Session Start: Sat Feb 14 16:18:50 2004 Last time, on Hunters: The team doesn't have a problem protecting Lady Handcuff... but Lady Spoon got sniped while shaking hands with Leena. How will the group cope with the rather spectacular loss? Who *were* those folks with the radios? Where was Kyouko through all this? How depressed can Taki get? All... well, some of these questions will be answered, maybe, as the team returns to home base. [Wednesday December 3, 2003 - 1845 local time] [Just outside Sakura's place] [session start] * Leena is dragging behind. She's barely looked up enough more than not to trip on anything the entire way. It's still cold and clear out, though the sun has set and the wind is starting to pick up from the west. * Maya is doing her best to remain staring at her feet, all while rocking back and forth on them. She hasn't really said a word since getting to the office. * Lord_Darkmoon looms near the door, a dark figure, face obscured by his hood's shadow, ready to open the door for the others. * Kyouko comes walking up to the entrance to Sakura's in her hoodie over wrinkled white blouse and a knee-length pleated blue skirt. * Kenji stands behind the others quietly, having had some time to calm down. * Taki does her best to look like she wasn't crying. * Kyouko waves to the others. "Yaa." ... oh, hey Kyouko. * Maya manages a wave back, but it's kinda half-hearted, even for her. * Taki doesn't do much else though as she drags her feet and looks at the ground, not even trying to keep up with the group anymore. So...uh...did it go okay? * Lord_Darkmoon 's hood lowers in what could be a greeting nod to Kyouko. Why, no, he doesn't get needlessly dramatic at times, why do you ask? I had to go to a swim meet... It... really didn't. Really, really didn't. ...Oh. * Leena is most definitely not bouncing. She shakes her head slightly in response to Kyouko's question. * Kenji falls into step with Taki to keep her company. "..." * Taki doesn't say anything to acknowledge Kenji. Maybe we should...go inside... * Lord_Darkmoon opens the door, and holds it. "It is cold. Let's go inside." * Kyouko heads in. It's still cold in the lobby - there definitely must be something wrong with the heat. The secretary is pointedly not at the desk. * Kyouko wonders what happened while she was gone...though the memory of the swim meet is still fresh in her mind and cheering her up some. * Lord_Darkmoon waits for the others to go in before he enters himself. He'll close the door behind him. * Leena shuffles in, silently. * Maya slips in... and frowns upon seeing a notable lack of secretary. "... eh?" ....huh? * Kenji nudges Taki towards the door. * Kyouko taps on the door to Sakura's room (to Taki) Hey? We're here-- * Taki lurches toward the door, entering the office. Yeah... * Kenji follows in afterward. The door to the back is locked. * Lord_Darkmoon steps in and closes the outer door, then lurks near it without moving to remove his cloak or hood. You hear some fumbling around inside, then the latch buzzer goes off. Come in. I guess she was covering herself... can't blame her. * Kyouko opens the door and heads in * Maya slips in as well. "... so." * Minami looks up as people come in, her expression solemn. * Secretary is sitting on the floor against the far wall. She has a large box of tissues at her left hand, and a large pile of used tissues on the right. She's still silently sobbing. * Kenji waits for Taki to go in on her own at first but decides to head in on his own. ...eeh... -- ? * Leena shuffles in after everyone else. She takes a corner, and slumps to a sitting position, hugging her knees. ... did... um, did something else happen? ...what did happen? * Maya walks over to the Secretary and kneels, offering her a pat on the shoulder. * Taki stands around the lobby a bit after everyone leaves. * Sakura is on the large sofa, looking moderately pissed off. She has a tumbler in hand, and you can see a bottle of vodka on the coffee table in front of her. * Minami was sitting near the secretary, and nods at Maya as she joins them. * Kyouko looks around at everyone, as she never really found out what happened the first time either. * Lord_Darkmoon steps into the room just behind Leena, and closes this door, too. His winter wear has disappeared sometime in his transit. He leans against a wall, surveying the room with a blank expression. * Taki finally moves toward the next room, where she slumps silently in a corner. She's just taking it hard. Hasn't been around this as long as you might