Session Start: Sat May 08 16:13:15 2004 Last time on Hunters: Horror over the atrocity which was the magazine article on the team resonated through the hallways of Takeuchi Memorial. The Card club loved it. The Tea club wanted to kill the team. The team mostly just wanted to find a dark cave to hide in. But then the call went out that the team was needed, so it was off to the Agency for a briefing and some planning. Lady Deer, apparently not having suffered enough, was the target this time. After some preliminary organization, they transformed and deployed. Taki got an early start, to get the lay of the land... [Monday, December 15, 2004 1425 local time] [North Yokohama train station] [session start] Taki sees that the following train will arrive in about twelve minutes. * LadyNightshade walks out of the train station, heading in the direction of Deer's school. It's a sunny December afternoon - just a little too chilly for comfort, but still pleasant for walking about. * LadyNightshade has her longcoat on to keep her warm. * LadyNightshade scans the area as she walks, looking for anyone or anything suspicious. Nozumi's school is about a kilometer south of the train station. It's a slow walk through rusted-out old factories and low-rent, shoddy apartments. There are lots of people about, of all ages. The Nineties were not kind to this part of Tokyo, and unemployment is endemic here. * LadyNightshade grumbles to herself about the ease of sniping points old factories provide. Naturally, a number of them look suspicious... but not in a "professional assassin out to kill a Lady" sort of way. Nobody is wearing any suspicious electronics. There are a few folks that Taki spots carrying knives, and maybe even a pistol tucked under the jacket of an obvious Yakuza thug. * LadyNightshade notes the thug, but continues on her way. The neighborhood starts looking a little less seedy by the time she reaches Yokohama School #17 - functioning factories rather than abandoned, apartments without roof tiles missing, shops with clean windows... but it's still not a rich part of town. The school isn't in fantastic shape itself - there are easily a dozen windows that have been boarded over rather than repaired, but it does generally appear to be well-kept. A couple dozen students are out on the campus grounds as Taki walks up, clearing litter and debris. * LadyNightshade looks to see if Nozomi is among them. She doesn't recognize anyone - it looks like a boys' PE class, actually. * LadyNightshade casually walks around the perimeter of the school, scanning the crowd and thinking of possible places an attack might come from. An overbearing, fat gym teacher screams at the students to keep working. There's no real obvious sniping points around. A water tower does sit a half klick southwest of the school, but it lacks convenient walkways and ladders to perch from. Some of the apartments would be good... if you knew your target was going to walk by a specific point. They just aren't high enough or unobstructed enough to cover a large area. * LadyNightshade looks for any large masses of water too. The commercial district just to the south is even lousier for a sniper - there's nothing over two stories. The bay, is, of course, about five kilometers east, and there are some streams, but not any serious bodies of water. * LadyNightshade thinks, Hmm... probably be a ground assault then. Or they're planning to attack from elsewhere.. Now this *is* a fantastic place to hide a group of thugs. Leave them in a store, or rent an apartment, or sit in a factory... your choice. * LadyNightshade heads back around toward the main entrance of the school, waiting for everyone to get out. * LadyMallet comes skipping, hopping in. She's beaten everyone else, probably because she hasn't slowed down one white since arriving from the train station. * Lord_Darkmoon jogs up, and waves once to get Nightshade's attention. He's got a medium-weight jacket and some black leather gloves on to protect him from the weather. * LadyMallet stops with a light hop, which places her right next to Nightshade. "Hiyas! Miss me much?" * Aka is at his heels, but Tsubasa is not in sight. It was interesting to see Darkmoon pretending to be blind to get the dog on the train. The bird flew off before they got on board. * LordChimera slouches around the last corner and walks up to the rest of the group. '... hey.' * LadyRoyal walks up, nodding to Taki. "Got anything?" * LadyMysteria lags a bit behind the others, stuffed in the usual raver/street magician/perkygoth attire of hers, and is busy practicing the ring trick, as always. "Hey everyone... what's the word so far?" * LadyMallet eyes everyone else. "Hey. I got here first, she has to answer me first." Duty before sentiment, Leena. * LadyRoyal winks at Leena. Well, I haven't seen anyone I'd really consider a potential assassin... * LadyMallet looks up at Taki, and turns up the Cute. "Miss me? I know we were only apart for a little bit, but I have to know!" Any places that look like good ambush points, or places to hide? * LadyNightshade looks down at Leena. "Uh... I guess?" ^^; Well the area seems to be more suited to hiding a group of thugs, then giving a sniper a good place to hide. Of course, they probably want us to think that... * LordChimera