Session Start: Sat Mar 26 16:27:35 2005 Previously, on Hunters: It's been a busy few months for the new team, but maybe things have started settling into a rhythm by now. Every few weeks, it seems, there's a cluster of incidents that have to be attended to. Mostly they involve Ningyo, and guns or swords, and occasionally squicky gore and stuff. Most of the time the team has saved someone, but once in a while there have been casualties, direct or indirect. In between, there has been school and training and the occasional party. Just in the last few cycles, though, things seem to be changing. The nature of the Hunters' enemies is becoming less certain, as are their goals. Mercifully, the craziness at Takeuchi Memorial has settled down a little again, and nobody the team knows has been kidnapped or roughed up or intimidated in the last two days. ...of course, that can't last. And now everything - the rhythm of their duties, the way they do their job, the way they think of each other, and most of all, their daily lives - is on the cusp of changing forever. [Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 1620 local time] [On the steps of Takeuchi Memorial HS] [session start!] * Taki dashes off to change out of her uniform. It's a relatively warm day for early March in Tokyo - too nice out for jackets. The sun is warming the concrete steps of the school to the extent they would be painful to walk on barefoot. * Maya is busy stretching a little. "Man... another day, another head full of knowledge..." She shucks her jacket and walks on by, looking up at the sky. Birds are flying over the school, headed back to wherever they summer. * Minami strolls on out in her strolling-out way, falling into step beside Maya. "If you wanna call it knowledge, of course." The two of them pass an ambiguously female sculpture on the front walk. It looks like it was designed as the centerpiece of a fountain, but apparently wiser heads prevailed. It's... something. * Maya looks at the sculpture for a moment, then shrugs it off. "I guess I better hurry off to tend to paperwork." * Taki makes her way over to the girls changed out of her uniform and in her usually black complete with longcoat. Hey. Heh. True. * Minami nods to Taki. "Yo." Are you going to need help with that, Maya? Help with what? *starts walking along with the girls* Heya, Taki! How've you been? And... sure, yeah. Any assistance helps. As Maya responds, everyones' phone chirps loudly. I've been eh-- Oh? *picks out her phone* It's a text message - "EMERG CALL AGCY" * Taki shows her phone to Maya. "Same thing?" * Minami blinks and looks over Maya and Taki's shoulders. "Yikes." * Maya flicks out her phone... yeeps and calls. * Secretary responds immediately. "Maya?" * Taki lets Maya call because they can't call the same number at the same time. Miss? What's wrong?! Maya-sama, the palace just called in an alert for this afternoon on Lady Goggles. * Minami stands by and looks concerned. * Taki tries to listen as best she can. ... what do we know, and what can we do? * Maya puts on her business face in a goddamn hurry, walking towards the Agency at a speedy clip. I don't even know where she is now. * Minami strides along, following Maya. The police have her in protective custody, remember? * Taki follows along completely forgetting about wasting time before she has to meet up with Darkmoon to practice. And yet we get an alert... damn. I'll contact the detective... odds are he can tell us something. Thanks. Right. If anything else comes up, you know how to get us. Thanks. Hai! * Secretary hangs up. What've we got? * Maya hangs up, and promptly starts dialing up Morioka. "An alert from the Palace on Junko." ... What happened? I don't know, but I'll see if he does. ...hell. Morioka. Go. It's Lady Mysteria. I need information on Junko as quickly as you can get it for me. ...um. What do you need? * Maya purses her lips, clenching the phone a bit tighter than is necessary. "Look, I know she's in custody, but I've gotten word from my superiors to look into her situation. I... well, I need to find her, or at least know a general area." Why? I have good reason to believe she may be in danger. * Morioka takes a moment to think that one over. I honestly don't have that information, Miss. And even if I did, I couldn't give it out. Not even to... you. Then I guess I'll have to figure out something on my own. Thank you for your time, sir. I can pass this along, though it would be really helpful to know what your source is. I can't really say right now. Maybe at a later date. I'll call you then. * Minami curses at Maya's end of the conversation...obviously no help there. It shouldn't be too hard to add protection, but I need to be able to give a reason. Mmmn. I'll see what I can do. Afternoon. * Maya hangs up and sighs. Miss- ... now what to do. ... I don't want to readily come out and say