think. Ah... * Maya sits besides her. "God, it just all went wrong..." ...Ah. * Kenji finds a seat near the coffee table. "It- could've been worse..." You're all okay, right? None of you got shot? * Leena hugs herself tighter, squeezing her knees inwards more, at Kenji's words. While Handcuff was not hurt, the reason she wasn't leads to some disturbing lines of reasoning. We are uninjured. Good. * Kenji nods. "what the hell happened?" Only two had any sort of contact with the enemy. One was lucky *looks at Leena as he says this*, the other was in no danger; my target committed suicide. I think we all wanna know that, Kenji, but I'm sure we won't get any answers... * Sakura takes a good belt from the tumbler, then puts it down. ...so. What exactly happened? * Taki won't say anything, and won't even acknowledge anyone else in the room. She just curls up in a ball in the corner. The Ningyo was running unchecked. * Kenji takes a deep breath and waits for someone more composed to explain everything. It was tearing apart the buildings with ice shards. Well, the Ningyo showed up, and she... just made a call and left. No one else showed to take it on, so Leena jumped just when Spoon and Pie did... Lady Mallet ran in to stop it. Princess Pie and Lady Spoon joined her. ...wait. After they put down the threa--yes? * Maya blinks. "Hm?" Leena? You attacked the Ningyo? * Lord_Darkmoon has been listing events in a matter-of-fact and calm manner, but pauses at Sakura's "wait". * Leena looks up slowly. "... I couldn't just stand by and watch." Was anyone in imminent danger? Not really. Mostly property damage. I mean... you had a reason for jumping in, surely? ... if it means anything, I might've jumped if things had gone on a minute or two more. It was only a matter of time. I wasn't going to let it get to that. * Sakura massages her temples, pressing hard enough that her fingers arch backwards. * Leena returns her gaze to her knees. ...and you attacked it *by yourself*? Or had the others arrived and you just helped them? In the end, it was irrelevant. If Lady Mallet hadn't entered the fray, Princess Pie and Lady Spoon would still have arrived. And Lady Spoon would be just as dead. Possibly Princess Pie would have joined her. * Leena shoots her gaze back up. "Just because you're too weak to face one by yourself doesn't mean I'm not!" * Minami starts at Leena's outburst, her eyes widening and going to Sakura. * Kenji looks up, a bit surprised. * Lord_Darkmoon 's eyes narrow to cold slits as he glares at Leena for that insult. ... Leena, are you strong enough to stop a rifle bullet? Just because you are strong enough to hurt a Ningyo doesn't mean you should get involved. ...moreover, you did it *by yourself*. This is a team, Leena. Not a competition. * Kyouko is not part of this conversation. Nope. * Lord_Darkmoon unfolds his black fan and holds it so it obscures his face, but he does turn his attention back to Sakura, no longer glaring. * Leena winces at that, looking away, to a wall. If all of you had decided to do something about the Ningyo, I wouldn't be too angry. Well, our orders were really to observe and protect... direct fighting's not our main job. *sigh* Did you at least have the good sense to change into your normal costume before attacking? Uh-- well. .I was trying to watch out for her.. I didn't think there was much I could do to help-- in the fighting.. * Leena doesn't answer. But she does look farther to the ground. No, of course not. Gaaaaaah. She did not. But no one seemed to notice or care. Least of all Spoon and Pie, before *pauses* before Spoon was killed. After that, there was not time to care. ... the headsets. * Maya suddenly looks up. "The headsets. They vanished." ...well, yes. I'm sorry to have interrupted. Please continue. * Lord_Darkmoon folds the fan with a snap, and puts it down, continuing his report. After the three magical girls slew the Ningyo, the two spoke to Leena. Spoon and Mallet shook hands, and Spoon's head was vaporized by a sniper round. * Minami shudders. More rounds were fired, but missed. Lord Chimera helped Mallet get away after Mallet got Pie to flee. ...ew. Just... bang, huh? * Leena buries her head in her knees again, quickly. I tried to -- yes, just "bang" -- no-- the bang came after... I tried to question one of the headset-people, but he swallowed some sort of poison pill. He called me a "traitor" before he died. (quietly) or did it just seem that way... We got split up after that. I tried to find the sniper with a bird...but