[Day: Tuesday, March 18th. Time: 2:50 p.m.] [Weather: A little chilly, but otherwise sunny.] [Yesterday lotsa stuff happened but you may not no what because you all split up very early on. Today you meet at the tanning salon! Just kidding, the lockers.] [Session Start] * Katie walks to her locker, opens, and switches books as necessary. She seems fairly pleased with herself. * Haruko walks down the hall, doing that not looking where she's going thing that she's wont too. She seems to be working on some schematics. * Satoshi does the usual exchanging of books. He waves at Katie. * Haruko also has a new hairdo. Bangs again, but this time farther out so they don't cover her burn marks. In the back, she has her hair up in a bun, held in place a metal comb and two cross pices with a few ornamental beeds hanging from them. [Satoshi successfully completes the ritual without angering any greater powers.] * Katie waves back. She grins and finishes, shutting her locker closed. * Katie blinks at Haruko. "Why the change in hair?" * Kaede heads down the hall, in the semi-glazed over state that he's been in all day. His eyes look completely bloodshot, and his whole body kind of...drags itself across the floor to his locker. [He does anger a lesser power, though, which plans to tie his shoe-laces together at some point.] * Haruko looks up at Katie. "Hi.. uh, I, needed something to do last night. Parent's got home late and went straight to bed." * Satoshi waves at Haruko, too, and then notices the living dead^H^H^H^H Kaede. "Um." * Taki walks down the hall, (un)fashonably late as usual, she waves to her fellow Arcana as she nears them. * Katie tilts her head for a moment, then gets a glance at Kaede. She blinks again. ( What's that ^H thing, anyhow? @_@ ) * Haruko waves at Taki and smiles at Satoshi. She doesn't really acknowlegde Kaede. (It's an old backspace command.) (Geek joke. You may hit me if you want. ;p) * Taki stares at Kaede for a moment, "Did you ever get home last night?" * Kaede opens the locker and takes stuff out, then puts it away like he's in a ritual, then proceeds to head down the halls as if he hadn't even noticed them. But fortunately he hears Taki and stops. [Satoshi suddenly feels like someone should smack him in the back of the head.] * Satoshi rubs the back of his head, then turns to watch Taki and Kaede. * Kaede looks over his shoulder and gazes at Taki. Well, more gazes through her. "Huh?" * Haruko sits down and works at the papers she's carrying. Her hand jitters a little as she works. I mean, I know I made you promse to show up today...but honestly if you'd called and said you felt as bad as you look right now I'd have let you out of it. I always keep my word, Shimiru-san. Now if you'll excuse me... Where are you going? * Taki nods slowy, "Sleep well, pleasant dreams and such." * Kaede shrugs and looks down the hall. "Don't know." ...Or not. Yeah, I thought so. Don't have any place to go, do you? * Taki face palms. * Kaede stiffens completely at Katie's statement and just stands silently in the hallway. [Kaede sees a quickly approaching Chikako.] * Satoshi isn't entirely sure what's going on, but that's not new. He settles for watching as it unfolds. * Haruko keeps working on what seem to be some motorcycle schematics for anyone that's looking. * Kaede doesn't really. Because his eyes just aren't focusing. He gazes blindly down the hallway. [Kaede misses his chance to see the Queen of England, who's there briefly for some reason.] * Chikako arrives, waving a newspaper! "Hi guys! Look! It's so cool!" * Taki rubs at her forehead, but smiles at Chikako anyway, "What's the cool news?" * Haruko looks up at Chikako's voice. "Hi Chikako! May I have one?" She then takes it, presumably. * Chikako waves the newspaper at Kaede. * Kaede doesn't turn to look at Chikako. He speaks in a monotone deadpan voice, still looking down the hall. "Hey Chikako." Heya, Chikako. What's going on? * Chikako waves the newspaper at Katie. * Kaede doesn't blink as the paper's waved in front of him. * Katie laughs and takes a newspaper. "Thanks." * Chikako hands out papers! * Haruko reads. * Katie does, too. It's the thing to do. * Taki takes a paper and opens it, while keeping one on Kaede. * Kaede has a paper? It takes him a while to actually look down at what's in his hands as he stares at it. * Satoshi accepts a paper and starts reading it. [Top Story is about how a Seiryuu student was found to be a drug dealer and sent to prison.] * Haruko 's eyes widen. "Wow... that was.. unexpectedly easy." [Ayako is clearly named, but unnamed are the two vigilantees who infiltrated her mansion and knocked her unconscious long enough for