Session Start: Sat May 01 14:58:51 2004 Previously, on Hunters: The trip to Tokyo Disney ended on a down note as Princess had a very odd nightmare. Is half the team really traitors? Was this some sort of metaphorical revelation? Or did the little girl just eat too much? Well, that answer may be a long time in coming. For the moment, life goes on. And so does school! Minami is running just a minute or two late this morning - the vaunted Tokyo public transportation system is not entirely perfect after all. [Monday, December 15, 2003 - 741 local time] [session start] * Minami rushes to class! Rush rush rush. Knew breakfast was a bad idea. She rounds a corner and finds herself sprawled face-first on the pavement, tripped by a bokken stuck between her knees. * Minami hisses as she gets up. "Dammit." ...hello, there, you're in a hurry this morning. * Minami squints. "It's you again, isn't it? From last time?" * Hoodlum is dressed in an immaculate Takeuchi Memorial uni... and a black hood. * Hoodlum straightens her tie. "Of course." * Minami sighs. Sorry about that - you were going by so fast, I couldn't stop you any more gracefully. What do you want now, or was your bokken arm getting itchy? It's time. My... employer needs an answer. I should note that they've increased their offer to 40% of the club budget, and that they claim to have increased their pledged membership to eight or nine. ...oh, really? Hm. Fine, tell them I said yes, then. And now, I really do have to go. Running a little late this morning. * Hoodlum nods, or at least Mina thinks she does - the hood makes it hard to tell. I will inform them. ...I believe they will contact you. With or without bokken? Alas, probably without - they're paying me. What a shame. * Minami sounds like she really doesn't think it's a shame. <.< Well, have a nice day and all that. I'm off now. * Minami edges away from Bokken Hood and continues rushing. * Hoodlum reaches over and brushes some grime of Mina's jacket. Have a good day. Yeah, thanks. * Minami zooms! Like a zoomer. * Hoodlum bows, and takes a different route to the school. * Minami rolls her eyes slightly as she goes. Weird, weird school. Homeroom is reassuringly normal this morning - in fact, the whole morning is quite relaxing for a change. Taki is even in a decent mood as she takes her lunch up to the roof to meet with the Card Club. * Well, a decent mood for Taki. * Taki takes her lunch up to the roof to meet with the Card Club. Hiiiii, Taki. Why do I keep meeting up with Card Club...? Yo. * Sanako waves her hand at a box containing a stack of magazines. What now? It's the monthly glossy from Jump Collectibles Group. Neat stuff this time. They got an interview with real MG's! ... Real ones? Wait... Lemme see that. Taki retrieves one from the stack and crosses her name off the list. * Taki flips through the magazine till she finds the article. Indeed, on the front cover is a glorious full-length shot of Lord Darkmoon, with Lady Mallet (sans Mallet) pulling on one arm. ... * Taki just rolls her eyes. It's sooooo cool! I wanna be a Lady. Yeah... It's uh... great. The article inside is more editorial hyperbole than real interview content. * Taki skims through it. There's a lot of speculation, mostly about the life and love(s) of Lord Darkmoon. Though he denied it, the editors are convinced that he and Mallet have a Thing going, though the rest of the team has "a continuous undercurrent of sexual tension" as well. * Taki nods. That sounds about right. There are a few paragraphs about Lady Nightshade - mostly that she was very camera-shy, and must be the dim bulb of the team since she wouldn't reply to any questions. ... Who the hell writes this crap? They go on to speculate that she may be on the way out of Darkmoon's "harem" (yes, they used precisely that word) since he didn't pay any attention to her, either. [...] * The pages of the magazine crumple a bit in Taki's tightening grip. Oh, wow. I wish I could have been there, just to see them in person. The article concludes with some further speculation about the team, noting that hardly any of them have recorded Ningyo kills, but that they were spotted in a dust-up with other Ladies just days later. "Could this be the first signs that the Pink Curtain is cracking? Or is something happening here that we don't understand? Jump Collectibles Monthly will be the first to let you know!" Yeah... it'd have been... neat. Aw... * Sanako finishes the article. They don't say why they allowed the interview. * Taki shrugs. That Lady Nightshade is cute. Maybe they're just attention whores. * Taki blushes a bit. ... Cute? Don't