Session Start: Sat Nov 05 16:51:52 2005 Previously, on Hunters: The team had a wild night on the Universal Shipbuilding campus, with police and dragons and Ningyo, oh my! On the one hand, they did defeat the Dragon Lord of the North, eliminated a major player at USC that had caused severe problems, and avoided most detection by the police that had been sicced on them. On the downside, the US Navy base got swamped, and it was pretty obvious to the powers that be that Ladies were responsible for the death of a major executive. The few days afterwards were slower - the sunken carrier was bombed according to plan, Minami got some time with her family as her mother's health deteriorated, and Taki and Rin made an expedition to recruit some ninja help with the Junko situation. That did not last, however, as early Sunday morning, everyone got a call from Sakura. There was a situation brewing... [Sunday, March 27, 2004 - 1220 local time] [The Agency main room] [Session start] * Rin is preparing a light lunch in the kitchen, having detransformed shortly after arriving with Taki. She's got on a light blue kimono today, with her hair held up in a simple bun by a pair of black chopsticks. The pink apron she's wearing would make sense on even a simple kimono such as this when cooking, save that she made that with the same Tessen she could have used to clean her garb were it to get dirty. * Taki looks a bit tired and depressed having her visit home cut short. She's long since abandoned her kimono and is in her usually black t-shirt and pants and a casual black duster. * Mayuki is lounging on the couch, and eyeing Rin with some jealousy. She has a slightly-grimy sweat suit on, and her hair is rather windblown. * Kyouko is wearing her old swim team hoodie, over a bright yellow L'arc~en~ciel SMILE t-shirt, and with a cute blue skirt. She's sitting on the floor reading some manga. * Rin is, of course, still glowing. * Sakura is in pink biking leathers, but also has her mousey reading glasses on today. * Taki eyes Mayuki on the couch and goes to help Rin in the kitchen. Wooo! TM swim club! I have a hoodie just like that. Thank you, Taki. Could you finish cutting the sandwiches so I can set up the tea tray? Sure. Yeah, it's one of my favorites. * Taki cuts the crap out of those sandwiches. Ninja-style. * Haruko has emerged from her room for an extended period for the first time in a couple of days. A shame there won't be any more of them. * Haruko is wearing her old TM uniform, sitting on the couch paging through one of her notebooks. * Sakura is fiddling with the computer, making preparations for some sort of presentation. Is Minami going to be late? * Kyouko is nearly vibrating with excitement, because her favorite band's new album is coming out soon. Her father promised to get her a copy early like he got her the promo t-shirt. * Rin peeks over Taki's shoulder. "Perfect. Thank you. Would you like to carry them in?" She is already carrying the tea tray out. * Taki says from the kitchen, "Yeah, she had some uh... personal stuff to attend to." I think she might be... Mmm. * Taki carries the platter of sandwiches in. Did you need her for something? * Mayuki pounces at the platter. * Haruko ignores the sandwiches * Taki eyes Mayuki. "Uhh... help yourself." * Rin conceals a chuckle, and begins pouring the tea, serving the two Princesses first, then everyone else. * LadyMallet still has her nose buried in a textbook, only glancing up occasionally. She writes something down, and starts flipping through it, looking for something. * Mayuki doesn't quite stuff one into her mouth. "MMfff. Yeah. I've had Rin's cooking a few times before. If it weren't... well, there was some thought to asking her to be the Palace chef." Right. * Rin executes a practiced, flattered blush. * Taki sets the platter on the table, letting everyone help themselves. * Taki has her own veggie sandwich. Certain Princesses probably nixed that. Well, it's my gain. * Kyouko scoots across the floor, still reading, to get a sandwich. * LadyMallet helps herself to a sandwich, holding the textbook with one hand. * Sakura grabs a sandwich as the tray goes by. How's Inouye-san working out? * Taki sits on the recliner cross-legged, sipping her tea. * LadyMallet nods vaguely. "Good. How're my chances of you helping me get a bike?" She's uh... educational. * LadyMallet mrrfles something after that, holding