Last time, on Hunters: The shit went down. The team was blooded. The bad guys lost... but it wasn't easy. So what do Magical Girls that just survived their first firefight do? They go back to school, of course - we can't have them breaking cover or anything. [Thursday, November 15, 2003 - Takeuchi Memorial High School] * Taki idly watches the clock, waiting for the lunch bell to ring. She's lost in her own thoughts, ignoring the teacher rambling on and on about whatever. * Taki thinks about the fight and what went down and things she could've done differently. These thoughts are filling her with self-doubt about how she let down the team. * Taki slouches in her desk, her head leaning heavily on her arm. The bell chimes, and the students scramble out of the English class to their varied lunchtime activities. * Taki is usually the first one out of class, but today she's been dragging her feet, her eyes on the floor. Someone spots Taki in the hallway, and calls her name. TAAAAAAAKIIII! * Taki has her lunch in hand and is idly heading towards the stairs. * Taki stops and turns towards the voice. Wha...? TAKITAKITAKI! * Sanako grabs Taki's arm and bounces up the stairs to the roof. * Taki looks nervously at the girl who is eagerly approaching her. * Taki is dragged up the stairs. Wha-- What's going on? It's here! It's here! What is? All the members of the trading card club are clustered around a large cardboard box. One girl with a clipboard is checking off names and passing smaller boxes out to everyone. The order arrived! Oh. That's cool. * Taki feigns interest. Yep! The third series 2003 box sets. * Taki stands towards the rear of the crowd, trying to see what everyone is getting. * Sanako drags Taki up to the front of the line. So it's the whole set? This finishes out sets, and I got your backorders in on the same delivery... * Taki kinda half apologizes to all the girls she's being forced to cut in front of. * Sanako snatches the clipboard from the startled club secretary, and scans the list. Yep! * Taki blushes a little and looks at the papers over Sanako's shoulder. You didn't have to go out of your way for me... * Sanako leans over and rummages through the box, and comes out with armfuls of goods. Huh? You're part of the club, and this is what we spend our budget on. * Taki eyes the amount of stuff Sanako just picked up. Oh, well if it's okay with the school then... Okay. Now, these three boxes are all three series of the Jump sets for this year. * Taki nods. None of the special inserts, but all of the basic set. About four hundred cards. * Taki keeps careful track of everything as it's explained to her. * Sanako sets those down. And here are binders and sleeve pages to put all of them in. * Taki picks up one the boxes and flips it around, reading whatever happens to be written on it. Okay. ...and, these are special cotton gloves for handling the cards. Doesn't really matter for the basic sets, but as you pick up some older, or special cards, you'll want to keep them nice. Of course... * Taki looks nervously at the gloves. And! I got a closeout deal from the publisher, and here's the Series 1 box from 2001, and the Series 2 box from the 2002 sets! * Sanako bounces excitedly. Oooh. * Taki looks at the other boxes not really sure what the difference between them all is. * Sanako drops a large, pink paperback onto the growing pile. There's must be more Magical Girls than I thought... And the Usagi's 2003 guide - this has listings of all the cards ever produced in major sets. * Taki sets the box she was looking at down and picks up the book and thumbs through it. The book seems to go back about five years, and lists cards by number and set. * Taki tries to find her own name in the index. There is indeed a Lady Nightshade card in most of the 2003 sets, and one of the 2002 sets. None of them are listed as having much value - 100 yen for the 2002 card is the most. * Taki looks kinda sad at that. That's the basics - you have about five thousand yen left for discretionary purchases this semester. You get the best prices if you order as part of the group, though. * Taki nods. I will have to go through all these then I guess... Yeah, take the time to put them all in the binders. If you don't care about keeping the sets intact, this is a good start on trading material. * Taki tries her best to pick up everything Sanako set out for her. * Taki nods again. Is... trading hard? Well... not really. Most of this group won't try to screw you on the deals, but there's always a little regret if you give up a card and then that Lady does something spectacular. Just go by the price guide, and you won't go too far wrong. So... the card becomes worth more if the Lady becomes... famous? That's the way it usually works. And then maybe you have a favorite that you want to trade for. * Taki nods. "I understand." Anyway, have fun with them, and if you have any questions, I can help you. * Sanako