we've gotten the order from the Palace, because I'd much rather not bring them into this mess. But... mmmn. Well, they're the ones that gave us the alert, and if we can't get any information... * Maya speeds up. "One more call..." This time, she chooses Sakura. They can't do anything with an anonymous threat? He wants to know who the lead's coming from first. Maya gets Sakura's voice mail. I bet they'd at least up whatever they've got a bit, but probably nothing drastic. Sakura, it's Maya. I need to know the nature of this alert as soon as possible, and whether it's alright to inform Morioka it's an order from the Palace. Any other leads you can dig up would be appreciated. Thanks. * Maya snaps the phone closed. "Let's see what the Secretary knows." The group are almost back to the Agency by now. * Secretary throws the front door open, looking almost panicky as they approach. I need more information, miss... I'm running into dead ends so far. * Minami unconsciously speeds up even more and ducks inside as soon as possible. I don't know anything about Junko. Did we get any information about the threat, then? Anything? * Maya slips inside in a moment and rubs at her temples. "All they told you was about the alert? Nothing more?" Her Majesty thinks it's happening soon - like today soon. And yet they *know* she's under police protection. We can't just walk up to the station and ask for directions... ... Fucking fuck fuck of a fuckity fuck. What about her family? Could they reach her? Her mom and dad are with her, according to the papers. * Maya rubs a bit more furiously. "Think... there's got to be some other avenue... and that might be it. But we'd need to find out a way to contact them first." The phone on the front desk rings. Miss? * Secretary hits the speaker button. Go. * Leena singsongs over the speakers. "Hiii~! What's up?" Trouble, Leena. Get here as quick as you can. Quicker, even. On my way as we speak! * Maya opens her phone and looks at the screen. "There any way to try and hunt down her parents' phone numbers? We need to at least warn her." .. parents? Do I need to show up transed? If they're with her we can't reach them either... Their old number, sure. Not yet. Let's at least try the old number. Maybe they've forwarded it or...I don't know. A'right. See you guys when I get there. * Leena hangs up. * Secretary does the same, then blinks as the phone rings again immediately. * Secretary punches the speaker button once more. Hello? Everyone - even, surprisingly, the Secretary recognizes the voice instantly. * Taki's jaw drops for a second. We have a problem. * Minami frowns. Another one, Your Majesty? Ah, is the team there? Go ahead, Your Majesty. We're listening... we're here, for the most part. Good. Yes, another one. I just had the most... unpleasant premonition about the rest of Junko's team. Lady Reaper and Lady Judo seem to be slated for a rather... violent death. Within hours, people. ... Hardhat? SHIT. ... maybe. No, or I don't think so. Same sort of thing as Junko, or separately? I didn't get any sense of her attack on Handcuff. * Maya frowns. "I wonder if they've found a new hangout. We'd need to know where, since the mall's wrecked. It would be the place to start." ...this isn't a vision. I just have a sense of their being attacked. Any idea where? No! * TheQueen is clearly frustrated. We'll look into locating them immediately, Your Majesty. Where's Tiara? * Minami turns to the Secretary and speaks sotto voce. "We have Reaper and Judo's contact numbers on file?" I don't think Tiara is involved. Looking now. * Minami nods. "Thanks." She would know where to find them, however, Your Majesty. Advance warning might make the difference. ...maybe. I know she doesn't track their afternoon activities unless she's going to meet with them. Your best bet would be their families, I think, but go ahead and try their Princess if you need to. We have to exhaust all avenues right now, my Queen. And thank you. We will do our best. What about Junko? We aren't sure what we can tell the police... ...and... what of Goggles? The detective seems unwilling to offer a location, or much of anything without who's given the lead. I'm uneasy about naming the Palace, but if you would allow it I will. You may not reveal my existence to them, even indirectly. But... anything else you need to say to your contact is all right. Even if you need to fib a little. Of course. * Maya fishes out her phone and prepares to call Morioka again. I will let you get to work. Please hurry. *click* Um. So. Trouble, with a capital everything. * Maya hits 'send'. We're gonna have to split up. Morioka. * Taki goes over to the secretary to see how the file searching is going. * Minami leans over the Secretary's shoulder. "Anything?' * Secretary points to the printer, as several pages spew out. They don't have cell numbers listed, just home numbers