looks away from Leena's display uncomfortably to stare off at the school. * Lord_Darkmoon nods. "So we can, at least, expect to be able to provide a 'wall' for our client." Still, I guess that does skew things more in the favor of people on foot. I guess now we fall into the grind and do what we do... Right. Groups? The problem is, we never know when or where the Ningyo that'll prompt the attack will appear. * LadyMallet frowns, thinking about how it could turn out. "... yeah." True. Best we can do now is just stick close, watch, and be especially vigilant of any areas that aren't too safe or are too open... Mm. We gotta watch out for Ningyo. That's usually what draws us out, for them to know us... * Lord_Darkmoon opens his mouth to say something, gets a sick look on his face, then closes it again with a small cough. I still think I should check the rooftops when it does go down... And as far as groups, same as I mentioned before. Someone close to hit hard if it's needed before the rest of us get there. * LadyRoyal glances at Leena. "You mean Leena?" * LadyMallet grins. "When you say hard, I ask how hard!" * LadyRoyal snickers. I can serve as a defense...but I can't hit very hard. Where do you want me? Okay then. Yes. She's got her uses. ^_^ You'll be hanging back with me. * Lord_Darkmoon performs a shallow bow from the waist. "Understood." And... yeah, let's do things. No point in wasting time. Right. * LordChimera nods. "okay- uh..." * Lord_Darkmoon nods. "Just...everyone be careful. Remember what we heard about, last time we worked for this girl." He quickly suppresses that sick expression again. We gotta find her, first... Mm. * LadyMallet glances meaningfully at the school. We should still be protected, but... in any event. And as the team quibbles, the school bell... well, buzzer, anyway, rings. Er, buzzes. * LadyMysteria takes a deep breath. "Go-time." Like we're gonna come across Lord Gonnagethisheadbheatin while we're here. * LadyMallet snaps to attention , at the buzzer. Yep. * LadyNightshade wasn't quibbling! :P Although...mm. * LadyRoyal keeps her eyes open. The first few groups of kids through the gate look at the team strangely. * LordChimera falls in to stand behind Lady Mallet silently. * LadyMysteria quickly moves away from the kids leaving, because being conspicuous is not her intent. * LadyNightshade drifts away... I'm not part of this group... o/~ * Lord_Darkmoon shrugs, waves to the others, grabs Mysteria's shoulder companionably, and wanders off a bit. Just a group of friends breaking up, honest. * LadyMysteria does a damn fine job of not blushing, in the meantime. * LadyMallet starts to smile and wave, before realizing inconspicuous = good. So breaks off from the group, flipping on the headsets as she does so. * LadyRoyal looks casual, sitting on the ground a little apart from the rest of her group, playing Solitaire on the ground. As more kids emerge, the team begins to get the feeling that they may be overdressed for this neighborhood. * LadyMallet talks softly enough for her headsets to pick it up, "Testing o/~" ^^; * LordChimera follows behind Mallet in his usual slouch, activating his radio when she does. Even the school uniforms seem somewhat grungy. * LadyRoyal has had her radio on, and actually doesn't look *that* out of place....maybe. <.< * LadyMysteria just stick close to Rinada, keeping a watchful eye on the departing kids... and fixing her earpiece so it's not annoying. * LadyNightshade scans the area for anyone else watching the kids leave the school. Maybe we should consider dressing down a bit... *looks around, himself. Aka wanders off a bit on his own, sniffing around. * * LadyMallet keeps a watch out for Deer. Looks like it's a little too late for that... well, for everyone but you, anyway. Uh-.. yeah.. The main body of students has left before you see hide or hair of your target, and then the first sign is her friend, Lady Gothic, carefully peeking around the front door. * LadyRoyal narrows her eyes as she plays, and starts pretending to lose. * LadyMysteria is still busy with the old ring trick, looking Darkmoon's way once in a while. "Nervous?" She looks about very carefully, and seems to stop and examine Darkmoon and those with him in particular. * LadyRoyal is not with Darkmoon! ^-^_v * Lord_Darkmoon doesn't stop staring ahead, his eyes sliding side to side as he tries to make his scanning of the crowd inconspicuous. It might work better if he would slouch rather than standing up straight. "...a bit, yes. This is our first time 'unsupervised'." He manages to smile weakly at Maya. * LadyMallet speaks into the sets, softly. "There's Gothic." * LadyRoyal mm-hmms to "herself". ...then she ducks back inside. Moments later the door bangs open and both Nozomi and Tani hurry out the gate at a half-run. Heh... no kidding. She's watching us, isn't she---whoa, they're on the move. ah-- not good... You? --*coughs as he tries not to watch the two running girls too obviously* * LadyRoyal sighs, gathers up her cards and puts them away, then gets up and stretches, taking her time and only watching the girls out of the corner of her eye. They stop just outside the gate and Tani gives Darkmoon another quick look, then the two of them sprint west through the streets. * LadyNightshade heads in