wanders off to pick up her own order. I will keep that in mind. * Taki , despite her natural grace, fumbles around with all the boxes and folders and books and her own lunch and bookbag as she makes her way through the crowd to a relatively empty corner of the roof. * Taki sets everything down as best she can and pulls out her lunch to munch on while she goes through the boxes of cards. * Taki starts on the 2003 vainly hoping to find her own card. A familiar-looking face in the Series 1 box catches her eye - it's Lady Sakura, though a younger-looking version of her. * Taki pauses at the card and flips it over, reading the details on the back. "Lady Sakura was one of the first Ladies to appear, though her lack of combat power relegated her to a support role most times. She is known to still be active, because her attack power has been observed in the last year - however, no one has seen her in costume in almost four years." Four years... Wow. "This, combined with the fact that her power use is often associated with gun battles, has led some observers to conclude that Lady Sakura has gone renegade." * Taki sets the Sakura card aside and continues flipping through the cards. Taki sees cards for most of the team - not Lord Chimera... but there is another Lord pictured that could be his identical twin. * Taki sets those cards aside as well. * Taki looks at the one of the Lord that looks like Chimera. That's interesting... "Lord Superfluous - deceased August 2003. One of the most powerful Lords observed. He had a variety of powers, some of which approached Princess-level strength. ... Deceased? "Reputed to be an arrogant, double-crossing womanizer. Had tumultuous relationships with the team he led." O_o They can't be the same guy... ... Can they? * Taki ponders this. The roof door swings open, and a teacher walks out into the club session. * Taki sets the card down while she's thinking and continues sorting through the cards, pulling out ones she knows or has heard of and putting them in some sort of order that makes sense to her in the binders. Taki? * Taki looks up. "Yes?" Are you up here, Ta- oh, there you are. Sorry, the office is looking for you - you have a phone call about your work-study arrangements. Okay, gimme a minute... *indicates her collection of cards that's kinda scattered about.* Don't take too long, they have your employer on hold. * Taki gathers everything together as best she can. * MsSakamura strolls away back down the stairs. Oh, okay... I um... *fumbles with everything, trying to keep it all together* I need a bigger bookbag. * Taki heads down the stairs after the teacher. She reaches the office quickly, and a phone is shoved in her face by the impatient-looking secretary. * Taki sets stuff down nearby and grabs the phone. Hello? Taki! Sakura? How are you doing? I'm okay... * Taki sounds kinda sad. You did a good job on Monday. ... Really? Look, the reason I called you at school was I wanted to ask you about Kenji when he couldn't listen in on the conversation. Okay... *eyes the secretary and tries to turn away so she can't listen in* How is that working out with him? We're okay, I guess. We try not to step on each others shoes, you know. He's kinda... quiet. Distant. I dunno. I was talking to him about finding living arrangements, and he said he'd like to move into the same apartment complex as you. ... He does? That's.... okay. Yeah. I didn't give him an answer, because I wanted to check with you first. If you have any problem with it, I have something else ready. I don't mind... He can live wherever he feels... comfortable. I'm just concerned about you - do *you* feel comfortable with him moving in down the hall on a permanent basis? I haven't really thought about it... I guess I'm kinda used to him now... I mean, he'll probably still need someone to cook for him and stuff like that, you know? You can almost hear Sakura shrugging through the phone. Well, okay... I'll set it up. Okay... What about school...? He'll be starting at a local school just down the road. It shouldn't be any more problem than for Darkmoon. What happened to Darkmoon? Huh? There was a problem, you said? * Taki sounds concerned. No, no, I mean making the arrangements with his school. Oh, okay. I'll call and tell him, okay? Okay. And I'll see both of you Saturday. Um... Sakura? Hmm? Have you ever heard of a... Lord Superfluous? I heard of him from a couple of ex-girlfriends, but never met him myself. A real jerk, they said. Oh... I also thought I heard he led his team into a Ningyo trap and died this summer. Why? Well um... I sorta got roped into this trading card club at school... And I got this card of him... And I swear he looks just like Kenji. That's weird. But then there's a lot that's weird about Kenji. Well, I won't take up any more of your lunchtime. I was thinking that maybe Kenji was him... Maybe ... faked his death or something? Unlikely. I mean, he can't lie about