and addresses. * Minami skims through them. "Best we can get, I guess." Let's try their homes then. * Taki grabs one of the sheets and calls a home number. It's Lady Mysteria again. I conferred with my source, and he's alright with at least being mentioned. He's one of our own, and that's as much as I can give. * Minami picks the other one and raises her eyebrow at the Secretary as she picks up the phone. ...uh, that's not very helpful. HOW does he know? * Maya grits her teeth. "I'm not at the liberty to say. I'm sorry, but I can't volunteer anything more... I simply need security increased, at the very least." I have passed your warning up the chain of command, and I think they're going to send some guys out there, but without more info, it's really hard to convince them to spend the money. Just tell him it's magic. Sheesh. * Maya hehs faintly. "If you heard that, that's what little more I can say. Even then, I doubt you could tell your superiors that someone's in danger because a magical being thought it would happen because of... well, magic, for lack of a better term." The joys of being hamstrung. They're protecting a magical being. They'll believe it. Um. This is... the same way that you get notified who to protect? That Sakura used? In a way, yes. Is it or isn't it? Different sources, but the same methods and notification. ...right. You guys have been pretty... accurate, haven't you. I'll bother the AD again. We have to be. ... and thank you. Really. I can't promise anything, but I'll strongly advocate. Mmmm. All I can do, folks. * Morioka ends the call. ... and I suppose all we can do for Junko now is pray. * Maya closes her phone and looks a little uneasy. I really don't like not having our own kind there. * Minami rubs her forehead. "You're not the only one." Your turn. * Taki presses send on her phone. A middle-aged female voice answers the phone. Moshi moshi? Um... hi. Is Azumi home? No, I think she's out with a friend right now... who is this? Oh uh, this is a classmate of hers from school. I got her number from a friend. I wanted to ask her about the homework... That's nice. Well, she usually does not get home until just before her father does, and then we eat together... if you could try back about 8:30? * Maya putters about and frets some, fiddling with her phone. Oh... I wanted to get it finished before tonight... Uh, does she have cell phone maybe? No, we're not that rich, I'm afraid. Oh. Any idea where they're at then? Maybe they're close... I think they hang out at that strip mall on the south side? They used to go to the big mall, before the Ningyo trashed it... There's some restaurant there that they like. Ah okay. Thanks. ... Um, what's the name? I don't know. It's cheap, and something of a teen hangout, but that's all I know. Alright. Thank you so much for your help, ma'am. Sorry to be a bother. No problem. Bye bye! Farewell. * Taki hangs up after having the sounded sweetest and most innocent you've probably ever heard her fake. What did you find out? Well she doesn't have a cell phone. But they hang out at a restaurant at a strip mall on the south side. * Taki looks at the secretary, "Any idea where that could be?" I can look. * Taki looks over at Mina. "You're up." * Minami nods and picks up the phone. * Minami dials. HI! Ah, hello. Is Keiko there, please? Um... sis isn't home yet... Hmm, do you know where she is? Or how I could reach her, please? Ummmmmmm. Dunno! Does she have a cell phone? It's not fair - mommy won't let me have one! That's...too bad. Maybe you'll get one when you're older. But for now...could I maybe have her number, please? I'm a friend from school. Okay... * LittleGirl starts dialing the number on her phone, making Minami wince. * Minami grits her teeth, but keeps her voice level. "Um...could you maybe give it to me in regular numbers, please?" * Minami holds pen to paper nearby to jot it down. You mean like read the little numbers on the buttons? Yes, please. Two... Seeeeeveeen... One..... * Minami scribblescribbles. "Mm-hmm..." It takes a few seconds to work her way through the number. Is that what you want? Keiko's cell phone number? Yes, thank you. Okay, bye bye bye! Bye-bye-bye! * LittleGirl slams down the phone. * Minami shakes her head. "Okay, got a cell for Judo." Should we call from here, or on the way to the mall? On the way. Let's call first The sooner we're there, the better. Make sure we're going the right direction. * Minami hands the number to Maya or Taki, then. "I don't have a cell." * Taki takes it and calls. ... Should I be transformed? I doubt your voice would change, so... There's a huge amount of vaguely-musical and conversational background noise coming through the connection. HELLO? HI. THIS IS LADY NIGHTSHADE. WHAT? THIS IS LADY NIGHTSHADE! REMEMBER WE PROTECTED YOU GUYS AT THE MALL? WHO IS THIS? I DON'T RECOGNIZE YOUR NUMBER! * Taki looks a bit