you mean like... tough? Or rugged? Well, not as gorgeous as Darkmoon, of course, but she looks like someone I'd want for a friend. ... I'm sure she... would like to have you as a friend... * Taki looks down and blushes a bit me. Ah, well. * Sanako finishes her lunch and packs away her magazine. * Taki realizes she hadn't even started on her lunch yet. Seeya around, Taki. Later. ... ... Cute? Down in the cafeteria, Leena and Maya are finishing off a lunch together. * Leena has finished hers, and is starting to move in on Maya's lunch. "Thanks for not being hungry!" ... ah-heh. ^^; * Maya does her damnedest to protect enough for her to not starve during the rest of the day. "I am hungry, I'll have you know..." There's a bit of an angry rumbling back at the Tea Club's private table. Pish-posh. If you were hungry it'd already be gone. *continues stabbing at Maya's lunch, bits of her remaining lunch disappearing with each undefended attack.* H-hey! * Maya counter-attacks... namely by actually eating much faster. * Leena glances at the Tea Club's table, before looking away sharply, 'hmph'ing. * Maya doesn't really seem to pay them too much mind; there's food to be eaten, after all. "You're going to buy me lunch sometime for this, you know." The food is soon gone, Maya having generally defended her turf, at least well enough not to starve through the afternoon. Why's that? You admitted yourself you weren't hungry. *grins mischievously* I didn't admit to anything, and you know it. There will be no wool pulled over my eyes, Leena. * Maya waves her finger in a 'tsk-tsk' manner. * Leena blinkblinks for a moment, repeating that phrase to herself. "Wool pulled over my eyes...?" Eh? * Maya tidies up, still doing a masterful job of ignoring the Tea Club's table. * Leena waves a hand quickly at Maya, in a 'nevermind' fashion. "Nothing, nothing." * Leena hops to her feet, now that Maya appears to be ready. The seats around the two begin to empty as everyone finishes their food. ... too late. Well, if you say so... but I'm going to bother you about it later, anyway. * Maya pops up, ready to roll. "So, back to the drudgework, huh?" ^^ Let's say we get out of here real quick? There's something going on over there, and I'd rather scat before it reached me. I've been kicked out from it, so it doesn't involve me anymore. .... ooooh. Right, right, let's. * Maya decides that Leena's got a good idea and proceeds to exit, stage class. Ah, but it's already too late for that. * Leena starts walking kinda fast, trying to look like she's not in a hurry. About two-thirds of the Tea Club stood up as Maya did, and do a credible job of surrounding out heroes. ... crap. Mallllllet! * Maya then stops, seeing as she's surrounded. She puts on a rather cheerful smile. "Oh, hello, Athena! Er... what can I do for you and your friends today?" * Athena sounds pissed off. And you too, Mysteria. I hear you're in charge of the trash, now. You like mallet sandwiches, huh? Say it louder, and I'll be sure you get one. *glares evilly at Athena* * Maya raises an eyebrow. "... trash? And if you could, please keep it down?" ^^; Leena, no. * Athena shoves a copy of Jump Collectibles Monthly under their noses. EXPLAIN. * Leena blinkblinks at it. Then snatches it from Athena, and blinks at it a few more times. They DIDN'T. ... they did. * Maya stifles a giggle, just *barely*. We're not supposed to seek out the press, dammit! And you acted like complete clowns! You're just jealous because I look prettier than you on the cover. Admit it. * Maya looks Athena straight-on, still smiling. "Well, there was special business to take care of. I suppose the rest just happened." She offers Athena a shrug. * Athena flips to a preselected page and quotes, "One thing is for sure - Darkmoon is getting some, and it's not just from Mallet." ..... ... okay, none of us said *that*. * Maya gets to reading as well. "..." She begins to pale. * Leena snatches it back, and reads. "... looks like you're gonna get lucky, Athena. I've got a bunch of mallet sandwiches to deliver." Most of this is complete and total... trash. What in the *world* would possess them to write this?! ...but you went there. Why did you go there? Business. That's the most I can say. I thought you were too good to care about what happened to us trash. I care about all of our reputations. And you've managed to make all of us look like sex-crazed boytoys. They made like... all of that up. No, apparently it was mostly the writers' doing, and we're going to have to hear about this for a good long while. I guess we couldn't foresee that much gossip going