couldn't. Then, we arranged the rendezvous back at the noodle shop, you called, we gathered, and we came here. Kenji, this could be somewhat important. You're saying you didn't hear the shot until after Spoon was hit? * Lord_Darkmoon takes a deep breath after that long, level speech, and releases it slowly. * Taki continues being curled up in the corner, her head on her knees and silent tears rolling down her face. * Maya looks at Kenji. "I think the bullet moves faster than the sound, just a little... not sure, don't know much about guns." Rifle bullets can move many times faster than sound. * Kenji thinks hard for a few seconds and nods. "yeah-- it was definitely after... a second or two..." It would seem these did. The ground was impacted visibly before the shots were audible. ...which means the sniper was a long way away. I remember how confused I was.. * Kyouko twitches visibly at the image running through her head. And probably was very, very good. Yeah... this was... too good. What does this mean, that we're up against a real organization or something? They are too well organized. And seemed almost to expect that Ningyo. There is something more than just a vendetta here. * Sakura shakes her head. I've never, ever seen this sort of organization before. ...that's really creepy. * Minami frowns. * Lord_Darkmoon mutters a single word under his breath, seeming really bothered by it for a moment. Rin, you shanghaied one of the radio guys... why did you do that? * Maya just, well, listens, hugging her knees and making sure the Secretary's comforted. * Lord_Darkmoon looks up, meeting Sakura's eyes with his own. "I thought, at first, that they would be the ones to pull the guns, and I wanted to be ready to take out at least one immediately. Then, after it became clear we had a sniper, I wanted to question him. Perhaps he could tell me where the sniper was, or give us other info." * Secretary has started to come to herself. And... what exactly did you do? You just grabbed him? Threatened him? I grabbed him, and placed my tessen to his throat. *mimes the action as if there were a man in front of him, holding the tessen as if it were a knife* I then asked him, "Who do you work for?". He chomped his teeth oddly, and then started convulsing. I assume he had a poison pill in his teeth. ...as he died... he called me a traitor. * Lord_Darkmoon opens the fan again, obscuring his face, as he trails off. * Sakura thinks over that one for a few seconds. ...you know, that doesn't prove anything. I do not understand. What are you saying this does not prove, that you believe me to be assuming it does? All it proves is that they were there to be involved in the same matter we were there for. * Sakura smiles. I'm not assuming you're thinking anything. I'm just trying to think this through. maybe they thought Rinada was one of them? * Lord_Darkmoon nods, but does not return her smile. Involved in what way, and on which side... *shakes her head* Dedicated enough to whatever cause they hold that they would kill themselves rather than be caught. I don't think so- .. that they were there for the same thing we were... Great. Just great. ...why didn't Lady Handcuff stay and fight? Did she know she was being targeted? well- maybe.. yeah, why didn't she? She went straight home. She didn't look too worried on the bus... What I don't like is the phone call she made. Her actions are atypical of most Magical Girls, to say the least. It is difficult to stand by and watch the Ningyo rampage. If we didn't have a specific mission... * Kenji nods. "Did she call Pie and Spoon? or-- someone else?" If she called them, why did Pie tell me she didn't know Handcuff? * Minami pales. * Lord_Darkmoon snaps his fan shut and stuffs in violently into his belt. "Sakura, do you have tea, and may I use your kitchen to make some?" Of course. I don't know if my tea is up to your standards, but please go ahead. Thank you. I am sure it will be fine. *strides purposefully into the kitchen, where sounds of china being delicately handled and of water and other tea-making activities can be heard* Leena, you actually talked to Pie? * Leena looks up slightly as Darkmoon leaves. * Leena then shifts her gaze to Sakura, slowly. "... yeah. I didn't get out of there in time." If I had just told them to run right away, instead of trying to come up with an excuse for being there... ...come up with an excuse? ... she asked... how come I was there. I had to answer. Huh. * Sakura looks like she's groping for the right question to ask, but can't quite