embarrassed to be shouting like this around the other girls. * Taki sighs and transforms, keeping her clothes and the phone in the process. THIS IS LADY NIGHTSHADE. I'M WITH THE HUNTERS TEAM. * Maya idly plugs her ears and watches on. CAN'T HEAR YOU! CALL ME BACK IN A FEW HOURS! I NEED TO TALK TO YOU RIGHT NOW! COULD YOU UH STEP OUTSIDE OR SOMETHING? * Minami facefaults, being able to hear on account of the ALL CAPS. Taki hears a beep, then nothing. Fuck. * Leena ducks inside, panting. She shuts the door behind her, and glances around rapidly. "Hi! I'm here! What's up?" * LadyNightshade closes her phone. "So do we assume that noise was the restaurant?" Probably. Let's g-hey, Leena. Trouble. Lots. Odds are. And things got worse, Leena. Junko and her old team have a damn bad alert on them within the next few hours. * Secretary waves. "This is probably it!" We have no idea where Junko is, bu--eh? * LadyNightshade looks over to the Secretary. * Minami rushes over to the Secretary. ... uhm. * Leena blinks, confused. She does follow everyone else to the Secretary, though. It's the Hard Bite Shopping Place. * Secretary mangles the mangled English name. How far? There's a couple of restaurants there, though. * Leena sighs wistfully. "... I wonder if they have ice cream." It's some place cheap that teenagers like to hang out at. Erm. Half an hour, by train? And it's loud. We'll follow the noise. Let's. It's the first Warabi stop. Right. Do we all go? What about Junko? Junko? * Minami ducks to the restroom. "Let's suit up then. If we're lucky, she's with them." Junko and her team, like I said. Why would she be? She's under police protection. * Leena sighs. "... aww, man." Junko we can't do much about. We can't even get her location. In that case we hope for the best. We have to do SOMETHING at least. * Minami leaves to change for real, after that. We'll try to track the others. It's... not even knowing where to *find* Junko's so frustrating I want to tear my hair out. But now's not the time. * Leena pulls off her school uniform, ducking into the kitchen as she does so. She emerges a moment later, after a brilliant rainbow lightshow. ... There has to be some way. We're the ones that saved her! * LadyRoyal returns. * Maya steps off for a bit of showtime, then returns. "Not even for us. I tried, he was being rather tight-lipped." * LadyMallet starts quickchanging out of her transed uniform, and back into the school uniform, while waiting for the others. If anyone's left who could give us a clue, it'd be her old teammates. Maybe, at least. * LadyNightshade swallows. I don't like this. ... Junko's -team- is the bad news? But how...? The Queen has been sensing their deaths. So we need to hurry. * LadyMysteria is already prepping to leave the Agency. Hai! Commencing hurrying! * Secretary steps into the back, and comes out with Leena's gun. Someone should go to the police station and talk to the person in charge about protecting Junko. Firearms? We're supposed to protect her! It's our jobs! * LadyMallet dashes about the Agency to get her gun, and runs right into the Secretary. * LadyRoyal grabs whatever info is on the desk pertaining to this and folds it into her satchel. Then you go. We have to protect the other two as well. If this is some sort of coordinated attack then we need to be prepared... * LadyRoyal counts heads. "...four of us..." Two to the station to ask about Junko, two to the mall for Reaper and Judo? ... will two be enough? Still.... we should try! Oof! Thanks! *she wraps the holster around her leg, sticking the gun into it, then starts dashing about again. "Headsets! Phone!" All we've got! Right, headsets. Hell yeah! Go for broke! * LadyRoyal grabs and puts on. * LadyNightshade takes her headset. Right, everyone ready? Who's going where? Who do you want to send where, Maya? Um, can just two of you really handle a full-scale attack? They've ... been through enough. They don't need any more grief. * LadyRoyal rubs her forehead. "Either we concentrate on one and sacrifice the other two, or concentrate on two and lose the one. Either way we're screwed." So get the two and one together to make three! With Junko we'll have the police backing us up, but at the restaurant it's just us... Yes, if we can. Us and Reaper and Judo as well, don't forget. So four. It's not like it's their first time defending themselves... I spoke to Morioka... I should talk to him again. The rest of you go ahead. Go see him. Get them to personally take you to her... Maya, will you be okay by yourself? Shouldn't Taki or Leena or I go with you? * LadyMysteria starts to change out of her street clothes and dig out her actual MG gear. "I'll need to be in full uni for the proper effect. And don't worry about me. Go." I should go to Goggles. With Judo and Reaper there, they'll have enough power to handle themselves. It's not safe for you and Junko