the sandwich in her mouth, and rereading something pretty intently. * Rin helps herself to a sandwich and some tea after others have been served or served themselves. She kneels near the table and begins eating demurely, quietly observing for a moment. A bicycle? Just take it out of the budget. Mrrbrr. * Minami walks in, frowning slightly and tossing her jacket over an arm. * LadyMallet blinks, and sets the book down, and the sandwich out. Motorcycle. Not bike. Mina! * Minami raises an eyebrow as she enters. "Still on about that bike, Leena?" Not until you're old enough for a license. Are things okay? * Minami nods cordially to everyone, stiffening a bit at Taki's question. "Sorry I'm late, I--er. Sort of." Yeah, I'm not nearly as good at forging identities as I thought I was. * Rin rises and bows slightly in greeting. "Good afternoon, Mina-san. Would you care for some lunch?" What'll it take to get a yes now? No means no, Leena. * Minami raises the other eyebrow at that one, but shakes her head at Rin. "No, thank you. I had some food at the hospital cafeteria." Inouye-sensei said she'd vouch for me, and I've got some money save dup. The hospit... oh, right. How's your mom doing? It...er. Ah. *pauses and goes silent as Sakura asks that, to hear the answer* * Minami glances at everyone. "She's...stable." For the moment. That's good at least... That's... good, I guess. Uh. Yeah. Well, better than the alternative. * Minami tries a weak smile, which quickly goes away. * LadyMallet frowns. * Mayuki pikus slightly, but doesn't ask. * Rin watches Minami consideringly. If there's anything I can do, let me know. Anything any of us can do... Mm. I doubt organs are something you can create, but thanks all the same. ...? I probably could, but I think you need one for longer than mine last. Yeah. ...what organ does she need? Wait, what? You can't find a donor? Um. Well, I mean, it's a long list, and. And? ... you're being awfully wishy-washy about this. What's wrong? * Minami shakes her head. "Er, sorry to interrupt. What's the situation?" ...Minami-san. * Minami waves her hand. "Business first." * LadyMallet waves frantically. "No, it's not an interruption. What's up? They can wait." Business can wait. *gently* Please. Tell us. Family is more important. * Sakura smiles tolerantly. * LadyMallet glances momentarily at Sakura and Mayuki. "Sorry. ^_^;" * Minami eyes everyone. "Yeah, for me. Not for us, or the Princesses. So let's get back on the clock." * Kyouko eats and reads and keeps an ear out for the discussion. Mina. Stop it. * LadyMallet then turns to Minami. "As long as this is bugging you, you're not gonna be at your prime." I am sure neither Princess minds. They are kind and understanding women, and are surely as concerned as the rest of us. Please. * LadyMallet sets down her textbook- something about English government- and claps it shut. It's my day off - not sure what I'm doing here, but I've got plenty of time. * LadyMallet says, cheerfully, "You remember how bad we hounded Darkmoon about secrets. Give in now before we have to get rough. *^__^*" * Minami stops short and GLARES at Leena. "This has been going on longer than this job has. If I wasn't capable of keeping it from getting in my way, I would *never* have been at my 'prime' in anything we're doing. Just because y- -some people are more easily distracted than others has nothing to do with this." And so you don't trust us enough to tell us? Well, it'll keep us worrying too. Especially when you say something to worry us and then don't tell us what it is. I'll be worrying about it, and you, and so will everyone else. It's got nothing to do with you. Or with being an MG. Or with anything else. So you'll be selfish if you keep it to yourself. Really Mina, we care about you and your family too. If you're going to waste your time worrying about it because you can't stay out of peoples' business, that's not my concern. ... really, we're all friends here. *glances at Haruko* Mostly. * Sakura reaches back and bats Leena's head. Lightly. * Rin smiles politely at Mayuki before turning her attention back on Minami. She laughs a bit, musically. "Leena-chan, please, cease hounding her and let Minami-san tell us." Her tone clearly indicates she's not actually berating anybody. * LadyMallet quirks an eye at Sakura. Not really apologetically. * LadyMallet then looks at Minami, arms crossed. "Yeah. Spill