the same direction of the girls trying to keep ahead of them a bit. so.... * LadyMallet blinkblinks, then give chase. Inconspicuously, of course. Wary of guys... * Lord_Darkmoon sighs. "Well, there goes my usefulness as an inconspicuous tail," he mutters. * LordChimera sighs and tries to keep up with the inconspicuously pursuing Lady Mallet. * LadyMysteria starts moving to follow. "Follow... change of plans. Kenji, fall back with Darkmoon. I'll take your spot." * LadyRoyal gets up and starts following a little. ah-- *slows down to a slow walk* Roger... * LadyRoyal mutters over the radio. "I'm gonna see if I can duck through an alley and parallel-track them, is that okay?" * LadyMysteria does what she says she's going to do, but not before looking back and giving Rinada a smile and a wave. As the two girls get a couple of blocks from the school, they look back, then split. Gothic goes south, Deer goes north, and both of them kick up their speed another notch. I'll at least try to be less noticeable... *moves to a slightly- out-of-the-way spot, and uses the Tessen to make his jacket into a cheap and dirty fake-leather one, and his gloves knit, then joins Chimera in a distance tailing* * LadyRoyal narrows her eyes and does what she said she was gonna do, paralleling Deer. They've split up... should I stay with Deer? ...if we want to keep Gothic surveiled, I can send Tsubasa for it. I'll follow Deer... Should I? I got Deer, too. ... gah! Nightshade, you remember anything about the paths they're taking? Do they rejoin? And yes, stick with Deer. Rinada, do that. * Lord_Darkmoon nods, and his eyes flash with those purple moons for a few seconds as his face goes blank. Then he blinks, and they're once more their normal near-black. "Done." * LadyMysteria frowns. "Deer's the target, so she takes top priority, but still wouldn't hurt to have someone watching Gothic in case of trouble." ... that sounds so cold. Mn. * LordChimera blinks at Darkmoon. 'neat.' Each of the girls gets a block away from where they split up, then both turn west. Yeah, or in case our information was a bit mistaken...again. Let's hope it's right this time. Yup. * LadyRoyal keeps on Deer. Don't worry, Maya. Cold is needed for this. Worrying about being 'nice' will get one of them killed. Gothic'll come to help out Deer, if she gets into a pinch, I bet. * Lord_Darkmoon grins at Kenji. "Thanks." * LadyMallet stays with Deer. *To Darkmoon* we should probably speed up... they're pretty far by now.... After what happened to Deer before, who wouldn't. Royal finds herself well out of position, and loses touch with Deer. * Lord_Darkmoon nods. "Right. Let's go." He hurries into a faster walk. Jogging would be too conspicuous. He thinks. Maybe. * LadyMysteria is still in the hunt. "Talk about bad luck..." Dammit... * LadyRoyal tries to track back. * LordChimera keeps pace while trying to be as aware of the people on the streets around them as possible. What? What happened? Nothin'. Missed a turn. * LadyMysteria scans for Royal, then scowls. "Taki, you still on her?" The targets head a few blocks west, then cut once more - this time back towards one another. Yeah, looks like they're heading back toward each other... * LadyMysteria continues to move, looking a tiny bit frustrated. "Okay... just keep your eyes on them until we can catch up." * LadyRoyal sighs. "Sorry about that, was trying to be inconspicuous. Taki, can I get a street name?" * Lord_Darkmoon tries to keep an ear open for Tsubasa and/or Aka, in case they find something that they think needs his attention. Otherwise, he's trying to watch for other people behaving like stalkers - well, like his team, only with potentially more malicious intent. The girls meet on a streetcorner and stop. Tani points back at Mysteria and Mallet, who are still sprinting towards the pair. * LadyNightshade gives a location Thanks. ... busted. Okay, moving to the rooftops. No kidding. * LadyRoyal heads that way, slowing down when she hears Mallet. * LadyNightshade ducks into an alley and bounces her way up on top. Well, at least with the focus on us, you others aren't so bad. They catch you? She knows us, just tell her we're checking up on her. Tani looks murderous - Nozumi looks more indecisive. ...we're not -supposed- to contact them. *recalls his adventure in the first training mission* We don't have a *choice*. * LadyMallet waves, and smiles, when they look back. They already know what we *look like*. They already know we're here. Too late. True... My legs kinda hurt... * LadyMysteria grits her teeth and slows down. "We're really not, but Deer's seen us before. Gothic... guys, you all hang back. Me and Leena can afford to blow cover a little. We'll just go with Minami's idea." * Lord_Darkmoon is glad he's not in Maya's shoes. Poor leader. Well don't dig us into a bigger hole than we're already in. Let me follow them by myself. Got it. Heh. Sorry, Chimera, but we gotta keep walking fast. Running is a good way to get caught. * LadyMallet kicks up the pace, trying to make it seem as if she's been trying to catch up with them from the beginning. * LadyRoyal gets up half-a-street-away and hangs around, looking for any suspicious places for suspicious people to be suspicious, other than us, of course. ^^; * LordChimera nods, panting