to be the only two MG's around when whatever goes down. W e don't even know if she's in fighting form yet. Goggles, though... * LadyRoyal nods. C'mon, Taki, let's go. They might not even let us near her, no matter what. We know we can get close to Judo and Reaper. *Go*. * LadyMysteria nods Mallet on. Maya! It's Maya's decision. * LadyRoyal grrs. "Yes, I know." * LadyNightshade swallows again. Let's do what we can. Minami, trust me. Please. * LadyNightshade heads out the door. * LadyRoyal grits her teeth. "As you say." * LadyMallet looks at Mysty pointedly. "... if you say so, Fearless Leader." * LadyNightshade dashes towards the train station. * LadyRoyal starts heading out, but turns back to give Maya a quick and uncharacteristic hug. "Be CAREFUL." * LadyRoyal runs! * LadyMallet then turns, and breaks into a run to the train station. ...good luck... * LadyMysteria looks back at Mallet... then yeeks at the hug. "I will... I promise." Adjusting the brim of her tophat and throwing on a jacket, she glances back. "Thank you. Stay safe." And out she goes. The trains whisk the Hunters towards their destinations. The one going to Warabi is crammed full of people heading home from their jobs, while the one headed into downtown Tokyo is only half full. Downtown is closer, and Maya gets off her train sooner. * LadyMysteria pretty much finds a spot near the back of the train and hopes that she doesn't attract too much attention. As soon as the train's stopped, she steps off and makes her way towards Morioka's precinct. As she's stepping out of the station, her phone rings. * LadyMysteria flicks it open and answers. "Hm?" ...gaaah, um, Mysteria? I was actually on the way to see you. Did something some up? * LadyMysteria isn't trying to hide the tension in her voice anymore. Automatic gunfire can be heard in the background. ... shit! Holy shit, Mysty, who the hell wants you guys dead? ...yow! * LadyMysteria starts running. "I don't know! Hold on!" What do you mean, hold on? As in don't die on me! How many? I think there were a half-dozen. They slaughtered the patrol cars we sent out, but the SWAT group I rode out with sort of flanked them... I don't think they've gotten in the house yet. And the ones that are left look like they're retreating. A protracted burst clangs into a metal object very near the phone. I need a general location... anything. This is critical... Junko's my responsibility! Look, Lady, I can't tell you! ...though I'm sure you'll hear it on the news tonight. ... are you positive they haven't gotten into the house? Is she alright?! ...we're sending some guys in now. I'm going to take custody of her afterward, and relocate her well out of town. That might not be enough. But do what you have to. I'm not hanging up until I know she's alive. * LadyMysteria stops at a street corner and goes about trying to not stand out too much. Well, the bad guys are definitely leaving. They just took off in a big van, the four that survived, anyway. I think SWAT only has two or three casualties - they really weren't expecting us. What direction is the van going? What street? ...next time, I think the AD will listen the first time, you know? *chuckle* * LadyMysteria chuckles faintly after a moment's pause, happily accepting the tension-breaker. The gunfire dies down in the background. We're going to try pursuing, but pros like these were are going to have a good escape plan, I think. Um. The medics are running into the house... ... alright. If you can tell me more about where they went... uh? We'll talk about sharing info later, okay? Sure. * LadyMysteria calms herself down, slowly. There's a long pause. More sirens in the background fill the blank space. Morioka.... Morioka. What's going on? Hey! HEY! BRING HER HERE! Junko's okay. I think her father caught a round, but the girl is all right. I gotta go... Alright. Keep her safe. * Morioka closes his phone. * LadyMysteria shuts her phone off, and promptly turns around and heads back to the train station. * LadyMysteria flips open her phone after a moment's thought, even as she boards, and starts dialing Taki. * LadyNightshade pulls out her phone and answers. "What's going on, Maya?" She's safe... but someone tried to attack her. Gunfire was involved, so it probably wasn't Ningyo. I'm on my way to join you all right now. Any idea who? Not a clue, but it sounds like they were organized. So it's more likely to be the military group than the Yakuza guys, you think? Mmmmhmm. Which... bodes poorly. Anyway, let everyone know I'm fine and that I'm on my way. Okay. Are you with her? How'd you get there so fast? * LadyNightshade holds the phone away for a second to say to the other girls. "Junko's safe it sounds like." I didn't even reach her... they were on her and Morioka's men before I'd barely gotten off the train. He has her now, which is... better than we can hope. I'll follow up