparently. * Saki yawns. "Oh, her again." You can barely hear it over the noise. * Kaede stops at the doorway and listens to the drumbeat, not wanting to disturb. * Haruko walks in and speaks fairly loudly but still politely. "Hello Natsuko-san. I'm sorry to interrupt but...." * Kaede opens his eyes and sighs. So much for that. * Satoshi stays in the doorway and lets Haruko do her thing. * Natsuko doesn't hear Haruko. * Haruko repeats herself. As loud as she can without yelling. * Kaede whispers to Haruko. "Let her finish. YOU'RE the one that said not to annoy them...disturbing an artist in the middle of their work falls under that." * Kyon doesn't go in. He crosses to the other side of the hall, and leans against the wall there, waiting. * Taki walks into the room and watches Haruko for a bit. * Haruko looks back at Kaede. "What if it's a twenty minute riff. We don't annoy them unnecessarily." * Eriko meanwhile stays outside the door, next to the wall, and noticably out of the way of her sight. * Saki just stands in the doorway. * Kaede takes a deep breath. "Fine..but we still don't know what the Band can do entirely.." I don't want to take that risk. * Haruko chuckles somewhat darkly but quietly, she then watches Natsuko to see if she's heard her yet. * Natsuko did not, but given how loud the drums are, that's no surprise. * Kaede looks to see if there's somewhere he can sit down in the room and listen. * Haruko waits for the a slightly quieter person and then yells as politely as she can the same message. She avoids screaming. * Kaede shakes his head at Haruko and slowly raises his hands, starting to clap. * Taki waits to see if Natsuko noticed. * Saki grumbles and just walks up to Natsuko. She grabs the drumstick from Natsuko's hand when she pulls it back. ...That works too. * Natsuko opens her eyes and blinks at the lot of you. "What the hell?!" She gets up quickly. * Kaede looks at Saki and just lets out a big sigh, resuming clapping. "That was beautiful." * Haruko bows. "I'm sorry to interrupt Natsuko-san, we aren't here to attack you." Don't mind her..she's just impatient..I wanted to wait till you were finished. Good enough for me. * Kaede lowers his hands. "We just want to talk is all though." Got nothing to talk about. * Haruko continues. "Katie, the girl you think is judgment, seems to be missing, we heard a rumor she was kidnapped." * Kaede frowns. "That's too bad. Except we thought Takeo would be here too..." * Saki hovers over Natsuko. "It took an hour to get down here. You damn well better." * Kaede glances a little at Haruko and narrows his eyes but says nothing. * Haruko glances back to Kaede and shrugs, she then watched Natsuko. * Natsuko decides fighting against all of you would be bad. Instead she shrugs. "So? That's good. Maybe she got killed." * Satoshi frowns and takes a step into the room. * Kaede rubs his head. "See...I knew that's how you'd respond. Except there's one problem..." Did Zein tell you more information? Yhat she had to be kidnapped or killed? Meimi told us about it. I don't think she wants her kidnapped. No? * Taki opens her mouth and gets lost in noise. Meimi? Thought she was in a coma. She is, she can still use illusions from in the coma. * Kaede smiles slightly. "Strange how things work out, yes?" More like annoying than strange. * Kyon crosses the hall, and leans against the wall near the door, next to Eriko. So again, where's Takeo...? We think she might have come to talk to him. She mentioned Tokugawa. * Haruko watches Natsuko, she actually doesn't speak at the same time as Kaede this time. * Natsuko shrugs. "How should I know?" Because we heard he usually comes up here. Do you see him here? No. Which is why we're asking questions. * Eriko is shaking a bit. But only Kyon notices 'cause he's outside :P * Haruko sighs. "Please Natsuko san. Katie's our friend, we know you are suspious of her because of what Zein told you. However, you also should know how we must act if our friend is in danger." * Natsuko looks over at Haruko and glares. "MY friends don't obliterate people indiscriminately." * Kyon looks down at Eriko, and notes her shaking. Then he looks