the police to get there. There's a picture, but it's dark and you can't make out much more than two shapes that might be people.] * Satoshi blinks, and his eyes widen. "Wow. They got her." * Katie reads. "Huh." * Haruko looks at the picture, trying to make it out, and then glances around the room. "Did I miss something last night?" I'm glad somebody did... Need to ask them how. Huh. Well that's good. * Kaede 's tone of voice doesn't indicate much in either direction though. * Satoshi shakes his head. "I didn't know about this until now." * Kyon starts down the hallway from the direction opposite the one Chikako came from. He's got his bag slung over the other shoulder than usual, and is wearing his dark orange leather jacket again. He's holding his upper body stiffly straight as he stalks down towards the others. * Katie reads for description on injuries. [There's more!] * Taki keeps reading. [The vigilantees were injured, in fact they sustained minor wounds from physical assaults and from gunfire. But the bigger thing is that the police have decided on a codename for the drug: 'Arcana'.] * Satoshi opens his mouth to say something, then realizes that Chikako is still there and shuts it. * Taki pales, and then blushes back to red, and then pales again and settles for turning slightly pink and leaning on the wall. * Haruko grins a little as she reads the codename. "Aww.. poor temperence." * Katie spots that, then snickers. [The article describes many dealers as having an interest in arcana and tarot cards. Spokesperson Kenjii Sagara is urging people to be wary of those interested in the cards. This has been met with furious protests from Wiccans, goths, people who just plain like the pictures.... all kinds of stuff.] * Kyon gets to the group, circles to the side of Chikako, and holds out a hand to her silently for a paper. [In fact, the response is the article on the same page.] * Chikako gives Kyon a paper. * Taki sighs and goes back to reading. * Haruko glances up at Kyon and looks him over with a curious expression for a minute. [The police proclaim that they understand why the interested parties would be upset, but ask them to also realize that this may be a connection amongst the dealers. They are investigating.] * Satoshi notices Kyon but declines to comment at the moment. * Kyon drops the bag at his side unceremoniously, and opens the paper to read it, hiding his face behind it as he does so. * Haruko skims the response to see if she should care, and then leafs through the rest of the paper. [Other articles today deal with the history behind the cards, and try to provide insight about why they're so popular among high school students. In fact one article interviews Hirokazu on why the former computerclub members were going to name their H game "Arcana"] * Taki makes silent note to feed Hirokazu to Saki and think of something else to do to Haruko. ["They wanted something that was kind of obscure, but cool, and easily recognized. It also provided instant titles for the characters; they wouldn't just become names you'd forget," Hirokazu says. etc. etc.] * Haruko reads the Hirokazu article then puts the paper down and stands up. * Kaede finishes reading, folds up the paper and holds it out for Chikako. (Obviously, Taki has something against people whose names contain the letters h, r, a, k, u, and o.) (Hee!) (You just now figured that out? :P) * Haruko doesn't return the paper. She may want to read that Arcana stuff later. (Hirokazu anagramed "iz Haruko" yesh?) (Yikes) (Shh! No one must know that secret!) See? See? * Kyon keeps reading. He got a late start, and seems to be going a bit slower than usual. * Satoshi looks up. "Yeah, I see. Lots of interesting news there." * Taki nods behind her paper, "Very..." Yeah. * Haruko looks to Chikako. "Any news on Arisu? I take it this was what she was working on? * Kaede keeps staring blankly down the hall. * Chikako nodnods. "Uh huh!" * Katie folds her paper. "She probably took the picture." She turned in this cool article yesterday. * Haruko smiles broadly. "Superb work." "...Yeah..." * Satoshi tucks the paper in his school bag. * Haruko then looks over to Kyon. "Definately top notch." * Kyon finishes, folds it up, and bends his knees to lower himself enough to drop it onto the bag. "Yeah. Didn't think people would take dangerous assignments like that in high school." That's our school for you. * Haruko walks over to Kyon. "Yup, quite impressive. Your shoulder looks a bit stiff, want me to see if I can help that?" Hey! I didn't assign it! She did it herself! I'm cool. * Haruko grins over at Chikako. "That you are." She then looks back at Kyon. * Kyon nods quickly to