slightly. * LadyMysteria takes a calming breath, then approaches slowly. "C'mon, Leena." * LadyMallet turns back at Mysteria, and bidahs. "You're too slow! C'mon!" Tani mutters something, and Nozumi starts looking around frantically. ... you're surprisingly chipper about this. They aren't moving, but both are visibly very tense. * Lord_Darkmoon mutters. "Leena? Chipper? Neeeeever...." * LadyMysteria takes another breath and just keeps things nice and slow. "Leena, slow down. Seriously. Look at them." * LadyNightshade facepalms quietly to herself. As Leena and Maya approach, Nozumi blinks and recognizes them. She mutters something extended back to her partner, who looks less freaked, though not less mad. * LadyMallet slows down as she gets closer, adopting a curious look to go with her cheerful one. *snarled* Why are you following us? ... ano. What's wrong? Just wanted to see how you're doing... * LadyMysteria notes the calm-down, then smiles with relief. "Ah, sorry about all this, but we were in the area and wanted to check up on Nozumi.... but you guys bolted." ^^; Good thing I did... is something wrong? Sure seems like it. * LadyMysteria bows deeply and apologetically, because it's the right thing to do. "Sorry if we startled you..." * LadyMallet leans forward, clasping her hands behind her back. "Yeah, what's up?" I... I... think I saw... him. A week ago. ... ... hn. Where? Are you *sure* they don't work for him, Noz? You mean the jerk who's head I'm gonna beat in if I ever see him? I don't think they do - the Princesses sent them before... * LadyMallet unclasps her hands, and pounds one fist into the other hand. Wait wait... he's got people *working* for him? * LadyRoyal frowns, still keeping an eye out. I don't care how many he's got in between him and me! I'll go through them all to kick his ass! You say you saw him? Where? Is he still there? ...it's just too suspicious. * LadyRoyal mutters into the radio. "May want to suggest going to eat somewhere to get a full briefing, we could probably cover that more easily." I thought I saw him on the way home. I don't know for sure - it was just once, and I ran... Look, I know it may, and I know you're worried about your partner, but we're concerned about her too. Don't shut us out... let's at least talk about it and get to know each other a bit better. I didn't really see his face before, anyway - I just thought I recognized him. If you're not on his team, then why are you here? Duh. Checking up on Nozomi. * LadyMysteria gives Nozumi a momentary, sympathetic look, then shakes whatever she was thinking away, pointing Nozumi's way. "We can find time between our usual duties to check on friends... and if she knows more about this guy, we need to know. If you know anything, same deal." You could do that over the phone. WHY ARE YOU HERE? Tani, calm down... * LadyMallet glances at Maya worriedly. Seriously... we're not *him*. If anything, we're the opposite. Relax, please... * Lord_Darkmoon grimaces at what he can hear over the radios. "This bodes ill." No kidding. Stay away. All of you, just stay away. You want to find out about us, talk to our Princess. * Nozumi grimaces and nods. ... Don't argue, just nod and leave... * LadyMysteria holds her hands up defensively. "Alright... if you insist, we'll stay away. But your Princess, who is she?" ... fine. Geez. * LadyRoyal hmphs. * LadyMysteria elbows Leena in the side. I'm ...sorry. I associate you guys with regaining our memories, and while I know you were there to help, I just... don't want to talk. Princess Purity. You should know that. * LadyMallet winces sympathetically. I see... * LadyMysteria takes a moment to soak that in, then nods. "... right. Our apologies." ... Purity. * Nozumi starts back west, not looking back. Purity... take care Nozumi... * LadyMysteria waves, even through she's not looking. * LadyNightshade follows the girls rooftop style! Well, we'll be back! Don't be so glum next time! * Tani eyes Mallet and Mysteria, mouths something about staying away permanently, physically restrains herself from slugging Mallet, then stalks off after her friend. *** Tani is now known as Ked * Lord_Darkmoon holds his forehead in his palm, obviously aggravated. "That could have gone better." So I take it that didn't go well. * LadyMallet waits till they're out of earshot, then grumbles. "Gah. Overprotective AND paranoid friend." * LadyMysteria waits until Tani's out of auditory range. "Taki, keep following. Rinada, keep the bird on them. And yes, it could've, but it's not over. We just have to rethink our approach." * LadyNightshade refrains from saying anything on the matter. Right. Right. You wanna meet up somewhere, or come up with something now? Doing so. * LordChimera stops and rests himself with his hands on his knees, puffing slightly. We simply can't be around them until we can find a way to move and stay close without being visible on foot, so we can act when we have to... for now, just hang back a fair bit. ... * LadyMysteria rubs her temples. "I'm more worried about having to deal with Athena. She's going to hear about this." And then it gets ugly. Right. I'm going to send Aka, too. And I think I'll co-opt Tsubasa's senses for the rest of this trip...if Kenji doesn't mind leading me around by the hand while I'm doing