figure out what it is. That's where I messed up... I should have told them to run right away... even if I didn't know there was a sniper. She asked how come you were there... do you remember exactly what she said? I... *thinks* ... no. But she asked if this was my fault after it had happened... It would be entirely too awful if she had brought Spoon along to be slaughtered. ...so I'm going to assume that wasn't what happened. what if Handcuff were evil? But if that was the case, why did our intel say that she was supposed to be the target? Not that we really know where the Queen gets that info from... Well...the Queen is kinda evil... * Minami bites her lip and speaks for the first time. "Maybe she set that up." This thing *has* to be well organized, we all know that. What if the Queen's source of information has been compromised? * Sakura eyes Kyouko balefully. "Don't ever let me hear you say that again." * Leena looks up. "This is too wrong. Anzu knew something!" Dammit. It all depends on who she called. ...'kay. * Kenji nods slowly. "..." * Kyouko looks guilty. * Minami snorts. "Steal her cell phone and check the call logs?" * Lord_Darkmoon returns with a tray that holds 9 teacups and a tea pot. The pot emits a nice aroma. "Give it a few minutes. I hope you don't mind, Sakura, but I used a bag of Jasmine you had in the back of your pantry. And added some liquorice." * Lord_Darkmoon sets it down on the coffee table. * Sakura shrugs. And shrugs again, at Minami. Why not? What if the Queen's sources have a *he uses an engrish word here* ? * Minami blinks. "Taki could..." ...ferret? isn't that some sort of..dog? Small burrowing creature, refers to a spy or double agent, I think. Oh. There's just no way of knowing. * Taki looks up a bit at Minami mentioning her name. "I can't do anything right..." Oh give it a rest, Taki. You're great in this job. * Leena glares sharply at Taki. "You. Have no right to berate yourself!" ... I... What on earth do you think you did wrong today? * Taki wipes at her eyes. * Lord_Darkmoon pours the tea into the cups, and carries the tray to each person present, starting with the Sakura and ending with Kenji. * Kenji picks up the cup and sets it in his lap. "uh-- thanks.." * Minami mini-bows in thanks as the tray comes to her. * Secretary accepts the tea gratefully, then sets it aside for a second as she picks up her pile of tissues. I could've-- should've found that sniper. Instead I ran off to find you and someone died cause of it... The sniper might have been a kilometer away. Yeah, how would you have found him? No way even you could've checked every possible sniping position. * Taki takes the cup of tea and just sets it on the ground. I don't know! You don't know because it's just plain not possible. * Leena blinks blankly at the tea. * Lord_Darkmoon takes a cup, himself, after everyone's got one. And sips. "I should have found him with that bird. You are not the only one who failed today, Taki. Do not let it depress you; we must merely do better next time." But... None of you have any reason to think you failed. ... I'm the only one who messed up. I could've done... something... Anything... Sometimes, you... just can't. * Maya sighs. "We've got a leg up on normal folk, but we're still... well, human. We have our limits." * Kenji takes a deep breath and nods. Maya's right. Even you, Leena, should not blame yourself. We...*deep breath*...we will find them, and we will kill them. *eyes glow purple* Slowly. It's all about being able to deal with that fact. I hate it, too, but... we can't stop here and not keep going. We haven't had to deal with snipers before. And you did what you could for what we thought was going to happen. * Sakura blinks and studies Rin. ... I think the biggest test is going to be if one of us goes down. ... kill. There's blood on my hands already because of Spoon... * Lord_Darkmoon blinks, and sips his tea again. "Sorry. I, too, am angry." Anyway, giving up now is going to leave you at the bottom without a chance to climb up to the top. Don't do that to yourself. Calm down, Darkmoon. Let's not do anything we'll be embarrassed about when... uh... later. ... I don't think I'll mind more. Leena...but you didn't kill her. The sniper did. * Lord_Darkmoon nods at Minami's statement. I messed up! I triggered the situation without knowing it! And someone who wasn't supposed to be involved got killed because of it! * Taki doesn't say anything else, but keeps her head slightly more up and in the conversation. What, you think they wouldn't