his title, so it can't be the same guy. Right? I guess... ...so... see you Saturday. Have a good afternoon! Okay, you too. See you then. * Sakura hangs up. * Taki hands the phone back to the secretary. "I'm finished. Thank you for letting me use your phone." * Taki gathers up her stuff once again. Sorry to bother you... * Taki heads back up to the roof for what's left of lunch. * Taki looks a little bit happier than she was before, although now she has a whole new set of things to worry about. ...and so the school day passes. After the final bell, club life really gets going in earnest, and our heroines are finally getting a chance to take part. In the east wing of the school, the Performance club is setting up in the auditorium. Today, they will get to see their newest members show off their talents. Strangely, Minami is nowhere to be found despite having been scheduled first. ...but life is complicated, and so they shrug their shoulders and simply move on to the next in line. * Maya just to happens to be that person, and she's more than ready. Even in her usual schoolwear, Maya seems more than capable of performing the usual set of stunts... and perhaps a few other non-standard ones. "And... there!" One previously-pulverized egg seems to be made whole again. "It's all in the mind." ^_^ The club audience applauds, mildly impressed. She's not the cutest stage magician they've seen, but she sure is smooth about it. * Maya casually dumps the egg into a normal, everyday (or so it seems, anyway; she did the usual 'check out the hat' routine before) top hat, puts it back on... then pulls out a hammer. "Now, then. Who wants an omelet?" A few moments of rather violent hat-smashing later, she produces a clear measuring cup and starts pouring out egg gook into it from the hat. Much, MUCH more than one eggs- worth comes out. ...okay, now that one was definitely something they hadn't seen before. They applaud, but weakly, somewhat intimidated by the ferocious hat-smashing. * Maya giggles. "Don't worry, the hat's survived worse." Before she can finish the verbal setup for cooking the egg in situ, she is interrupted by the PA system. "Maya Uzuki, please report to the office." The club president curses and begins muttering about Anime Club conspiracies. ... meh. Sorry, folks. I'll make this up for you, I promise! * Maya quickly cleans her mess and scuttles towards the office as quickly as she can. "I wonder who, I wonder what..." The office secretary shoos Maya directly into the principal's office. Maya! Maya, good to see you. * Maya stops to blink a few times as Oldman. "... ah, hello Principal. Er... what can I do for you today?" Tell me... did you try on that tie I gave you? * Maya ohs, nodding a couple of times. "I did, I did. I rather liked it, actually. Is that going to be regular school apparel?" It looks like it - we're still working through a number of different options. * LordOldman walks around the desk to a closet. I see. Um... is this the reason you called for me, sir? * Maya can't help but look a tiny bit concerned when Oldman goes to the closet. The skirt and shirt won't change, likely, since all the students have a full wardrobe of them already, and it would just be cruel to force them to get new ones. But.. * LordOldman opens the closet, revealing about a half-dozen jackets on hangers and a few ties as well. Some of the other Ladies were expressing frustration with the current color scheme. I, uh, wanted to get a newcomer's take on things. ... oh. Well, quite classy. Hm, let me see... * Maya walks over and gets to looking the various objects over, tongue poking lightly out of the side of her mouth in thought. If you could try on some combinations, and give me your opinion, maybe we can settle on one while we still can get discounts for pre-ordering. ... ah? Oh, right, right. Let's see, then... The jackets and ties are all various shades of tan - apparently that won't be changing - but they all are of subtly different shades. There is a variety of styles of jackets as well, ranging from fitted to loose American-suit-style jackets. * Maya seems to ponder for a bit, then reaches for a few jackets and a couple of the ties. "Very interesting... perhaps a slightly darker tan for the jacket, and a matching tie... but what kind of jacket..." * LordOldman 's hands twitch slightly, but he doesn't offer an opinion. * Maya finally seems to settle on one of the jackets that seems to be between neither loose, nor snug, getting into that. The matching tie follows; funnily enough, she seems to be able to tie it up without much thought. "A mirror?" * LordOldman swings open the opposite door of the closet - there's a full length mirror behind it. * Maya proceeds to admire herself, then... not that she's drop-dead gorgeous or anything. "Hmmm... nice. Very nice." * LordOldman stands behind her and looks at her in the mirror. "You look good, dear. I like the slightly tighter jackets, but I can see how they're somewhat less practical. * LordOldman reaches around and snugs up the necktie just a hair. "Yes, quite well indeed." ... eh-heh. Well, you do have to strike a sort of balance. And... er... 