later on. * LadyRoyal sighs in relief. Alright. I'll let you know where the girls are when we find them. The train car the group is in bumps a little as it slows for the South Warabi stop. * LadyNightshade gets up to file out. Right. Be careful. We reached our stop. Talk to you in a bit. Let me know if anything else comes up. * LadyMysteria chuckles. "Right." She then hangs up... and waits. * LadyMallet stands up, smoothing and brushing out her hair. "... well." So. She got to her on time? The train shudders to a stop. * LadyNightshade hangs up. Morioka called her saying they already got her. So she's with him now. Maya's coming out here to join us. * LadyNightshade looks around as she leaves the train. Already she's scanning the crowd for trouble. Oh, good. * LadyRoyal gets out, doing the same. * LadyMallet hops out. The train station here is well-lit, as are the streets surrounding it. Whereas the big mall north of here was the highlight of a rather dingy area, this section of town is teeming with commercial activity. The map the Secretary printed out shows they need to head south about half a kilometer. * LadyNightshade heads out of the train station, following the Secretary's directions. * LadyRoyal walks and watches. So if none of the groups know who they really are, we're assuming there's going to be a Ningyo attack first, right? ...possibly. Something about this situation makes me doubt that, though I can't put my finger on it exactly. Junko, they knew who she was thanks to the publicity of the trail and could go after her directly. But there's no way they'd know about the rest of her team. Unless they're just targeting all her friends out of spite? * LadyMallet follows along silently, lost in thought. The road dips back under the train tracks, then as they group emerges from the underpass they can see the big neon "HARD BITE" sign directly ahead. I know, I know. Just saying. * LadyMallet looks up at the sign. "... um." There's the place. Spread out and each try a different place? Better than I can come up with. * LadyNightshade looks at the list of places they have and starts from the top down assigning everyone a group of restaurants. Er. This is about as strange of a shopping center as any of you has ever seen. It's an L-shaped structure, two stories tall, with stores facing out into the "inside" of the L on both levels. Eh, never mind. ... I kinda like this place. I'm going to be sad if it end sup wrecked. So don't wreck it. *sticks her tongue out at Leena* It's not a covered structure at all - there are walkways to access the second-floor stores, but it's all outside to some degree. Who said I was gonna wreck it? ^_~ * LadyRoyal snorts in amusement and looks up the list of food places. "Now, let's see..." Let everyone know the moment you spot them. Got it? * LadyMallet flips on the headsets. "Crystal." Of course. * LadyNightshade heads off to check her assigned group of places. There are only two real places that qualify - one is on the far corner of the structure, and seems to be the place's namesake - "HARD BITE Electronica Diner and Dance" - the other is a smaller store in the middle, "HARD Sweets". * LadyRoyal heads off to the diner/dance place. * LadyMallet does much the same thing. "Well... after seeing if they're in the obvious place." * LadyNightshade checks the sweets place. Each of them makes her way through the parking lot in the center - strange that a place in this city would have a parking lot, but it's so high-priced, and the cars here are so glitzy, that it serves both as a direct revenue-maker and an attraction all by itself. * LadyMallet resists kicking one and setting off a domino effect of car alarms. Somehow. Fortunately Taki isn't a car-fetishist, and is not distracted as she makes her way to HARD Sweets. ...which turns out to be a candy store with a soda bar and a small arcade. It takes her about five seconds to look around. Lots of high-school girls, but no one she knows. I don't see them at the Sweet shop. * LadyNightshade heads out to continue looking around the other places there. It's a mall, and a well-designed one too. * LadyMallet looks around the diner/dance place with Royal. "Strike true with the first blow, the first search, and no further action shall be required...," she murmurs to herself. Lots of eye-catching stores, lots of premium stuff in stock. It seems a playground for the well-to-do young Japanese. * LadyNightshade of course can't stand the place. * LadyMallet , of course, loves the place. XD The other two arrive at the HARD BITE itself, which is the largest single store in the structure. * LadyRoyal looks around quickly. It has the look and feel of a nightclub, with its blacked-out windows and what looks like an honest-to-goodness bouncer at the front door. (Not to mention the speed-electronica blaring every time that door is opened.) ... I so totally am not