Chikako. "Wasn't blaming you. Not many schools have papers like this one's, either." He looks back to Haruko and nods curtly, his eyes curiously browner than usual. * Taki rereads her paper. Oh. Cool. * Katie looks Kyon over, but doesn't say anything. * Haruko walks over behind Kyon and massages his shoulder with one hand. She also heals him while she's at it. Well, I better get back to the office. * Haruko waves goodbye with her other hand. "See you Chikako. Thanks for the good news!" Okay. Thanks for the papers, Chikako. Cool stuff. * Kyon shifts his shoulder a bit under her hand, making a bit of a strange rustling noise as he does so. "Yeah. Should talk later, though. Later." * Chikako nodnods. "Cool. See ya!" See ya Chikako...Bring more cool news next time! * Chikako waves and runs off. Zoom! * Satoshi watches her go. "If she weren't so enthusiastic about the paper, I'll bet the track team would have loved to have had her." Maybe I should convince her to try out. * Katie glances at Kyon. "Late night?" * Kaede puts his hand against the locker and leans on it for support, looking around a bit before his eyes follow where Chikako went. * Haruko tilts her head a bit as she works and seems a tad concerned and starts massaging his other shoulder. "Perhaps you'd care to sit down Kyon." She then smiles faintly. "Might be easier for me to concentrate." Considering how dedicated she is, I don't think she'd go for it so easily. And, yes. What's going on here? * Taki folds her paper and walks over to Satoshi, "Mind if I volunteer your apartment as a place where Kyon can talk and Kaede can get some much needed rest?" * Kyon nods a bit tersely, and sinks to his knees without moving his upper body. He turns to look at Katie with a hint of a smirk. "Not so late." Who needs rest? The man with the blood shot eyes and can't read a newspaper right now? * Satoshi shrugs. "Yeah, sure. Jin might be there, but other than that, shouldn't be any problems." I read it just fine. * Haruko kneels down behind him, she keeps one bent leg up though, as he's more than a little taller and she needs a slieght height boost. Ahh, pardon my intrusion then. * Kaede gives Taki an odd look. But at least he focuses on her. Where would you like to go then? ...Go? Nowhere. Anywhere. It's all the same. Yes, you can't stand around at the school all night. ... * Haruko draws circles with her rear foot as she works, but she manages to keep and jitteriness away from her hands. * Kyon shakes his head quickly. "Should go to my place, not his. Need to get back there some time soon." Works for me, Kyon's certainly earned his choice of places. Let's go Taki. * Taki nods at Kyon, "That works too. You coming Kaede or are you planning on standing there untill people think you're a statue and somebody puts a plack on you?" * Kaede doesn't respond. * Kyon cranes his head around to look at Haruko sidewise, wincing slightly as he does so. "Pick this up again when we get there?" * Haruko nods. "Will do." She stops for a moment and quickly gathers up her stuff. * Taki forms a box with her fingers and then looks at Kaede through it, "I call it 'why vacations are important.'" * Satoshi smiles a little. * Kyon presses himself up off the floor, pulling the bag up with him and onto his shoulder. He looks around the group quickly, stops smirking at Kaede. "You don't say yes, they'll just drag you along." * Haruko looks whistfully at the motorcycle schematic for a moment as she puts it in her bag. She then closes up the bag, puts it on her back, and walks over to Kyon again. * Kaede responds dryly. "Fine by me." * Taki shakes her head, "Nah, dragging him would make too much of a sceen." Do whatever you want. * Haruko rolls her eyes. * Kyon starts to shrug, then stops himself and shakes his head disinterestedly. "Yeah. You all know the way. See you there." He sets off down the hall again. * Kaede glances slightly at Haruko, eyes coolly focusing on her. "You have something to say?" "Would you mind terribly if some of us got there first? * Haruko sets off after him. Guess it wasn't all terribly important. That I don't. Oh, Kyon. I can probably work from the back of a bike. ::she grins:: Better even. * Kyon calls back over his shoulder without looking. "Don't care, but wait outside. Kumaguro doesn't take well to strangers I didn't bring in." * Kyon doesn't say anything to Haruko, but reaches his hand back and beckons behind him slightly as he goes. * Haruko catches up with Kyon and walks next to him, putting a hand on his back and giving some less direct healing until they get to the bike. [Time: 3:30. You're at Kyon's apartment, courtesy of Taki the Transporter. Or Kyon's bike. Either or. But you're there.] * Katie is there and sitting, drumming her fingers on the table. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Haruko (2d6) and gets 9. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Taki (2d6) and gets 2, a CRITICAL SUCCESS!!! "I love the smell of a crit in the morning." 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Kaede (2d6) and gets 5. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Kyon (2d6) and gets 5. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Kumaguro (2d6) and gets 9. [You notice a couple bloodstains here and there. Taki notices they clash with the decor.] ( Um, if you made it. :P ) * Haruko stays near Kyon for now and comments in a fairly soft voice. "That's all I can do, but I think that did it. If you still feel numb I could keep up the massage." (Kumaguro notices catnip) 2d6-8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6-8) and gets -3. * Kaede walks in slowly and glances around. "You've redecorated, I see." * Taki eyes the blood, "You know...I can recomend some good stain removers." * Katie gets right to it. "What happened last night?" * Haruko looks around at that but doesn't seem all that surprised. She then looks back at Kyon for any reply. * Haruko also nervously plays with her hands as she does this. * Kaede swaps shoes and then goes over to the window, staring out of it with his back to everyone else. * Kyon nods to Haruko quietly, and rolls his shoulder tentatively a couple times. "Should be OK." He hesitates, then facing her, holds a clenched fist to his chest with a cool expression, nodding quickly. * Taki takes her shoes off and finds a pace to sit with Satoshi. * Haruko gives another slight smile and then goes over to a table and gets back to work on the motorcycle schematic. (* Satoshi just sits there. Go Satoshi!) * Kyon turns and looks at Katie bemusedly. "No ideas?" He takes his shoes off and heads in without bothering to put on slippers, heading towards the back in his socks. * Kumaguro winds out of the back room sleepily, then perks a bit and pads over to Kyon, knocking his head against Kyon's legs and meowing. * Haruko wasn't quite so distracted as to not do that automatically when she actually walked in. (THe shoes that is) * Kyon bends his knees and moves down towards the cat, then scritches at Kumaguro's neck. "Still here, then?" * Haruko still has slightly shakey hands and is concentrating fairly intently on what she's doing. SHe stops and erases then redraws a line once or twice a minute. * Kyon straightens, then steps over towards the door to the bedroom and opens it, looking in and down. * Taki glances at Kaede every now and then. * Kumaguro looks somewhat more satisfied, and slinks over towards Katie. He looks up at her with wide eyes. * Kaede stares out the window and puts a hand on the side of the sill, closing his eyes then opening them back, gazing out. * Katie looks back. "What?" She holds her hand out to him. ( Forget Satoshi. Dump him for me. What? I don't speak cat...yet. ...) * Kumaguro presses his head against her hand pretty hard, and stares up at her some more. * Katie sighs and tries to pick up Kumaguro. "And yes, Kyon, I do have guesses. I think you not only had something to do with Ayako's fall, but you're one of the people who took her down." * Taki turns and watches Katie and Kumaguro instead, they're much more interesting. * Haruko frowns as she has to erase a line a second time. * Kyon breathes out softly, and turns around, looking back down at Katie. He gingerly pulls off the jacket, and nods quickly before smirking. "Nothing better to do with my evenings these days." * Kumaguro tenses a bit so he's easier to pick up, then lays out flat in Katie's arms, and stares up at her. * Haruko giggles at that response and keeps working. I'm glad you had better luck the second time around, care to tell how you did it or do we have to guess? Doesn't really matter, does it? It's done. Case closed. We can move on. * Katie flashes a quick grin at Kyon. "Can't find a date? So, what did you find out?" She rubs Kumaguro behind the ears. * Kyon smirks harder. "No problems with the first part." He turns a bit, and looks back into the bedroom. "For one... I found her." Which her? We've got a lot of "hers" missing. * Taki nods. * Kaede turns around and glances at Kyon. He does seem a bit more focused now. * Kyon turns the smirk on Kaede. "Think you can turn your head enough to look through the door from where you are? Or is that too much energy?" * Haruko looks up and then blinks. She then stands up and starts to walk over into the bedrooom. [Haruko sees Kyoko on Kyon's bed, apparently asleep.] * Kaede