'dear'-- * Maya just kinda freezes for a second. * LordOldman steps back and half-sits on his desk. Should the jacket and tie be the same color? Two tones in one outfit is okay, I know, but three would be a bit much, right? * Maya collects herself and shakes her head. "I... ah, I'd prefer them to be the same, so at to not have too busy of an outfit..." * LordOldman nods. "And you think that color is right?" It... should be alright, sir. A jacket being slightly darker than the skirt is fine. You'll have to come back and try the final samples on when they come in. * Maya still looks mildly nervous, but not all that panicked... even after that last bit from Oldman. "... of course, sir." There's just enough of a hint of command in Oldman's voice to straighten Maya's spine. * Maya reacts accordingly, not at all expecting the command-tone. I'd love to let you have those to show around, but unfortunately the uniform company is going to want them back, so you'll have to change again. * LordOldman doesn't sound like he regrets this at all. * Maya just looks a tiny bit more weirded-out as she proceeds to just get out of the jacket and tie. "Right, of course... is that all, sir?" * LordOldman nods, satisfied. I thin so. Thank you for helping me out. * Maya manages a bow. "You're welcome... ah, I better get going. I've got to get back to my club..." * LordOldman smiles indulgently, and waves her along. * Maya just gets the hell out of Dodge as fast as she can. As soon as she thinks she's out of visual and hearing range, she mumbles a "Pervert." on her way back to her captive audience. ...where Minami still hasn't shown up. What *did* happen to her, anyway? Well, that's quite a tale of its own. She was in a pretty good mood as classes ended for the day... * Minami strolls down the hallway, humming slightly, satchel slung over her back. * Minami seems a little smug, actually. She's been like that almost all week; a combination of her still-winding-down thrill over the win on Monday and her discovery that the change to Takeuchi Memorial hasn't really affected her grades. Not yet, anyway, but she doesn't seem worried that it will. Regardless, she was distracted enough not to notice that the hallway she was in had emptied, nor that there were a couple of dark figures sneaking up behind her... Not until one of them smacked her over the head with a long wooden object, anyway. *wham* - and then she wasn't awake enough to notice anything for a few minutes. She wakes up finally as someone shakes her gently. * Minami groans a little involuntarily, but continues pretending to be out, listening for a clue to what's going on. Minami finds herself in a classroom. The drapes are pulled, and the lights are out, leaving the room quite dim. She's tied rather skillfully to a classroom chair. She might be able to wiggle free, eventually, but it could take an hour or two. * Hoodlum shakes Minami again. "Wake up, wake up...." * Minami frowns internally, thinking, "Well, this bodes poorly..." * Minami cracks open an eye. "Who are you and what the hell do you want?" Minami senses another figure standing a few feet further back. Good. * Minami continues her one-eyed glaring. "Well?" We had to prevent you from getting to the Performance club. You were scheduled to do your audition today, right? ...yes. Wait, what's wrong with me going to Performance Club? Well, we represent the interests of members of a newly forming club. * Hoodlum is whispering, as if to disguise her voice. Oh, yeah? What, the kidnapping club? The "let's pretend we're badass by beating people over the head from behind" club? The "lurk around in abandoned classrooms after hours"--are we even allowed to do that?--"and whisper" club? The second person mutters something mostly under her breath about the anime club. * Minami doesn't seem a happy camper with the whole "getting conked over the head and waking up tied to a chair" deal. There are several members of the Gaming club who have been trying to form a Poker club, and they feel that having you as the official dealer would greatly increase their chances of finding sufficient membership to start it. Oh yeah? And dragging me, bound and conked on the head, into a dark classroom is supposed to help that? Or are you the opposition? ...politics within the Gaming club have prevented them from openly asking you for help. They have hired us to represent their interests in this matter. ...uh-huuh. * Minami looks like she'd gladly thwack herself on the forehead if she could. "Politics." It was vital to prevent you from completing your audition in the Performance club, which would finalize your membership there. I see. The second girl mutters something about just wanting to use the