on... although we really should've. * Maya sighs. "It's not like we went out of our way to do this. Someone else did; we were just handling some very important matters." A few of the Tea Club have decided to bail by this point. Athena isn't done yet, though. * Leena cracks her knuckles, then flexes her fingers. "So butt out." *hissed* Which important matters could those possibly be, *Ladies*? .... don't you dare, you little bitch. Don't you DARE. Leena, *no*. * Maya actually sounds serious this time. "And Athena, in all honesty, it's not for me to talk about. You know who to ask." More of the Tea Club decides to leave this be - they don't feel like getting in a fight. I'm asking you. You're in charge of this abortion. I SAID, butt out. * Maya looks a bit upset, but not much. "I'm in charge, so my decision with what I cover stands. And that's to tell you to ask Sakura or the Queen." If they want you to know, they'll tell you. If they don't, you're just going to have to deal with it. * Athena seethes momentarily, but then relaxes after a few seconds. * Maya shrugs lightly. "No offense, of course." ...I will ask them. But don't you think I'm going to forget this. It's your decision. We're the ones who're going to have to hear about it more critically, though. * Athena turns on her heel and stalks off. A few of the remaining Tea Clubber glare for a second longer - one or two give Maya a sympathetic smile. * Leena glares at Athena as she stomps off, before finally relaxing her hands from the tense fists they were in. * Maya remains even and relatively calm, although she's obviously nose-in/mouth- out breathing to calm herself more. Please, please, PLEASE, tell me to beat her so bad she can't remember her name. Please. Maya starts to answer, but then her cell phone rings. * Maya stops mid-reply, grabs the cell phone and pauses. "Leena, that's the least of our worries. I bet this is Sakura." She flips it open and... "Maya speaking." Oh, hey! I've got a feeling this isn't good news, but tell it to me anyway. ... right, right. Mass everyone now, then? * Maya pats her foot, looking at the time. * Leena blinks at Maya. "What's going on?" Thanks a lot. I'll hop right to it. See you then. * Maya nods, mostly to herself. "Mmm-hmm... and Leena, it's work." ... from bad to worse. * Maya closes her cell. "Perhaps. I'm off to the principal. Get ready, okay?" * Leena closes her eyes for a moment, and lets loose a deep sigh. "... Sure thing." You're not alone, you know. * Maya manages a small smirk, then turns and skedaddles towards the principal's office. The office secretary nods as Maya arrives. "You need to see him?" Yes, ma'am. "Go on in." Maya! Good to see you. It's been a while. * Maya slips into Oldman's office and nods. "I've been busy... which is why I'm here. We have to get going; something's come up." * LordOldman nods back. "So you're in charge now, I hear." That would be the case. It's... taking some getting used to. You certainly have a lot of responsibility. * LordOldman winks. "You sure you're not just skipping out?" * Maya laughs, just a bit, covering her mouth. "I honestly wish I could, sometimes. But business is business, so... I do what I have to." Right. Well, remember, the first rule of business is to look professional. * LordOldman leans over the desk and pull's Maya's necktie tight. But then, you know that. All right, I'll sign the gang out. Good luck, with whatever you do out there. * Maya, for lack of anything better to do, blushes. "Ah-hah... r-right. And thank you. We'll be back to fill seats soon enough." * LordOldman makes shooing motions. "Git." Right. * Maya bows lightly, turns and skedaddles some more. Maya isn't sure, but she thinks she feels Oldman's eyes on her as she hurries out. A few minutes later, all the girls have gathered in the school lobby. *** Kenji has quit IRC (Ping timeout ) * Maya is busy patting at her cheeks for some reason or another. She then goes about loosening her tie, just a bit, clearing her throat. * Minami is gathered. * Leena is still scribbling something on a piece of paper, flipping through a schoolbook. * Taki shows up uncharacteristically late, her face buried in the Jump magazine. Oh Leena... o/~ Worktime? If we're all here, let's get going. No time to waste... and Taki, I know what you're going to say. Don't. * Maya sticks her tongue out Taki's way. ... * Leena doesn't look up from what she's writing down. "Say one word and I'll plant your face into this couch." You heard the Lady. Let's git. * Minami gits. * Maya follows the Minami, rolling her eyes at Leena. * Taki smirks, and stuffs the magazine in her hip