have shot Spoon if you weren't there? you-- don't know that... That's... on my head, if not my hands. And you're not going to convince me otherwise. Lady Spoon would have died for being there. If you hadn't made Princess Pie run, she, too, might have died. That's just survivor guilt, dear. * Minami nods at Darkmoon. ...you almost got killed, and you feel guilty that you made it through when the girl standing next to you didn't. ... Sakura, do you think you can start the jacuzzi up after this? I could really use the time to relax. Of course. * Secretary goes into the kitchen and starts preparing something. * Leena starts to cry again, but wipes her eyes, and looks away, squinting them shut. Don't think this is first time something like this has happened. We've lost easily a dozen protectees since I started doing this. * Kenji turns away, unable to watch. * Minami winces. * Taki remembers the tea and sips at it. * Lord_Darkmoon does not reply, merely clutching his teacup rather tightly as he sips. Not -quite- tightly enough to break it... We just have to work as hard as well can, then. That won't work! They're too organized! Then we find out about them and play things by their rules. * Minami eyes Leena. "That's why we have to work hard, to break that organization." If they're that organized, then they'll leave a trail. We have to take the fight to them. We need to find out who they are and why they target us. And...that man's last word may have been a very small clue... *icy calm again* There's a difference between beating them at their own game and walking into their territory. We can't just run in screaming because we're hurting inside. More people will die, then. * Sakura gestures at Darkmoon to continue the thought. I'm -not- gonna sit here and let them take their leisurely time to figure out how to kill us all. They have a reason they want us dead. The Ningyo are out to slay humanity. We fight them and stop them. They must have a reason to slay their protectors. He called me a traitor. What does he believe I've betrayed? * Minami looks thoughtful. I don't get it... If we know their reasons, perhaps they will give us a clue as to method. Or at least, as to what kind of person would join them. Sakura.... did you talk to Anzu? maybe they're werewolves or something? No, of course no- WEREWOLVES? ... * Minami shakes her head, then stares at Kyouko. What does that have to do with anything? ...Well the guy called Rinada a traitor..and he's sort of a werewolf. But...how would the guy know? * Kenji almost snerks. ...Oh. Right. * Leena stands up, smoothing out her clothes with her hands. She's got that 'determined' look in her eyes. That's just vaguely more likely than Pie setting Spoon up for the kill. * Taki pretends not to look interested in that idea. * Secretary comes back out with small bowls of ice cream for everyone. * Kenji 's eyes widen. "hey-- what if..." * Lord_Darkmoon shakes his head. "Princess Pie did not seem to be setting anything up. It looked like a routine Lady/Princess Ningyo slaying." Hn. So much we don't know... I hate this... eh? * Maya looks Kenji's way. Pie thought I set something up. * Minami looks at Kenji. "What if...?" If any Magical person is in on it...it's not Pie. * Kenji moves back in his seat. "remember?-- when we were looking for Anzu.. We knew what she looked like as herself so we followed her... and- the radio people didn't really seem to be well- following her. Go on... ... * Kenji maybe they were looking for Pie and Spoon?-- did they go to the same school?? Well, they weren't. They were just... looking. I wonder if Lady Handcuff was really in any danger at all. * Leena just seems more determined, now. And the Queen's source said they were after Handcuff. Whatever else, the sources haven't been wrong like that before. We need to talk to Anzu. Like I said...her sources could have been compromised. ...well, we need to find out what her role was. I'm not sure yet what the best way to do that is. Something really is odd about her, but... she might not be what we think she is. Then again... * Lord_Darkmoon sips his tea again. And again. It'd make a lot more sense- we didn't really look into what they were looking for-- we just assumed it was Anzu. Well she uh... did meet me at the school... Yeah, Taki, you bumped into her. ....Sakura, have they only gone after Princesses? What was she like? Um... nice? ... Neko wasn't a princess. ...Oh. Right. She was helpful and stuff. I dunno. She didn't come across as very evil... ...are we sure she really