bokken. * Minami suppresses a snerk and a "my thoughts exactly" at that mutter. So... ...now what? I give in to their little proposal, regretfully decline a membership in the performance club, you let me go and we walk out all happy and shiny? The people we represent have authorized me to offer you a one-third share of the club money a poker club would receive. Or is there more melodramatic rigmarole to go thr--one-third? How...how much does a club normally get? I have been instructed to point out that this would be sufficient to enter several of the major local poker tournaments. ...I see. ...oh, you're new here, aren't you. It's a non-linear function based on club membership. Ah. Sounds...profitable. The Tea club, as the largest, gets almost three million yen annually. ...*really* now. A minimum-sized club will get closer to one hundred thousand annually. Anyway, this is how things work. You will be able to work free in an hour or so. We will contact you again before your Perf club audition is rescheduled, and convey your answer to our employers. Will this...contact...require additional amounts of being assaulted and or abducted? The second girl snerks loudly. "You really *are* new here, aren't you?" Well, yes. We will attempt to be... gentler next time. Pretty much. Okay. Whooppee, balloons for everyone. * Hoodlum nods at her partner. Okay, we will see you. * Minami mutters something impolite under her breath, starting to work herself loose. They exit the room quietly, sneaking out into the quiet hallway. Minami is left, struggling with her bonds, wondering just what the hell is wrong with this place. * Minami gets sick of the mundane way after a few minutes, and after looking around as much as she can to make sure she's alone, transforms, summons a few cards, and cuts herself free. She quickly detransforms and picks up her satchel, muttering under her breath as she wanders out. ...and then there's Kyouko. On the other side of the school is a huge concrete building that contains a relatively ordinary competition-sized swimming pool. The school has swimming classes, but no official sports teams, so after school the building is the exclusive domain of the Swimming club. * Kyouko stretches a bit by the pool, trying to loosen up leg muscles. She has no idea what went on the day she had a swim meet with the others, and she hasn't been able to talk to them much about it. * Kyouko scratches her head and looks over the pool for signs on Ningyo activity. None yet, luckily. Several club members are already in the pool, working fast laps after helping with the final-period swim class. * Kyouko slips into the pool and joins the others, swimming strongly and quickly. She is quite a good swimmer, she's obviously spent a lot of time working at it. * Kyouko ponders the mission "I wonder how the others did. I couldn't go. They all seem to be fine. Mostly. No bullet holes or anything." She reaches one and of the pool tags it and heads back. Breast stroke. Butterfly. slow down, changeover to backstroke. * Kyouko pauses for a second and watches the others swim, while she treads water. Hmm. Not bad. Though they seem slightly uneasy in the water to Kyouko, what with the constant possibility of Ningyo attack. There are no club sponsors at this school, but because of the nature of this activity there has to be an adult lifeguard present. He is one of the athletic department hunks, and looks only mildly uncomfortable as the only male in the room. * Kyouko eyes the lifeguard. He's rather good-looking, though Kyouko's taste tends to run towards prettier guys. Like Darkmoon. Ooh Darkmoon. Though the giant slavering beast thing is icky. Suddenly, at some unseen signal, the man raises his whistle and blows a rapid four-pulse pattern. Then repeats it twice. Everyone in the cavernous room stops what they are doing, and runs (right past the no running signs) for the strange concrete rooms on either side of the pool. * Kyouko zones out for a second and forgets to tread, though by now it should be automatic and she suddenly realizes she's underwater. * Kyouko hears the whistle. "Oh damn. Not again." and swims towards the shallow end so as to exit the pool As she surfaces, she sees an odd glowing from the center of the pool. * Kyouko looks around for anyone left in the room. The last girls are disappearing into the oddly reinforced rooms. A hemispherical dome of water begins to rise from the glowing part of the pool. It suddenly seems to pop, and collapses, revealing a Ningyo. Today's mermaid looks slightly older than most, and is sporting a leather-like top. * Kyouko pulls herself out of the water and heads towards the rooms. Ehh... Kyouko senses the Ningyo's presence, even after turning away, like an itching sensations in her muscles. * Kyouko icks, better transform. Kyouko transforms in a swirl of water and steam, leaving her in the wetsuit, blue backpack, and belt of water bottles, not that she'll