bag thing. So Maya, does Sakura call up the guys, or do you? * Taki trails behind the girls... Apparently someone contacted the Secretary. Probably Sakura. And it gets passed down to me. * Leena closes the book, stuffs it into her backpack, and gits. How did you guys get a copy anyway? These are supposed to be fresh off the press... We had a little run-in with Athena. Nothing serious. It's a short bus ride to the agency. As the girls arrive, Kenji is waiting in the lobby, and Darkmoon is running towards the group from the train station. * Kenji waves meekly at the arriving Ladies. * Maya waves Kenji's way, then looks at Darkmoon... and starts giggling incessantly. * Leena waves cheerfully at Kenji, eyes bright with happiness. "Kenjiiii~" She starts running towards him. * Lord_Darkmoon slows down to a walk as he catches up with the group, and raises an eyebrow questioningly at Maya's giggle as he tries to catch his breath. What's the funny, Maya? Well, I guess Leena can tell you the gory details... oh, here. * Kenji takes a step back reflexively at Leena's charge towards him. 'Uhh- Hi..' * Maya reaches into her satchel and pulls out the gossip rag, handing it to Minami. "Enjoy." That done, she goes inside. * Taki tries really really hard not to laugh at Darkmoon. And it shows. * Minami raises an eyebrow at it, then follows Maya inside without having taking more than a quick look at it. * Leena grabs one of Kenji's arms, and latches on tight, and starts tugging him inside. * Lord_Darkmoon looks just a bit disconcerted at the odd behavior of the girls, but walks on in anyway. It's too cold to stand out here and be confused. * Secretary opens the inner door for everyone. She looks grim. Come on in. * Minami foists the magazine off on Darkmoon as she catches the secretary's look. "Uh-oh...starting to get a bad feeling." * Minami comes on in. * Taki follows the rest of the group in. * Lord_Darkmoon glances at the magazine cover, and freezes, sweatdropping. "... Oh. My." The living quarters have not been redecorated or anything, but there's a palpably different feel to them. After a second, one realizes that they are spotless, squeaky clean. * Leena pales a bit at the Secretary's expression. Doesn't slow her down though, or the dragged Kenji. Um... are you alright? Who, me? * Maya looks around for a moment, more worried about the Secretary's expression. * Kenji notices but doesn't have time to react as he's being pulled along. Yes. ...no, I'm okay. But we have a... situation. Oh, great. * Lord_Darkmoon looks up from the magazine, rather than read it. He obviously doesn't want to know. * Taki quirks an eyebrow. * Minami winces. A situation? * Maya sits down. "Okay, then I guess we just need to hear it and get down to it..." ... can you say that in a way that doesn't make it sound so... bad? * Secretary sidles over to the conference table, and hits a switch. The widescreen lights up, filled with a familiar-looking face. * Lord_Darkmoon finds a seat and sits stiffly, watching the screen. * Taki watches the screen, taking up her spot against the wall. Sakura called it in this morning. There is reason to believe that Nozomi Watoku - Lady Deer - is an imminent target. ...gah. Poor girl can't catch a break... She doesn't need this... No, she just can't. What do we know? Not a lot. This is a very standard alert - a name, a general timeframe, and that's it. As always, that's not good enough, but... we're going to have to make do. She knows who we are, but we still shouldn't try to contact her unless we absolutely have to. What's the timeframe? * Minami nods. Starting this afternoon, sometime in the next few weeks. ... * Secretary looks at Maya. "Ma'am if there's anything I can get or do to help you out, tell me." ...well, this should be fun. So we need to clear our social calendars. * Kenji pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs before looking up again. So Maya....same marching orders as usual, or d'you have something new for us? Weeks? ^^; Kenji and I haven't encountered her, at least, so there are two of us we can afford for her to see. She won't recognize us. So another sit-and-wait... lovely. Okay... Hey, Kenji! We need to get you more used to disguising people. ^-^ * Maya starts massaging at her temples. "Try to dig up anything else that you can, Secretary... and try to get us a good idea of her daily routine, if she has one." If this is a long-haul sort of job, we need to be close by during prime Ningyo hours. * Kenji looks down and mumbles. * Minami nods. ... although, if I was her, I'd be creeped out by two guys following her around. Are we