it." * Taki sighs. I guess if she wants to deal with this on her own we should let her... I didn't leave the hospital to come here and talk about what's going on in the hospital. * Rin sighs lightly and smiles gently. "Very well. But if you ever need...anything...Mina-san, we are all here for you and would be delighted to help." Yeah. I came here to talk about business. So let's talk about business. If you want to swarm me afterwards, that's your affair. * Sakura nods encouragingly. ... fine. You can delay your fate, but you can't avoid it. * LadyMallet giggles. "Business, then." * Minami shoots Leena a quelling glare. * Rin swallows the last bit of her first sandwich half, and sips some tea to wash it down. * LadyMallet picks the sandwich back up- and grabs another. * Sakura flips a light switch, and points a remote at the projector. * Taki turns her attention towards the screen. On the screen, the image of a young, typical Lady pops up. * Kyouko puts down her book since it's too dark to read. ... man, it's been a while. * Rin keeps her hands down, so the glow doesn't interfere with her view of the screen. "It has." M. Well... It might be a stretch to say this is a protection job in the classical sense. But a protection job, it is. * Haruko mutters to herself about how its a nice change This is Nami - Lady Fork. What kind of protection? * Kyouko wonders she works with Lady Knife and Spoon. * Rin blinks, and takes a bite of her remaining sandwich half. * LadyMallet listens. * Sakura hits a button, and the image flips to an image of the girl in a relatively standard grey fuku, carrying a two-meter fork. How cute. You met her old partner, briefly. Once. ... ... * Kyouko remembers. ...Oh. * Rin nods, once. ... Well, there goes my good mood and cheer. Yeah. She's part of Princess Pie's old fiefdom, which I got stuck in charge of. A week ago, she mentioned to me that she thought someone was following her. Oh great... ...lovely. Hardhat? Oh no. * Rin sips tea. But it didn't sou- Mina, you're too good at this game. ... ... * Sakura flips the image again, and you see a grainy image of Lady Hardhat. She's got the hardhat on, and coveralls, with, maybe, her uniform under that. ... I've been needing to talk to her. So we got her picture but we couldn't catch her or order her down? * LadyMallet sighs. "Probably too late for an apology, but I need to at least try." Nami took this picture herself, yesterday. Ah. Do we have any confirmation if she went Princess? Because the attack on Handcuff's house was... big. * Minami rubs the bridge of her nose. There hasn't been any contact. From what Anzu has told me about her, she certainly has an upgrade, but we just don't know. How'd she got the shot? Or does Hardhat not care if she's seen? It would seem that the girl is just not terribly good at tailing people. Oh. Well that's something in our favor at least. * Minami suppresses a humorless snort. "Poor thing." * Rin hms as she takes another bite. I'm... somewhat busy in the next few days. So I really need you guys to look after her, and make sure there isn't, you know, a problem. Is there anyway we can get authority to order her down? * Minami scratches her chin. "Do we know anything else about her activities, or is that what we're supposed to do?" We can try. I'll give you appropriate orders to pass along. Do you think we should get them from the Queen herself? Just in case. It could be another situation like... that Lord. I've moved Nami into a hotel - you remember what happened to Anzu... I wanted to get her somewhere more public and away from her family. If she is not a Princess, I should be able to Order her. If she is... I was unable to affect the Orders left by another Lord; I will be unable to shake a Princess. Calling in the middle of the fight didn't turn out too well... ...and I cannot rely on Feral any longer, either, it seems. *muttered to herself* We don't have any spare Princesses to throw at the problem, either. ... you people at the palace are really stretched thin, aren't you. * Sakura grimaces at Mayuki. Aren't we all, these days? So it would seem. * Haruko mutters to herself about how if they concentrated on the things they were supposed to be doing, it wouldn't be an issue. Stretched thin, yes, but Her Majesty has ordered all the Princesses in for some conferences this week. It's planning stuff, not that leadership training shit like