down the hall, away from them. * Haruko walks up to Natsuko and stares back. "Has Zein told you that it is definately Katie, or even what Judgment's nature is?" * Kaede takes a deep breath. "There's no proof that ours does either. Except word of mouth." * Saki rolls her eyes and cracks her knuckles. "Bet I could get some answers a faster way." * Taki nods at Haruko and Kaede. * Haruko shakes her head. "Has Zein told you definitively?" * Kaede holds up his hand to Saki and narrows his eyes. "We don't need that kind of thing here." He told me. That's good enough. * Satoshi keeps quiet but watches Natsuko suspiciously. * Kaede smirks slightly. "Save it for Tenjirou though." * Haruko sighs. "So he told you, straight out, Katie is Judgment and the best way to act is to take her out?" * Saki eyes Kaede. "We'll see if we do or not." * Natsuko frowns. "Hey, if you think I'm afraid of a fight..." * Kaede sighs. "That's just it..we don't WANT a fight." * Haruko shakes her head. "No one's saying that. Please answer my question." No, we don't think that. It's just that most of us don't want a fight you. I told you! He told me she was. And he told you to take her out?! ...You didn't answer the second part... He didn't tell us what to do about her yet. Although if I had the chance, then yeah, I'd kill her. ...If she was Judgment...what on earth would prevent her from making all of you dissapear or all of us for that matter? How should I know? I don't know how it works. * Saki yawns. "This is a waste of time." * Haruko stares. "Well then, let me be clear. If you hurt her, let alone kill her, or if any of the band does, you have a war on your hands. For something Zein hasn't even told you is a good idea to do." ... I'm not scared of you. (Cross bridge, THEN burn) Not me, us. I don't want this to come to a fight, I don't want anyone to get hurt! I want to stop Judgment! Shouldn't you at least check with Zein if kidnapping her would be a good idea before people get hurt. * Kaede looks at Haruko and narrows his eyes. "Hold on. You said not to say anything unless we were sure. We're STILL not sure they had anything to do with it." ... What? So you just came in here with accusations?! * Saki smirks. "Seemed like the thing to do." * Kaede takes a deep breath. "She's a little edgy...please have patience, Natsuko." No! We don't know if you took her! We don't want this to come to a fight! We came in here to find out what happened! We all are...you see...it'd be the same as if Zien disappeared from all of you..at least I think that's how you'd compare it. I ain't edgy. I'm bored! * Haruko looks a bit red, but she acknowledged Kaede's comment and seems to be trying to calm down. If a cat girl appeared and told you that one of your friends had been kidnapped, what would you do? Then be bored elsewhere. This isn't the TIME! * Saki eyes Kaede. Then laughs. Fine. See ya. * Kaede walks forward to Natsuko and smiles a bit. "I really did like your playing." * Saki leaves! (Yeah, that's what I thought would happen. Good job, Kaede. -_-;) * Taki rubs her forehead, "This is not my day." (She'd probably have caused more harm than good anyhow..besides, Kyon's outside ^^;) * Natsuko watches Saki go. Then grins. * Haruko is breathing fairly heavily, from being angry and speaking fairly loudly. Her efforts to calm down don't seem to have suceeded yet. * Kyon rolls his eyes, and gestures curtly to Saki as she comes out to stop for a second. * Kaede sits down in front of Natsuko and sighs. "Look. We don't want any of you to disappear from Judgement either..." We just want to find out what the hell is going on..and Katie's helped us do that. Just like Zien's helped you. * Haruko is fairly obviously restraining herself to allow Kaede to speak. * Taki listens to Kaede while working on a headache. * Satoshi leans against the wall and listens to the others. Zein isn't Judgement, though. How do you know that? Why the hell would he be? It's only fair. We don't think Katie's Judgement yet you automatically assume we're wrong. Because everything points to her. A dream and someone saying so. Is there anything else? Something you're not telling