gonna send everyone out for this or...if it's gonna be continuous, maybe shift us out? I said 'notice', not 'see stalking her'. Three a day cycle sort of thing? Like before.. with Wasabi? kinda? Pretty much. A cycle would help... I have her school information... actually, data on both her and her partner, Lady Gothic. * Taki looks at Maya. A big group hanging around all the time would get suspicious. So Sakura had us break into groups of two or three. * Maya keeps temple-rubbing. "Get us more on Gothic as well, she might become a target by proxy." Of course. But if we can keep it divided, but enough that we can handle things in time for the others to assist, we might be able to keep her safe. * Minami nods. Also, the last one as a sniper. This... that really complicates things. ...good point. * Lord_Darkmoon 's expression darkens at the memory. * Maya nods faintly. "If she's got the same person on her, we may barely have time to do anything, so... Taki." I could follow from the roof tops... * Kenji cringes a bit and picks a new spot on the floor to look at. Once we get a good idea of where the prime places for her to be attacked would be, could you give a scanabout for vantage points? I...uh...*looks uncharacteristically reticent* * Maya nods Taki's way. "That would be perfect. Rinada?" Um... how much do we know about what those two can do? What powers they have if they got dragged into a fight? Deer is a close combatant. *cough* I've got...well, maybe a way to help keep track of her that's as inconspicuous as Taki. ...oh, the animal thing, right? * Lord_Darkmoon nods. "And I've been practicing." She's deadly in hand to hand. Gothic... I don't have information on her powers, but it's likely she's a compliment to Deer, with ranged attacks of some sort. ...do you think Sakura would mind if I brought them inside? They're probably cold, but I didn't want to be rude. They're housebroken... This isn't Sakura's place any more. Do that as well. It's yours. Well, technically, Maya's. * Leena nodnods, hmming. "If they've targeted them, we can guess they know what Deer can do, too." Oh. Then, may I bring them in? *looks to Maya* And... if you want to, Rinada. Just make sure you keep after them. *nods* Thanks. *rises and goes out the door* So... if we were gonna go after Deer, and we knew what she could do, what would we do? Trap her either when she's tired or in a situation where being a melee master wouldn't matter. ... which makes the sniper possibility all the more real. * Minami nods. * Lord_Darkmoon returns after less than a minute, with a red-furred mutt walking at his heels and a medium-sized city bird on his shoulder. He's smiling. * Minami raises an eyebrow. ... heh, cute. * Leena gulps. This is Aka *he indicates the dog*, and this is Tsubasa *indicates the bird*. * Taki backs away politely from Darkmoon. * Minami waves. "Pleased to meet you both." Secretary... can you get us anything on Deer's daily routine within the hour? We really need to start today. * Kenji can't help but stare at the bird for a few moments before he goes back to studying the furniture. We could figure that out the usual way... Her school, sure. * Leena looks at the bird, curiously. More than that, is going to take a little time. * Minami nods. "Understandable." Understood. Tsubasa want a cracker? * Leena blinks, and looks around. "Cracker... cracker. Kitchen!" * Taki rolls her eyes at Leena. * Tsubasa flaps over to Leena, squawking greedily. ^^; So I guess we just... wait and prepare. You guys have everything together? * Leena leads the bird to the kitchen! * Kenji chokes back a laugh, remembering why they're all there. Yep. Sorry. Tsubasa's always hungry. *cough* Er, how do you want us to split up today, Maya? I can change real quick and start following her... Taki will go topside and look for potential vantage points. As for the rest of us... * Kenji looks up at Maya for the first time since the briefing started. Leena, Minami and Kenji should remain in the usual hover-close position, so we have some kind of protection against an up-front assault as well as ranged trouble. I'll drop back some with the rest, just in case things turn out badly. I understand... * Minami nods. "Got it." So... I'm to follow at a distance. Understood. We can flip-flop every once in a while. And yes... you can use your animals to scan about as well, right? * Leena returns, almost walking, with a handful of crackers. She stops with a light hop in front of Darkmoon, and smiles up at him. "Tsubasa can have crackers, can't she?" I hope so. She eats enough of 'em. Okay! Tsubasa gets a cracker! *holds out one for the bird.