before, but this week is pretty well shot. And they can't spare even one for something important like this? Just so long as you don't make Leena a Princess or something. Sounds fun. *sounds sarcastic* ... * LadyMallet death-glares at Kyouko. Never. Hardhat is not... considered to be a top-level threat. Oh, come on. It's not as if we haven't had to deal with this kind of thing before. No Princess-level Order will make it more difficult, but we've dealt with difficult things before, too. Well, she isn't! Not like the other crap that's going down... and the Ningyo are up to something, too. I've got enough power. I don't need power over other people, or the trapping that come with it. Well I mean we can just pass on the orders right? We haven't seen one single attack in the city this month. * Minami nods at what Sakura and Mayuki say. * LadyMallet nods at Mayuki. "I know, it's creepy. I've been trying to find one. Any one." We just need her to stop fighting and let us take her in. Like I said, I'll leave you orders for that. Have there been other coastal attacks like at the base? No. I'm worried about what they are plotting. So, no information on what Hardhat does other than following Nami around all day? You're LOOKING for one, Leena? I was just suggesting it might be better to get the Queen to give us the order. So it has the extra authority and stuff... * LadyMallet blinks. "Yeah." It doesn't work that way - from your position, it doesn't matter whether it's me or the Queen. I've been thinking that maybe, I can talk to one. They're basically on suicide missions, right? If I can talk to one, calm it down... Bah. Well that's not helpful. Maybe we can actually open a line of communication, instead of fighting a mindless war. ... they aren't people. You can't reason with them. If she is a Princess, she could order us though. Well, I wish you luck. A couple of Ladies tried that some years ago... and here we still are. * LadyMallet eyes Haruko * Kyouko wonders if the ningyo use seashells as phones. What if they are? They aren't. Look past your own world, look past OURS for a second. What if they are? What could it hurt to try to talk to one? What’s the point in considering fantasy worlds? They aren't, and its our mission to destroy them. ... Lady Mallet, there is no point in arguing the point with her. Leena... don't... Talking to them is the path to corruption. ... ...Leena, this has nothing to do with Nami. I doubt it's that simple, Haruko. Nothing ever is. Can we not have this stupid argument again?! ... no, just Haruko being thick-headed. Leena! ... Are there any other details of this mission you wish to lay out for us, Sakura-sama? * Mayuki tries not to smile. Fine. I'm corrupt. Can you *focus* on something besides antagonizing your fellow team members for a few minutes? * LadyMallet shrugs. "If you want to write me off along with the rest of you world and live in your own little shell, go ahead and leave me out of it." Now shut up. If we see her and we can't order her down, do we have permission to take her down? * LadyMallet looks back at Sakura. Well... It's... not quite standard rules of engagement. I do want you to try to preserve her - she'd be a great ally. But I want you to protect yourselves first. What if she's going to get away if we don't act? That's the hard one, isn't it? You'll have to evaluate the situation, and make your own judgment. * Taki nods. So. We don't know anything more about Hardhat's whereabouts or activities? I really don't want to declare open season on a Lady. I think anything would be better than leaving her on the loose like she is... Has Nami mentioned when she's following her around, or is it all day or what? If she's turned against us, we can't allow sentimentality to stop us. ... * LadyMallet eyes Haruko. She's obviously in the Soka area. I think she may be tracking Nami full-time, but that's just a guess. We don't exactly have anyone who can subdue her without hurting her. * Minami nods. Well, that's not entirely true. If I can get the drop on her... * Minami nods at Taki. "And Haruko, chloroform is within your capabilities, right?" But you have to get near her first, and she's got her weird shield thing. Mm. She's a Lady. She can heal. Sentimentality is all that keeps us human. Emotions, feelings, instead of turning into mindless killing machines without feeling or regret for our actions. We should treat