shrugs and leans back against the wall, closing his eyes. "It doesn't really matter to me either way." * Taki stands up and follows Haruko to where she can see who's been found. Smirk all you want, it won't make me care again. * Haruko walks in faster and gingerly looks her over to see if she's hurt and how badly. * Taki blinks, and turns to Kyon, "She's not like her brother wound up...Right?" * Kyon shakes his head bemusedly. "Then where will my life find its meaning." He turns back to looking at Kyoko. "She was being kept chained up in the basement. As a bodyguard, if the model needed one." [Kyoko is apparently hurt pretty badly.] Who cares? ... * Kyon looks at Taki sidewise. "Doubt it, but she hasn't woken up since the biker girl knocked her out." * Kaede stops as the words sink in, and while he doesn't turn around, his body slackens a little. "...did you say chained up?" * Haruko gasps at seeing Kyoko's condition and hearing Kyon's statement. She rushes over and climbs up on to the bed, kneels, and gets to healing. * Katie gets up and takes a look. "So... what? Chained?" Damn! * Kumaguro wriggles a bit, and closes his eyes happily. If she ever gets out of jail I am personaly going to throw her off the Tower. * Kyon nods curtly. "Yeah. In a locked room. The model wasn't Arcana, so she wanted someone who was for protection." So how'd she find out? Why hasn't Temperance gotten to her? I...I... In the house...and... * Taki seethes. * Haruko closes her eyes to better concentrate on the healing. She says quietly, "I'm sorry Kyoko, you might have been rescued sooner if not for me." * Kyon lifts his uninjured shoulder up and down, shrugging without moving the other one. "She knew. Didn't say how. Not really time for deep discussion." * Katie keeps Kumaguro in her arms, rubbing at him and looking over at Kyoko. "Yeah, I bet." Yeah but...why does she let someone like her keep on knowing about it when... It doesn't matter...she's locked away. All of them...off the top of the tower...they can write if off as some strange religious thing...Yeah...I don't even have to wait for them to get themselves out...push 'em off...and then I can be at the bottom when they hit too...go back...get the next one. * Kaede glances over at Taki and watches her for a bit. She said that it was easy to get people under her control, just putting it in drinks. Maybe she got this Temperance person, too. * Haruko opens her eyes for a moment and lifts her head to look up at Kyon. "You didn't do it for her, and you certainly didn't do it for me, but thank you." She then looks down again. * Kumaguro leans up and butts his head against Katie's chin. * Taki looks back at Kaede, "What you've never plotted how to kill annoying people? It's a great stress releaver even if you never carry through." Gotta come up with something special though for the model. * Kaede blinks and looks at Kyon. "Controlling Temperance?" He then looks at Taki. "I.." he looks off to the side a bit. * Kaede snaps his head up and looks at Katie. "Jiro?" * Taki sits back down and continues to plot, although Katie and Satoshi are the only ones who have a hope of understanding her mumbling to herself. * Kyon looks down at Kyoko again. "Drug works on Arcana. Never met this Temperance, so who knows." He shakes his head quickly. "Works on normal people, too. She sent most of her household after us. Mom, dad, the butler." * Haruko murmurs as she concentrates again on Kyoko, "And to think, I spent last night trying not to go out." * Katie looks back at Kaede. "What about him? Could be." If we was given the drug and wound up just like that... But...he didn't come to after he was knocked cold. Do you think the same could be true of her? It's... hard to say. We don't know that much about the drugs, other than that it's like mind control. * Katie looks at Kyon. "When her family was after you, were they like zombies?" * Taki shudders at the memory of not being in controll of herself. If you mean were they acting as if they had any free will, yeah, they were like zombies. So it's differen than what that bastard does...good. * Kyon smirks. "Usually, you don't make a fortune trying to whack random people with golf clubs." * Katie shrugs. "Yeah. Got a point." Who'd you go with? * Kaede goes back to thinking and staring. * Haruko doesn't seem to be paying all that much attention to the discussion of the specific properties of the drugs and says quietly. "Maybe I'm just assuming too much sanity from these people... it's throwing off my judgment." * Kyon looks back to Katie, looking down towards Kumaguro in her arms. "Like I said. The biker girl. After I talked with Chikako." [Session, thee be endedth]