us? Because, quite frankly, I will HELP you contain Judgement if you can convince me of who Judgement is. What if there is? Then you're not going to gain any allies by keeping information, are you? We're not your enemy, Natsuko. * Kaede lets out a deep, long breath. * Natsuko shrugs. "What do I care? I've got my "allies"." She says that last word sarcastically. * Haruko calms a bit. "Could we talk to Zein, by cel phone, whatever, doesn't have to be in person. You seem to respect him a lot, maybe if we talked to him we'd understand things better." * Kaede looks up and raises an eyebrow. "You don't trust them?" I trust them more than you. * Kaede nods. "That's fine..but you see.." * Haruko watches Natsuko, she's a bit less red and still hoping for an answer. It's not my business if you want to talk to Zein. * Haruko looks forward. "Then may we please have a number to contact him. If he doesn't want to talk to us, he won't." * Kaede adjusts his glasses. "Well..you see. They may be your allies. That's the term Kyon uses." * Kaede "But Katie's my friend. And if there's a way to contain Judgement without harming her or anyone, I'll look for it." * Natsuko gives a humorous chuckle. "Good luck." If there's not...well...your solution may be the way. * Kaede kneels down and looks up slowly at Natsuko. "I'd like to be a friend, not an ally, if you'll let me. You play wonderfully." I think I can decide who my friends are, thanks. * Kaede nods. "Fair enough. But I meant what I said." If you can convince me of who Judgement is, then I'll help you. Even if it is Katie? Even if it's Katie. Fine. But I won't take simple second-hand statements and dreams as proof. It's fine. I don't expect you to believe it even if it hits you in the face, anyhow. * Haruko watches Kaede with what seems to be respect, she almost looks calm. If it is Katie we'll do everything we can to stop her, and if it isn't we'll do even more to defend her. And now I'm going to go look for a certain catgirl. * Kaede nods and stands up slowly. I'll go with you, Taki. Thanks, Satoshi. Natsuko... * Kaede takes out his notepad and jots something down quickly before handing it to her. "Here's my cell number if you change your mind." Sorry to have interupted you. ::leaves:: * Natsuko shrugs and puts it away. * Kaede nods. "Let's go, Haruko-san." * Satoshi follows Taki. * Kaede turns around and makes his way out of the room. [Kyon is outside! Nobody else, though.] * Kaede takes a step outside and lets out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding. "That was close..." * Haruko looks ready to go, but tries one more time, she looks fairly near tears. "Natsuko-san, please, could you ask Zein if he's willing to talk to us. If all this is a misunderstanding, he may be able to keep it from getting worse." * Kyon is standing against the wall still, and waiting. No smirk, just a cool, normal expression. Fine. I'll ask him. But if he says no, it's not my problem. * Kaede flips his notepad closed and slips it in his kaban pouch. * Haruko nods, she actually does seem to be crying a bit. "Thank you very much, I understand. Could you perhaps call him now? If he says no so be it." I don't have a phone. And if I did, I don't have his number. * Kaede looks up at Kyon calmly. "Saki take off completely?" * Haruko nods, she takes a few steps out. "You didn't hurt her right? I understand where you're coming from, and I'll trust what you say, and who knows, we may face off eventually, Kami prevent it! But now, this isn't you guys, right?" * Kyon nods curtly, and smirks. "Promised her a good fight some time, though." What, Katie? * Kaede takes a deep breath. "She needs to learn some other form of entertainment..." * Haruko nods. * Haruko wipes an eye. Should we split up to look for Mimi or Takeo though? If he's still at school.. I'll...set aside my differences with you for Katie's sake, Kyon. I haven't seen her. * Haruko nods again. "Thank you, I'm sorry, I hope..., I'm sorry." She bows and walks out. Which way did Taki and Satoshi go? We'll go the other way. He has our number. If they find her, they'll call. * Kyon looks down the hall again, and nods