* Yes, I ... I think I can. We've never actually tried tracking anyone yet, but... *to the animals* You two are going to help us look for people, okay? *animals nod, Tsubasa around a beakfull of cracker* I'll just be a minute... * Taki slips out into the restroom and changes out of her school clothes into her much blacker street clothes. Good. I guess this is our first hardcore mission... let's make it a success. * Lord_Darkmoon nods. "Yes." * Leena twirls on one foot, raising her arms up, then stops, facing Maya, and drops her arms. * Taki heads back into the living room. Uh... should we transform and stuff? * Leena hmms... "Oh, I know!" Um... secretary. Can you get those.. erm. Helmets? The military ones, that can stop bullets? As soon as we have what we need, we can. You gonna wear one of those around, Leena? * Kenji blinks at Leena. "wha?" Well, I was thinking those, with Kenji's illusions... ... Wouldn't that drain his energy? I can get about anything, though if it costs a lot you'll have to justify it to Sakura and Squeegee. Okay, Tsubasa, you're going to look for places a nest could watch what that girl *points to the picture of Lady Deer* does. Aka, you're going to stay near her and us. If you smell gunpowder - you remember what that smells like, right? - you tell me. Leena, it probably wouldn't be enough armor anyway... It'd stop a sniper, right? I- can't really.. I don't know. Probably not, if they're using a powerful rifle. * Kenji shakes his head. "Sorry, I can't really keep it up.. for more than about half an hour.. sorry... Yeah, that's what I thought. Sorry, Leena. Even then there's still the rest of your body. I know there are helmets that stop pistol and subgun rounds, but a long rifle? That would probably be very bulky. Well, we can survive most everything else, given enough time... Since they wait for a Ningyo attack, usually... they have to get in place fast. I'll use Tsubasa's senses when crunch time comes, and try to find any snipers before they can act. Still, we'd have to justify the cost. Well I have a better idea what to look for now so... hopefully we'll be able to stop them before... * Lord_Darkmoon nods to Taki's sentiment. * Taki looks down and doesn't finish. I'm pretty sure Sakura mentioned something about looking into lightweight new age stuff. I guess I'll ask her about it. * Maya just nods, sitting back. "As soon as the Secretary has what we need, we go. I hate waiting, but..." * Secretary hands Maya some printed sheets. "Her school, her schedule, her (lack of) club activity. And her home address, if you need it." ... wow, you're fast. Time to suit up? No, that's easy stuff. Had that before you came. * Maya takes it, looks it over, then shows it to Taki. "Know the school?" Uh... no, never really been around that area, sorry. So... transform? Then we need a map. You should go ahead of the rest of us and keep preliminary tabs on her. And you can if you want, don't wait for my word. Yeah, alright. * Taki nods. Okay then. * Lord_Darkmoon double-checks to make sure his radio is in his ear. Maps... sure. Just give me a minute. * Minami ducks into the bathroom to transform and change. Better safe than sorry. (strike that) * Taki heads back toward the restroom. * There's a bright flash of PINK around the door and a bit later Lady Nightshade comes out in street clothes. * Leena just transforms in place, waiting for the others. Radio up and get moving once you have the map. Let us know anything. Roger. * Minami ducks into the bathroom to transform and change. Better safe than sorry. * LadyNightshade gets her radio out of the spot in which the radios are kept... * LadyMallet digs the radio out of her backpack, and slips that in, and pulls out a changes of clothes. * LadyRoyal returns, freeing up the bathroom. * Maya skips out of eye-glare range to transform, coming back a short bit later in street overclothes as she tucks her hat away. * LadyMallet dashes in after Royal comes out. The printer spits out a small pile of area maps. * Lord_Darkmoon takes one, and finds the school on it. And there are your maps, Taki... godspeed. * LadyMallet comes out a minute or three later, changed. She's lugging her oversized shoes from her Lady uni behind her. * Kenji sighs to himself and sets his jacket down on a nearby chair. In a pillar of warm blue light he transforms and then replaces his cloak and headband with the discarded jacket and sits back down. * LadyNightshade goes into the office and waits for the secretary to finish. ...so, it's off on a new mission. Will they save Lady Deer? Will they even have a chance? [end session]