this as we would any other protection mission. Set up a rotating watch, and first deter, then detain. With only one, even a powerful one, our capability to detain non-lethally is considerably increased. * Haruko looks at Minami "That’s the knockout stuff, right?" * Minami nods. It probably is, but I'd need to study some for a while. Mm. ... hey, guys? Can I try to talk to her first? ... it's my fault she's where she is. nods. I need to apologize to her before I do anything. We can try. Be careful Mallet. * Minami gives Leena a weird look. "You may've hit her, but Pie's the one who made it necessary." I wish you luck, Leena-chan. *gently* ... yeah, but... just bear with me, okay? * Minami shrugs. Your choice. If that's all it takes, I want to try that. I really don't want to fight her unless it's absolutely necessary. Anyway, I'm going to give you Nami's phone number. She has orders to stay in the hotel today, but I want you to coordinate with her for tomorrow. She's in her school break, so there's some flexibility. * Minami nods. If I can transform, I will have Feral protect Nami-san for as long as possible. When that becomes unfeasible, one of you shall have to order it to detain Hardhat. * Rin nods, once. "Very well." I wish the Dragon Lord were well. * LadyMallet takes a deep breath, and sighs. I'm sure we can start of just a *bit* more subtly than that. He's always been good at protection. Well, he certainly did a good job for Leena. I'll stay on the watch for Hardhat then. You guys can work on protecting Fork. I don't know about that. I think we should really focus on Hardhat, with a minimal guard on Fork. What about Nami? * Haruko nods at Minami How good is she at taking care of herself? We know Hardhat's perfectly capable of attacking from a distance, and if we cluster around Fork with that kind of thing, we'll get hit too. Because she knows she's being followed, at least. What are Fork's powers? She... well, she's a lot more paranoid since Spoon bought it. * Rin finishes her sandwich, and sits back to listen to the others' ideas. * LadyMallet winces. It'd probably be better if Hardhat didn't even know we were there lest our presence scares her off. We know we can find Hardhat, since she'll be following Nami. If we can get an idea of what she does, we can stop her before she does something long-range. Clustering around Nami would probably make it really obvious that we're there, unless... * Minami eyes Haruko speculatively. And I think she's learned a few things from me. But she's still got some basic magical-girl instincts. She knows not to interfere with you, though. * Haruko looks at Mina I think we should conference call her and talk to her before we decide anything. * LadyMallet blinks. "Good idea." Yeah, but that's no reason not to start thinking up ideas. It might not even be safe to show up at her place if Hardhat is around and watching. Not for us. But...Hardhat doesn't know Haruko. And she may not know your untransformed states. Well... keep spread out, keep an eye on around ... Fork. * Minami nods. "Well, that too. But we're going to need someone transformed to stay in her vicinity no matter what, in case something comes up." She may have some range, but if she knows where Fork is, why hasn't she acted yet? She knew where Anzu was and took a while to act. Didn't ... Anzu get a call? Maybe she's waiting to see if she's loyal to Pie still? I was there when she assaulted Anzu's house. She might have seen me digging through the rubble. Yeah, Anzu got a call. To set -us- up. I think she's very alone, and confused, and unsure. I think it's better to pin down what she's about before we just assume she won't do anything. We still haven't figured out who her parents were. Can we tap Forks phone? * Minami waves a maybe-maybe-not hand at Haruko. "It *was* a long-range hit. Possible she may have come close up and seen you, but not definite." She waiting for something, obviously. Might be to say something to Fork, maybe timing it with something, maybe waiting to get more of her friends. Are you listening to me? I have Nami in a hotel. So then let's call her after the meeting. And then figure out where to go from there. * Rin tilts her head. Mm. * Sakura nods, and flips the lights back on. And I would guess Squeegee was here to talk about Junko? I'm here because Sakura said there was something you needed me for. Indeed, Mayuki-sama. I