quickly. "Magnanimous of you." He jams his hands in his pockets. "We're here. Might as well look." He turns on his heel and starts walking down the hall, opposite from the direction that Saki, etc, went. * Kaede nods and follows behind Kyon, a neutral expression on his face. * Haruko catches up with the guys. "She said, she didn't see Katie, she's.... I think she's telling the truth. She also said she'd talk to Zein and ask him if he wanted to talk to us." I think she's trustworthy, she just doesn't trust us...hopefully she'll start to though. [Outside, it must be drizzling a bit.] * Kyon nods curtly, but doesn't look back at her. "Right. Let them talk to us. She's just acting to her interests now." He constantly scouts around, looking for anything important looking. [Inside, you explore the school! No catgirls here!] * Kaede scratches his head. "What I wouldn't give for an Arcana tracking skill..." * Haruko whipes an eye again, once she's far enough away she continues. "Maybe.. Why couldn't it have been Sumire...." ( 'Cause the GM didn't want to use Sumire ^^ ) We have to deal the cards we're dealt...apt analogy I think, even if it's in poor taste. (And no spiky punk looking band members?) ( Heh ) * Kyon shrugs as he stalks. "Think it'd have gone better if it had been? You got what you wanted." * Kaede looks around down each hall and crosshall he can find. * Haruko nods, she's still crying a bit. "Maybe we should call her house again, just to be sure." * Kaede takes a deep breath and stops, closing his eyes. He digs in his pockets and holds out the phone. "Here..." If she is there, I think you should be the first to talk to her... * Haruko nods to Kyon. "Yeah, Sumire would have had the sense to say if it wasn't her. Maybe she'd of lied but... I.. wouldn't have lost control." [As they get to the stairs, Jin meets them, along with Katie!] We all lose control, Haruko. You saw that with me..earli...er... * Kaede blinks. "Katie...?" * Haruko runs up and hugs Katie. * Katie blinks, then groans. "Jin, you have *got* to give a warning before you do that." * Katie is hugged. "Oof!" * Kaede runs up too and tacklehugs the both of them. * Katie falls over, too. "What'd I do!" * Jin blinks. "Do what?" Then he falls over. "Um..." * Kaede glares at Jin and gets back up. "Don't you DARE do that again!" We thought she was kidnapped because of you! * Kyon rocks back on his heels and smirks at the spectacle. Fall over? She was? That's not good... * Katie stays right where she is and looks around, then turns her attention to Kyon. "Where are we?" * Haruko shakes her head, she keeps hugging. "No, Meimi, we thought she was kidnapped because of Meimi." I was kidnapped? Don't play innocent, Jin. You drag everyone everywhere and you don't even realize it. Good god, we almost got in a fight today because of it! I do? * Kaede pushes his glasses up, calming a bit. "Meimi, through Mimi, told us you were kidnapped..then she hinted that the Band may have caused it..." * Haruko lets go. "Sorry, didn't mean to squeeze you like that." She whipes her eye again. * Kyon looks down at Katie bemusedly. "This is Tokugawa Academy." ... You said I did it. * Kaede glares at Jin. "Jin...for right now...I'm sorry. I apologize in advance, but do NOT speak. Otherwise I won't be responsible for my actions." * Katie absentmindedly hugs Haruko back. "Ah. Tokugawa Academy. ... Isn't that where most of The Band goes?" * Haruko gets up. "You didn't do it, we just didn't know where she was because of you." * Katie sits up and rubs at the back of her head, which made contact with the floor. * Kaede holds out a hand to help Katie up and smiles a bit. "Sorry about that.." * Haruko smiles a bit. "Hurt yourself? That I can help." Okay. * Katie accepts the help and stands. I don't think it was Jin's fault. * Kaede brings her into a hug. "I know...I was just worried." * Kyon nods tersely. "Yeah. It is. That's why we're here." He jams his hand in his pockets, and watches. * Haruko nods. "Let's get Taki and Satoshi and get the out of here." I don't want to lose my second sister... I wouldn't think so either, but I'm not sure, and I'm not supposed to talk anyhow. * Katie