it. ...if that's okay with you, Maya. Do it. We can't stop now... * LordChimera gulps. "uh... just .. put your hand on my shoulder.. or something..." Right. *a pair of wrap-around sunglasses materialize on his face, obscuring his eyes. He puts his hand on Kenji's shoulder, and gets a blank look on his face* In any event, move. But stay back and out of sight. We'll think of something after Ningyo-time's over and we go back to the office. * LadyMysteria does as she directs, still rubbing her temples. Mm. ... mind if I hang back? I really don't want to deal with ... Purity. * Tsubasa, high overhead, gets purple moons in its eyes as it follows the girls. After walking a few blocks, the girls resume their sprint west. Unless you -want- me to start a fight. ... They're running again. She saw you. We're going to have to deal with her either way if Nozumi tells Athena who we are. It's not us, is it? * LadyNightshade keeps up and out of sight as best she can. What's going on with them? And Leena, it's *him*. They don't want to risk anything happening. Would you? ... did they see him again? Just now? * LadyMysteria sighs. "Probably just scared..." * LadyNightshade gives regular updates on streets and locations as she passes them. ... I guess Taki will tell us if it's otherwise. Neither Nightshade nor Darkmoon's senses picked up anything that triggered the renewed flight - in fact, as they follow and see the pair use the split up and rejoin tactic twice more, it becomes apparent that this has become some sort of routine for the girls. Taki or Rinada, one. Minami, how're you holding up? uh-- Where am I taking DM again? Just move in the general direction you're going for now. Fine. What d'you need me for? * The bird circles ahead of them occasionally, looking for anyone acting suspiciously, then uses the dog as a marker to keep track of the girls. Darkmoon, when they split up, manages to ask haltingly: "should...I follow...Deer ... or Gothic?" * LadyMysteria chuckles. "You're doing a lot better than me. Just checking." Heh. Deer. I have this feeling Gothic's angry enough to take on an army of Princesses right now. ...under...stood. *The bird continues following Nozomi* ... poor Gothic. I understand where she's coming from... it'd be so much simpler if we could just TELL her. But now that we know Athena's her Princess, we definitely can't. I don't know what she'd do if she knew, but she doesn't like us, and she especially doesn't like Leena, so we'd be screwed no matter what. Yeah. Hm... The Queen is on our side though... isn't she? Yeah. Hm...I go get ready to rearrange her house if she doesn't play nice? She is, but she'd probably side with a Princess before us. And Leena, no. Eventually, the pair end up at Nozomi's apartment. They've reached Deer's apartment. * LadyMysteria keeps on trucking, rings and good mood gone. "... and the day we have to intervene will not be fun, either. Athena'll find out somehow if the Queen doesn't beat us to the punch." * The bird perches on the apartment across the street, watching them. Aka sniffs around in a nearby alleyway. Hopefully she'd side with her Ladies not being shot at than with a Princess. ... here's to hoping. The girls go in, and don't come out. Hopefully, but... yeah, the Princess matter. they're...in. Are we done...for today? * LadyNightshade sees if she can see them through any of the windows. The curtains are drawn. * LadyMysteria checks the time. "I think we should sit for a bit and see if any Ningyo show and draw them out... or if anyone stakes out the house or anything." That's my plan. The other matter they're worried about... Right. ... isn't limited to a time. * With a "caw", the purple-eyed Tsubasa takes to the wing again, making a somewhat wide circle around the apartment building. Let's sit it out until nightfall... we can only do so much, and we need to replan badly. * LadyMysteria pulls out her cell and gets to dialing. Replanning sounds good. * LadyMysteria sets the little plastic wonder and... "Hey, evening Sakura. A small snag I wanna butt heads with you about." * LadyMysteria has to take the headset off to use the phone, natch. The team is strung out between the school and the apartment now. * LadyMallet hmms. "Headbutting sounds like fun." She grins. We were keeping an eye on Nozumi, but apparently she and Gothic have some sort of leave-and-run path they take... we hustled to follow and they spotted me and Mallet. Yeah, we're fine. We just told them we were checking on Deer, but Gothic wasn't having it... really tense, real defensive. Deer said she thought she saw him again, so it makes sense... but Athena's their Princess. Yeah... for now, we're just trying to keep Athena as off-out- butts as possible. If you could do anything, we'd appreciate it... She said she thought she saw him. Thanks. We miss you... later. ... I shoulda tried harder to steamroller Gothic. ... eh? She's hot at us about the article thing... haven't you seen it by now? And she really pressed to find out what we did. You shouldn't have been seen in the first place... Yeah. But if I had been more insistent, maybe we coulda avoided this... difficulty. * LadyMysteria scowls. "Unfortunately." Yeah, I know about the first part, but she's still a pain... ah well. Thanks. Mmm-hmm... late----bah. Man, I don't