is a Lady? They seem to take on Princesses at a rate that's only a little higher than pure chance would account for. well...the people saw her attacks and stuff, remember? Yeah. It'd be hard to fake those... ...yeah, I mean, if she isn't, then the card people were lying to you too. I mean, are we sure she is one of -our- Ladies. We have had evidence that the Sea backs some of these Magical Girl slayers. there are evil Ladies? ... * Sakura picks up the tumbler again and sips. What if the Sea has started recruiting from the same pool from which our kind are taken? This is just too wrong. ... doesn't' the Queen have mundane contacts? Wouldn't it make sense for the Sea to have them too? ...well, we know the Seafolk do. Because water-magic artifacts have occasionally ended up in the hands of the assassins. * Leena narrows her eyes at Darkmoon. "... stealing Magical Girls... magicalness?" No. Quite the opposite. ... huh? Making Ladies of the Sea. ... waitwaitwait. Magical girls fighting *against*... ohman. No, it wouldn't work. * Maya pales. Just as we are Lords and Ladies of Earth. --it wouldn't? ... it won't? That is a relief. *he sounds as relieved as he did worried. i.e., not at all* Well, not in the way you're thinking. It's possible a few might buck the Earth magic and go renegade. * Maya still remains a bit pale; the thought alone freaks her out. ...that's possible? We cannot resist the hierarchy, though. Fate is fate... but weird shit happens. What if somehow you never got contacted by the hierarchy? Like Anzu. ...no one DID know Handcuff... * Minami pales a little. "I almost..." Hmm? Almost what? Then, as much as I hate to suggest doing this to anyone...perhaps, for the sake of everyone, we should bring her before the Queen. N-nothing... * Kenji withdraws a bit at the thought of going before the Queen. That may be what we end up doing. I think we'd better investigate more first. I'm gonna go talk to her. What, now? No you're not. Sit down. Maybe. Tomorrow, more likely. * Leena frowns. "Is that an order?" * Sakura eyes Leena. Yes. No more running off by yourself. * Taki looks down ashamed. Not by myself? Okay. * Leena sits down, calmly. Well um... like I was saying, she sorta knows me... We will investigate Miss Akahara. So I could talk to her ... about... stuff. * Leena smiles. "I'll take Taki with me!" ^_^v Oh, yes, we will. But I don't want any of you going without all of us for backup. ... Kay... ... Leena, don't scare the poor girl. ^^; If she is working for our enemies, you could be walking into a trap. * Kenji nods. Not if we go right now! If she is...well, we wouldn't want to go one-by-one into a trap. *drinks the remainder of his tea in an ungraceful gulp, and hides behind his tessen again* Why is now any better? Because they won't expect us to come back so soon! ... Leena, no. * Maya shakes her head. "Just... no. Not so soon." Later, we can have more background information on her. Later, I might even be able to find out who she called. The Queen isn't the only one with contacts. ... Leena, if you go haring off after her, I will be obligated to report that to the Queen. * Lord_Darkmoon mutters something about the Queen not being the only one with contacts being a good thing. * Maya can't help but wince at *that*. Like I care what the Queen thinks! She's not -here-. * Sakura puts down the tumbler and grabs the bottle instead, and sucks on that for a couple of seconds. Just because you feel guilty is no reason to compromise your duty. All of our duty. And it's her stupid rules that are screwing us over! But they're the rules. We have to follow them. Sakura... Yeah, yeah. We need you sober. Please. *You'll* get screwed over if you go out alone! * Sakura goes off to the kitchen with the bottle, and returns without it. Thank you. Technicalities. I think I can get around them if I try enough. * Taki looks down again and frowns. Leena, do you know what the Queen does if she really gets fed up with someone? Get around what? A bullet in the head? You have no idea what you're walking into, Leena. ... Leena, we can't stop you. But *think* before you do something. I know perfectly well what I'm going to do. I'm going to follow Anzu, and confront her in a private place. ... and what if she outclasses you? She doesn't walk around transformed. ...Leena. I do not want to see you die, as well. she has her...headbursty thing. And if she's innocent, you'll accomplish nothing but scaring the shit of her. If she's not, she'll know what you look like. Then what will you have