likely need them. The pool water seems to *jump* up out of the pool, and Kyouko is swept against the walls of the building. After a few seconds, the current subsides, but she realizes that the entire building is *filling* with water. It's already shoulder high, and rising fast. * Kyouko struggles against the current and attempts to take a breath of air so as to have some breathing to control. Oh ho! One of our sworn enemies was waiting for me! * Kyouko sighs. No matter - I will flood this building until it explodes, then extend the domain of my Queen across this entire accursed city! I am Lady Heat, I'll make you into steambroiled fish casserole! and then add seasonings! * Kyouko poses as well as she can almost submerged in water. * Ningyo floats in midair a meter above the rising water. * Kyouko eyes the waterlogged Ningyo and boils. * Ningyo crooks a long, blue finger at Lady Heat and snarls, "SEA SEA ENGULF!" * LadyHeat braces for the impact of...lots of water. The Ningyo screams as the residual water boils off her skin, but she doesn't lose concentration. Lady Heat finds herself slowly rising out of the flood waters... and right into a sphere of darker, salty water that just materialized above her. She finds herself suspended inside it, and unable to swim out. High above the pool, a hatch in the ceiling opens. * LadyHeat looks up through the water, though it stings her eyes at the hatch. She can barely make out the figures of several Ladies dropping through it, descending slowly in a faintly-glowing sphere. The one in the middle makes the inevitable speech, though it sounds rehearsed and somewhat bored. * LadyHeat tries to see if she can recognize the ladies How dare you invade a school, a place where innocent young girls learn the ways of the world, and defile the training grounds that prepare them for dealing with your element, even though they are citizens of the Earth - we will rid this hallowed ground of this presence, and we will do it in the name of the Queen of the Earth. So say Princess Purity- The other two finish the statement. "Lady Bubble!" "...and Lady Goban. Die, Ningyo." The bubble the three float in stops in mid air. One of the girls gestures, and a rain of squarish wooden game tables falls from above the Ningyo. One of them bounces off its head, and the sphere holding Lady Heat falls away. * LadyHeat swims up towards the space where there's still air. * PrincessPurity waves a hand at the Ningyo. "Pure Purity Purification!" A blindingly white beam of light stabs out, and a second later the Ningyo is thrashing and dying, a torrent of blood gushing out of her mouth. * LadyHeat sighs. Of course. Some unseen machinery thrummmmms into motion, and the flood begins to empty at an astonishing rate. As the pool deck clears, Lady Bubble sits the team down gracefully a few meters away from Lady Heat. * LadyHeat stretches. "Thanks for helping me..." * PrincessPurity blinks. ...what are you doing here? ...Swimming? in the swimming club? O_o You're in the SWIMMING CLUB? .....yes? ...that's... new. * LadyBubble is obviously agog. I can fight Ningyo... You like to SWIM? * LadyHeat answers quietly from the obvious disapproval "...yes." She was one of the best swimmers at her previous school. I'm sorry, we should have explained things - we have a rotation of girls that takes care of the Ningyo. Oh. * PrincessPurity frowns. "Still, it does seem strange that one of us would join the Swim club. I guess. ...you were here, and you didn't fight the Ningyo? What sort of Lady are you? I did! * LadyHeat mumbles again. "you got here before I could get another hit in." I sure didn't see any evidence of that! It's been boiled. * PrincessPurity puts a hand on Bubble's shoulder, quieting the girl. Lady Goban watches the discussion silently, but it's obvious that she doesn't like something about the situation. If she wants to... swim... *shudder* ...she has that right. And she probably got caught in the flooding. It got me in the bubble. Sure it did. * LadyBubble doesn't say, "Traitor!" but its obvious that she's thinking it. You don't hang out with us, and now this! ...what? ...Purity wouldn't let us. Bubble, just let it go. We'll talk about this later, okay? Lady Goban turns her back and stalks away. * PrincessPurity quirks an eyebrow at Heat, the follows at a more measured pace. * LadyHeat looks at the ground and her feet, slightly angered. I'll be watching you, "Lady". ... * PrincessPurity smacks a big green button by the door, and a cheery beeping noise sounds. After a few seconds, the shelters built into the walls open, and the swim club comes back out and jumps back into the pool. * LadyHeat silently fumes, and tries to calm herself down by humming. How could they. We're trying to save them. Not that the know that. I'm not a traitor. Nnn. Lady Bubble backs out the door, not looking away from Lady Heat. * LadyHeat hangs her head and leaves the room to transform. [End session]