envy her job. * LadyMysteria hangs up and slaps the headset back on. "Well, folks, Sakura might be able to keep us Athena-free... for now we just sit and wait." Eventually, the group meets up about a block away from the apartment. Awesome! * Lord_Darkmoon absent-mindedly rubs his temples and forehead every now and again. Need to remember some aspirin for these trips, if this is going to be common. *smiles wearily* What'd Sakura have to say? * LordChimera rubs his shoulder idly. "hey..." She sounds pretty concerned about the possibility of our unesteemed Lord showing up again around Deer. It would be the first time he's... come back, as it were. I see. If I see him, I'll kill him myself. ... about that. I don't care if they dump it on us or not, but I think I'm not the only one who'll be willing to hunt him down and kick his ass. ... * LadyMysteria refrains from comment, simply sitting down and returning to her rings. * LadyNightshade tries to ignore the conversation. If he ever shows his face again, it'll be too soon! Actually, I rather hope he will, if that's all he does. Give us a chance to...take care...of him. * LadyMallet smacks one fist into a hand. "Yes." Indeed, Minami. *cough* So...we sit an wait here? Or just in general, as we keep tracking the girls? Keep an eye on the area, really. Night hits, we go home and fret about how we're going to do this again tomorrow. We at least know their route. Faugh. And so the afternoon slowly winds down. The sun settles into the mountains to the west, and the girls are still inside the apartment. Hm. .... more waiting. So you wanna try spacing out a bit? We know their destination now, and there are only so many ways they can use to get here without being seen from anywhere else. They already know about two of us. They're gonna have more of an eye out, and there's a good chance they'll spot the rest of us... Either that or keeping either Taki or Rinada on scouting duty and we follow the general path a bit away from them, but close enough to rush in and act if we need to. I think, if I just sit midway between the school and their destination, I can be most useful tracking them with Tsubasa's senses. *he feeds a cracker to the bird perched on his shoulder* * LadyRoyal nods. So if they know we're gonna follow them, and we know we're gonna follow them, just do it anyway? They don't know... They don't know we're gonna follow them. We're trying to keep it that way. * LadyMallet blinks. Oh. We could go above, I guess....take up stationary lookouts along the path to watch for any signs of an attack? And Taki could still follow them directly, just in case? We also need to be able to react if they change trips or patterns or whatever. * LordChimera leans against a wall and continues waiting silently Well we have from the time the Ningyo appears until they kill for everyone to catch up. They attacks don't generally happen until the monster is dead, after all. Above's not a bad idea, but that requires setting up early. How about Taki and the bird follow them out of sight, and the rest of hang out at various points where we can quickly get to them? We have the time, don't we? Yeah, we do. * LadyRoyal nods at Mallet. "That's what I'm sayin'." I hate to suggest it...but we all may want to cut school tomorrow so we can find the best spots for this. * LordChimera shrugs slightly Darn it, going to miss another Kendo mini tourney. >_< *muttered to himself* We only know one of their routes, though. We know their point of departure and their destination. We've got maps, and we have a good idea of where they go. All we need now are some binoculars and... time, I guess. And Rin, we can cut if it's business. That's not a problem... so long as they don't see us in the morning, of course. ... well... ...what're the chances of them being targeted on the way -to- school? * Lord_Darkmoon looks concerned, and rubs his forehead again. * LadyMallet seems apprehensive for a moment. ".. not like I'll miss school anyways." * LadyMysteria looks up. ".... hm. I guess we can start heading back. And by the assassins? Nil unless there's a real early Ningyo attack. By the chance of that Lord showing..." 'They' only know them by when they transform to beat up a Ningyo. Well that's assuming the Ningyo attacks where they're at. What if they have to move to it? We'll know when they do, and can move in tandem. * LadyRoyal nods. Setting up shop out of sight and keeping a general eye out is about the best we can do without alerting Gothic or Deer again. Just a matter of how... guys, we'll skip out tomorrow and work on a gameplan then. Okay. I know that's barely my idea, which is why I'm glad you're all helping with input. I'm so tense right now... * LadyMallet nods. Very well. Oh, remember, dress down tomorrow. ^^; * LadyRoyal shunts a faint glare over Darkmoon's way. yeah... ^^; Don't worry, Maya. You're doing fine. We're all tense. *flinches from Minami's glare* ... I'll try. I don't know if I have anything that ratty-looking. >_> * LadyRoyal double-glares at Mallet. "Not everyone can afford the finest wear available, *Leena*." Leena, we'll be out of sight. It won't matter. Oh? You wanna come over and borrow something? *smiles cheerfully at Royal* * Lord_Darkmoon attempts some levity, and transforms his clothes into standard