done? To you, to us, to...everything? ... ... Leena, I can't take hearing this. If you're going to rush off and die for no good reason, fine! Just don't guilt us up by telling us the gory details! * Maya actually raises her voice; good enough of a sign that she's getting upset. Then do something! * Minami blanches. "Maya!" * Secretary walks over to Leena, and grabs her by the shoulders. We are going to do something, we're going to *think this through*. We're going to get the right information, we're going to find the right people, we are going to *make things right*. *Without* stupidly running off half- cocked. I don't *want* her to die, but she's got it in her head to run off on her own like she's a Princess and can fix the world... Lady Mallet, listen to me. * Leena looks up at the Secretary. * Maya quickly comes down from her moment of pissed-offness and hugs her knees. * Lord_Darkmoon picks up the tea pot and walks over to Maya. He pats her on the shoulder, and tops off her cup. "It's alright. Sakura won't let Leena do anything stupid." * Minami mutters under her breath at that, glancing at Leena. You don't want to do this. ... good. I bet this is part of the job, the whole stress thing. Do what? Do something, anything, to try and fix this, instead of waiting around? Please! It's only fixing if it *doesn't make things worse*. * Secretary looks like she wants to say something she shouldn't. Don't you think for a MOMENT that I won't hesitate to bring the fight to them, once I know who 'they' are. * Lord_Darkmoon nods to Maya. "I'm sure it is." He sounds quite serious. Then he moves back to his spot on the wall. Leena, we will pursue this. We will go after Lady Handcuff and find out. * Maya looks up at Leena after a moment. "... sorry about that, by the way." * Leena closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath. Leena... stop... please. We will. But we will do it with a plan. With information. With the TEAM. I'm not going to sit around and do nothing... but if everyone else is with me, that will probably work better. Maybe I can wait a bit. * Taki holds back tears that are trying to well out. * Secretary lets go of Leena. * Minami grits her teeth hard and slaps her forehead, rolling her eyes. If you can't be part of the team, Leena, then Sakura can't protect you. * Secretary walks out, slamming the door. * Kenji sits quietly in his chair, staring down at this cup. * Leena sags, and whispers softly, "... team." * Maya seems pretty focused on her tea and the intricate details of the floor. * Sakura walks back to the bathroom and flips a few switches, starting the jacuzzi. ...You all relax a little, okay? * Sakura grabs a coat from her closet. Where you going? Alright, Sakura. Um... ... how much did you have, Sakura? Like I said, I have certain contacts. And the sooner I talk to them, the sooner we can move. You... want me to go with you? Why don't you all meet me here after school tomorrow, and maybe we can do something. ... * Leena sighs. "I... I'm going to go hit the arcades and calm down." * Kenji nods. "Okay... tomorrow then..." Jacuzzi for me. And... yeah, tomorrow. No, Taki, they won't have the time for introductions tonight. * Kenji gets up and stretches his legs a bit before adjusting his coat and heading for the door. * Lord_Darkmoon throws his cloak over his shoulders again, and puts up his hood. He goes to the door, ready to open it for the ladies. But... * Minami nods at Kenji and glances at her watch. "I'd best be going home. Need to make dinner." I guess not... I'd like to try the jacuzzi... I will head home myself, then, if you do not need me any further this evening, Sakura. yeah- me too... * Minami nods to everyone. "Good luck, Sakura." * Taki slowly stands up. Take care, Sakura. Stay safe. * Minami leaves, hopefully able to open the door herself. You all try to de-stress. I'm sure we'll need to be calm tomorrow. * Sakura lurches out the door. ... * Leena takes a moment to hook one of her hands around one of Kenji's arms. You're coming with me. ^_^ Anyway... * Lord_Darkmoon walks stiffly out of the room, through the lobby, and out of the building. * Taki trails Sakura out the door. * Kenji looks down uncomfortably. "uh-- I dunno.." * Maya stands up and downs the rest of the tea before slogging off towards the jacuzzi. "I'll seeya there, I guess, Kyouko..." * Leena heads out, dragging Kenji along. "Come on! Martian Fighter 3 needs two people to play it right!" * Kenji sighs and is dragged out. [end session] Session Close: Sat Feb 14 18:46:37 2004