dressed for here. A sign by the front door indicates that the cover charge is 6500 yen... or free for those under 20. * LadyMallet licks her lips, despite herself. There's a menu listed as well, which is less pricey than one might expect, and a large note at the bottom indicates a school ID gets you half off those prices. Taki bumps into the other two as they stare at the door. * LadyMallet looks back at Taki, grins widely, and walks right on in, with a flip of her hair. * LadyRoyal nods at Taki and walks in. * LadyNightshade grumbles to herself about stupid teenagers and walks into the place, flashing her ID to the bouncer. * LadyMallet twirls and spins on one foot, giggling insanely. She does glance around for Judo or Reaper, as an afterthought. The music assaults the team, tosses them around, and leaves them metaphorically beat to a pulp as they stagger out onto the dance floor. * LadyNightshade does her best to ignore it as she looks around. * LadyRoyal keeps her eye out for Judo and Reaper. * LadyRoyal nudges Taki. "Maybe if you call we'd be able to hear it?" WHAT? * LadyRoyal repeats herself into Taki's ear. * LadyMallet listens to the music, picking up on the beat. She tentatively starts tapping her feet, and moving with it. I doubt I'd be able to hear my own phone, let alone theirs! * LadyNightshade pulls out her phone and tries to call anyway. Most of the dancing people are girls about your age, mostly in school uniforms. A few older men and women are mixed in. Once you squint past the lighting, you can see two balconies surrounding the dance floor and a stage in the back... The first floor is a mix of teenagers and older people. The top balcony is roped off, and more bouncers are checking ID's. * LadyNightshade tries to spot someone answering their phone as she walks around the place. Taki spots them, even before Keiko even opens the phone. Minami sees them only a second later. * LadyRoyal taps Leena. "Over there!" The stage is occupied, and you realize that this is actually live, or semi-live at least, music. * LadyMallet whirls as part of her dancing to face the tap, then looks, blinks, stops, then looks back at Minami with a quizzical expression on her face. * LadyRoyal rolls her eyes. "You know, the people we're looking for?" * LadyMallet mouths "What?", and points in the direction of the pair. * LadyNightshade makes her way over to the duo, keeping her phone to her ear. * LadyMallet blinks again, with sudden realization, and dashes off to them. * LadyRoyal continues heading over. Keiko has hung her phone up already, not hearing anything from it. * LadyNightshade hangs up too. She didn't even hear the other girl answer. * LadyMallet waves at Keiko and Azumi. JET. Leena shoulders her way up the steps to the first balcony, but trips as she reaches the landing and tries to step up once more. * LadyNightshade notices Leena and increases her pace to keep up. * LadyRoyal doesn't notice Leena, but speeds up to pace Taki. Leena looks up in time to see a twentysomething man at Keiko and Azumi's table - he's tallish, with very close-cut hair. He's got a brown leather jacket on, but under that is a deep-black jumpsuit, and familiar-looking low combat boots. He suddenly pulls a silenced pistol from his jacket, and shoots into the booth. * LadyMallet eyes widen, and screams out, "EVERYBODY, GET OUT!" while pulling out her own, unsilenced pistol. * LadyMallet shoots once- straight up- and then drops her aim, and quickly re- orients and fires again at the other pistolleer. RIGHT OVER HERE, DUMBASS. Her shot takes the man in the side of his chest. He is knocked backwards about a meter, and grunts in pain, but doesn't seem to have been seriously hurt. A few people around Leena start to scream, but the music is just TOO DAMN LOUD for the shots to trigger any real panic, or attention. Taki, seeing Leena shoot, steps up onto the stairway railing and throws herself out above the dance floor. There's a bit of a collective gasp around all the balconies as she catches the railing near the attacker, swings over it, and lands in a combat stance in front of the booth. She sneaks a glance into it, and sees that Keiko has taken a hit center- mass, right where her ninja training knows the heart is. * LadyRoyal , not having mad acrobatic skills, just plain RUNS, shooting a card up ahead at what she can see of Mister Guy. The card seems almost to dodge around the railing. It, too, finds the man's chest... and this hit actually sends a little blood spraying about. A second attacker, almost identical to the first except for brown hair and a different face, steps around the first one. He glances at Taki and Leena, but unloads his pistol into the booth as well. Azumi had the good sense to duck under the table by now, so he's shooting at Keiko, who now is looking quite perforated. [break session] Session Close: Sat Mar 26 20:58:36 2005