MiB regalia. "We could always go like this." * LadyRoyal looks away, pointedly not looking at her less-than-expensive clothes. She's probably the only one besides Darkmoon who looks faintly close to fitting in here. * LadyMallet blinks blankly at Darkmoon. * LordChimera blinks. "Hey.. nice..." * Lord_Darkmoon makes his clothes revert to what he was wearing before. "Heh. Sorry." ^^; Anyway, guys. I think it's past Ningyo time. Let's pack it up. * LadyRoyal nods. "Right." Sure! * LordChimera tenses up suddenly .. heyhey HEY. Yeah... see you all tomorrow, then. --what's wrong, Ken? ...what. Royal, wanna go shopping at your places? I need some ... less fancy stuff, I guess. Eh? Kenji? * LadyRoyal ignores Mallet, focusing on Chimera. * LordChimera gets wide-eyed and turns South. "Something's Coming-' Wha? Ah, shit. Any idea what? * LadyRoyal turns to face the same direction as Kenji, peering into the distance. Wait-- No.... I don't know... Something's out there. What's coming? ...uh, oh... Tsubasa, see if you can see it. *the bird flies up, looks, and flies back down, cawing something at Darkmoon* Something... Ningyo? One of us? * LordChimera points. "That way.." * LadyMysteria tenses, rings gone and back on her feet. * LadyRoyal cracks her neck and knuckles, taking a deep breath. * LadyNightshade looks around for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing physically big...Tsubasa saw nothing. *to the bird* Go on back up. Tell me when/if you see something. *Tsubasa complies* * LordChimera scratches at the back of his neck. "I hate this...guh..." * LadyMysteria takes a peek as well, moving in the direction Kenji noted, just a little. * Lord_Darkmoon pulls out the Tessen, holding it like a weapon, trying to be ready for...whatever. * LadyMallet quiets down, then notes Darkmoon prepping. ... good idea. * LadyMallet opens up the MalletPortal, dragging the Mallet out of it. There's a pause, and then all of you sense the Ningyo. * LordChimera winces. * LadyNightshade looks back at the apartment for the two girls. ...and it begins. .... ghn. How did it... no rush of water, no breaking things... ... come to poppa. *spins the Mallet loosely. There's a flash of light from behind the curtains, then both of the girls drop out the back window and sprint south. Crap crap crap. Mallet... Mallet! No! We need to find our assassins. The girls are moving south. Right. * LadyNightshade gives chase, searching the rooftops along the way. Perfectly good excuse to be there! We're here too, to get some fishsmashing in! Gah! Let's go! Tsubasa! Aka! You know what to look for! ...I hope... * LadyRoyal starts going. "Taki, were there any problem spots you saw in that region?" Leena, *no*! * LadyMysteria pulls out her wand and gives it a twirl, just in case. ".... crap crap dammit dammit. Taki, stay on them!" ... But... No-one gets in other people's jurisdictions, it's not a good excuse, you *know* that. Leena, this is Athena's turf. *Think*. ... fine. What, then? I didn't get a chance to really look, but not that I can recall. * LordChimera stands almost erect, waiting for direction. Hmm. uh... Come on guys, you need to move. * LadyRoyal is moving. Let's go! Come on! *starts jogging out, trying not to follow the girls closely enough to be seen* Maya, we can't just stay here debating! *nods to Nightshade* *has been moving * LadyMysteria moves finally, growling a little. "I know, I know..." * LadyMallet goes with everyone else, a bit confused. The girls were fast in their normal forms, but they're almost flying transformed - Taki is having trouble keeping up on the rooftops. They're moving fast, we need to hurry I'm going... this is shaping up to be a wonderful day. * Lord_Darkmoon just flat-out runs, then. His animals are already ahead, moving at their best speed. He does still keep back enough to not be noticed...not that that's hard. * LadyRoyal is sprinting down an alternate alley, following the feel of the Ningyo rather than the girls. "You got that right." The chase leads into an almost-abandoned park - it doesn't look like the grass here was mown once in the last year, and the park signs and benches and playground equipment are all overgrown. Not liking this, not liking this... * LordChimera heads along with Darkmoon half hovering to save his legs. The girls burst through the trees, into a clearing where a pool is flooding from its banks. * LadyRoyal takes a glance around for possible hiding spots for baddies. Looks like it's a park again. Fun stuff. * LadyNightshade searches around for suspicious people. * LadyMysteria sticks close to Royal. "Ah, memories..." The Ningyo starts to make a speech, but Lady Gothic, dressed in fourth- century barbarian armor (with a pleated skirt) and screaming in an incoherent rage begins chucking miniature golden waraxes at the monster. o_o; * LadyMallet blinks at the show. Well she's direct. * LadyRoyal ignores Gothic, continuing to look around. * LadyMysteria gets as non-visible as she can, scanning counter to Royal. * LadyRoyal crouches close, keeping an eye to the sides and to the back. * Lord_Darkmoon just hopes Tsubasa and Aka remember what to look for, and alert everyone in time if they find it. He, meanwhile, looks for signs of trouble, himself. Lady Deer, in plain brown fuku and glowing