stiffens for a moment in surprise, then lightly hugs back. She laughs. "Sister? I'm adopted now?" * Kaede lets go slowly and smiles. "That's right. And Nanami's having you over for dinner, whether you like it or not." Hey, I'm not complaining. * Jin beams. "I like it! Will there be chicken?" * Katie shakes her head as if to clear it. I'll make it just for you, Jin. * Jin beams more. Anyway, I just went for a movie with Chikako, and then... I was here. Jin's teleport power is really tiring on the memory. I know...I've dealt with it more times than I can count... It is? * Haruko shakes her head than rubs it for a minute. She then yawns. "Oh, that'd explain it, we need to find a way to equip Jin with a cell phone that works in a field." * Kaede smirks. "That must be why Jin's so clueless all the time..." Is it? I'm not sure. But, we really should get out of here, we don't want Natsuko seeing Katie. * Kyon smirks, and runs a hand through his hair. He starts to walk off, and looks back over his shoulder. "Yeah. As touching as this is, do it somewhere other than enemy territory." * Kaede nods. "Or whoever else might think she's Judgement." * Katie starts walking, too. * Kaede looks over at Jin. "That raises a good question..." * Jin is still sitting on the floor. * Haruko walks. "Come on Jin, walk with us please." Why would Jin bring Katie into enemy territory...? Ok. * Jin gets up and follows. "I'm not sure." He might have been bringing her to us. * Katie looks over at Kaede. "Maybe he wanted you to know I'm okay." I'm just thinking out loud, Jin..don't mind me... * Haruko nods in agreement with Katie. Okay. Maybe... * Kaede sighs and walks back with the others. "All this is so very very tiring." * Haruko looks around for a moment to see if anyone else is nearby. [Just Jin.] * Kyon walks quickly, and stays out in front. He heads for the exits from the building. [Nobody tries to kill you on the way out!] (Yay! Go us!) (Damn it! I was hoping for that. =P) * Haruko raps twice loudly on he nearest metal as she goes out. "Meimi, so you're in Tokugawa, so are we, could we please have an audience." * Kaede stops a little and turns towards Haruko, raising an eyebrow. Are you going to perform? You really think that'll work? * Haruko shrugs. "She said she was coming here. Worth trying." * Haruko waits a half a minute before heading out. I think it might have been another one of her pranks...just to see how we'd react. * Kaede rubs his head and follows. Probably. I really don't think I was kidnapped. * Kyon shrugs. "Better not to talk to her." * Katie smiles faintly. "Then again, you can never be sure." You can't? She never said directly that you were..she just implied it by asking what we'd do if you were... Sometimes it feels like it, Jin. Trickery of words... * Kaede grumbles. * Haruko grins at Katie for a moment, she then raps twice and tries again. It does? * Katie laughs now. "Right up Meimi's alley." And yeah, it does. * Jin peers at Katie. "Are you kidnapped right now?" * Kaede smiles slightly. "But trickery o r not, we can't take that chance. And we're all the better for coming." * Katie tilts her head and looks at Jin. "I don't think so." ... Are you sure? Just one question for you Meimi, in Mimi or Takeo form, whatever. ::she bows:: "I humbly request a moment of your time." * Kaede grins at Haruko. "You could always try calling out "Nyah"" * Haruko again raps on metal and waits another half minute. * Kyon blows out a breath, and just keeps walking on. He waits at the gate. * Jin whispers to Katie and points at Haruko. "What's she doing?" * Katie watches Haruko and grins. "Trying to call out one of Meimi's illusions." Oh... Why? She wants to talk to them. * Haruko gives up, she starts to walk out. "Alright, although if you don't talk to me, next time I talk to real Takeo, he'll be given proof that you've been active while in the coma." Oh... You know, if I wasn't so freaked by hearing about Katie, I think I might have rather liked that cat girl. It's like the things Nanami watches all the time... * Haruko chuckles softly and goes to meet up with Kyon. * Kaede heads out the gates. [Session End]