antlers, sidesteps around Gothic and charges straight at the Ningyo. * LadyMallet holds back and DOSEN'T go charging in, as much as she wants to. *whispering into the radio* Let's try to surround them...we'll either have our targets surrounded, or be between them and our wards, that way. * LordChimera crouches down near Darkmoon and likewise tries to keep a look out. If they don't strike tonight, then they might see us for sure, Rin... let's just get out of their way for now. If people start showing, *then* we surround. An axe clips the Ningyo's torso, and blood spills out. She stops declaiming the superiority of the sea, screams a phrase, and blasts Gothic with a two-meter-wide column of water. * LordChimera winces sympathetically, remembering the Ningyo at the theatre. Nnngh... Understood. * Lord_Darkmoon tries to remain inconspicuous, quiet, and alert. Gothic goes flying back into the trees, but Deer has closed to the Ningyo. She ducks and rams her antlers through the sea-girl's chest, then stands up, allowing her horns to hold the Ningyo above her head. ...the team can not see anyone around. Not in the grass, or behind the trees, or on the swingset - no one at all. The park looks empty... For now. * LadyRoyal turns her attention to the park entrance(s). For now works... * LadyMysteria continues to try and look where Royal isn't looking. Lady Deer catches her breath as the Ningyo thrashes above her... then pirouettes once. The mermaid is ripped in half, showering the Lady in blood, and each piece flies three meters in opposite directions. * LordChimera almost chokes. * Lord_Darkmoon sniffs the air, and leans forward in a predatory waiting stance. ... it's over. Eyes open. * LadyMysteria does her damnedest to stay out of sight. Lady Gothic limps back into the clearing and walks up to Lady Deer. Gothic mutters something, then both girls tense up. ...uh-oh. * LadyRoyal starts practicing being very invisible. Hey! Lord Shitbag! You out there? * LadyNightshade turns actually invisible. Oi! * LordChimera curls up a little bit. You want some of this? * Lord_Darkmoon can't quite suppress a smile at the girl's spirit. And holds very, very still. * LadyNightshade continues watching from the rooftops. * LadyMysteria is practicing with Royal. It's a team thing. C'mon, asshole, we're waiting! Lady Deer whispers something, and while they don't relax, they do start moving back out of the park. * LadyMysteria is doing everything but holding her breath, even now. If you thought they seemed paranoid earlier, now they're absolutely nuts - every step they take is deliberate, every motion choreographed to make sure they can see all around them. ...and it's like that, all the way home. Their detransformation is *fast*, and hidden just inside the apartment block offices. If you didn't know them, you wouldn't have been able to track them through it, and even Taki loses sight of them for half a minute as they do so. * LadyNightshade moves to continue trailing them from above. * LadyRoyal waits until they're out of sight, then follows at a walk, trusting Taki to give the alarm if she needs to speed it up. Nozomi goes into her apartment, while Tani doesn't go in this time. She starts home herself, still watching every moment of the way. Nozomi is home, should I follow Tani? * Lord_Darkmoon relaxes just a touch, and carefully moves back towards where the group was last together. * LadyMysteria starts to scowl, the look growing more unhappy as time passes and she tags alongside Royal. "I can't believe he's still out there...er.... y-yes. Until she gets home." Will do. * LadyRoyal nods. "I understand." * LadyNightshade continues moving after Gothic. * LordChimera stands up and follows along with the others as they leave. * LadyMysteria finally just runs her hands through her hair and exhales angrily. ...maybe either Kenji or I should be on scene early, just in case he -does- show up on their way to school. yeah-- I was thinking that too.. * LadyRoyal sighs. Alone? Better ask if we should--not our assignment. I can't disagree with their need to be protected, but--he could potentially get at *any* magical girl. * Lord_Darkmoon nods. "You have a point." Our job right now is Deer. It's... sad coincidence, really. After this, we leave the investigation in Sakura's hands and hope for justice. And he might try to get at them because he may have heard that they know, but--yeah, what Maya said. ... but it burns me up that he's still active and we really can't do anything unless we meet him. Yeah, well, the world's full of shit, but our pan's not big enough to hold it all. ... ew. What Kenji said... * LadyRoyal shrugs and winks. "You gonna disagree?" * LadyMysteria chuckles. "As soon as she's home, Taki, pull back and let's go home. We can formulate in the morning... we need rest now." * LordChimera shakes his head and turns down towards the ground as he walks along, blushing slightly. I cannot bear the thought of someone abusing their power. Especially not that way. But... *sigh* Alright. * LadyRoyal nods. We can only do so much. I guess we're going to have to learn to live with that. ... as painful as it can be sometimes. Yeah...guess so. * LadyRoyal sighs. Then...good night. See you all tomorrow. * Lord_Darkmoon starts walking off, animals in tow. [end session]