didn't quite understand it myself - Rin was being quite cryptic. * LadyMallet blinkblinks. Junko-san - Lady Goggles - has recently been evicted from her police protection. Her parents have, however, not. Well this was Rin's plan. I'll let her explain it. Ooh. I missed that twist. Then again, Morioka isn't returning my calls... * LadyMallet stands up. "... excuse me. I'll be in the kitchen." We're not supposed to be contacting him at all anymore. Really. That's part of the reason why. If the police know who we are we're gonna be taken in. He said if he needs us he'll contact us. Taki-san and I have arranged for Junko-san's continued private protection. *turns to Sakura* Morioka-san will not. His superiors have ordered him to break off ties with us and our kind, on accusations that we are concealing a fugitive. It's because of the Haga...thing. * LadyMallet gets up, and heads there. Her hands are very subtly shaking, in the moment between her getting up and her pressing her hands against herself. * Haruko shakes her head His last deed was to turn Junko-san over to our care, and to tell us of the ... situation ... with her parents. * Sakura thinks it over for a second. "Oh, there were cameras in that lobby?" * Rin nods, once. Apparently. I guess that would be something of a new scenario for them to deal with. I may have to drop in on him. Unannounced. The concern now is the potential use by unscrupulous government officials of Junko-san's parents as leverage against her, or our organization as a whole. I had not heard about that wrinkle. Did he say who ordered it? It is, quite obviously, a trap. And no, he did not, Mayuki-sama. I may have to sic some of my friends in the Diet on that. It's messing like hell with the stability of his position, I gather, or at least it could. * Rin holds up a hand. "Bear with me, if you will, Mayuki-sama. I believe I have found an excellent solution." Oh? We cannot, obviously, afford to send any magical girls to reacquire Junko-san's parents. The risks to their safety and identities, not to mention the public relations nightmare should the media hear of magical girls fighting police officers, are unacceptable. No question of that. However, the continued retention of Junko-san's parents is presumably being performed under the auspices of protecting them from those who sought to harm Junko-san ever since she has been outed as a Lady. Sure. I guess that would have to be the case. Therefore, it would be an equal public relations nightmare for our foes in the government should such forces happen to succeed in taking action against those under governmental protection. * Mayuki blinks. The public sympathies for Ladies and the ineptness of the government at protecting them will go a long way towards tying the hands of those who would paint our maintenance of our secret identities as something sinister. Instead, it will be seen, with proper spin, as the only rational means of keeping these heroic girls and their loving families safe. ...what? Rin, you're not suggesting we should use them as stalking- goats? * LadyMallet comes back out, looking rather flat, with her face wet, moments after the sounds of water splashing. She sits back down where she was, quietly, looking down at the floor. I'm sure we could find a way to reveal them to our enemies, but... that's awfully cold-blooded. * Rin smiles mysteriously. "Taki-san and I have negotiated with an organization that can most easily be mistaken for one that assassinates Ladies. They will spirit Junko-san's parents away, and make it appear ... however we wish it to appear." * Sakura frowns. * Taki looks at Rin uncomfortably. Sakura-sama, they are victims. I would not have them further victimized. They will be reunited with their daughter, and given perhaps the most secure protection possible against our enemies. Oh... I see. Steal them away, leaving the people who set this up holding the bag. Exactly. Exactly. *smiles* But, who exactly are we talking about doing this? Turnabout's fair play, or something of the sort. All the while, our hands remain perfectly clean. We could even arrange for demands of investigations into what happened to our poor comrade's family. Oh, that's why you were out of town... * Rin nods. * LadyMallet manages a faint smile, before it fades. * Haruko frowns, but stays silent. * Rin looks to Mayuki. "They are a people who greatly value their privacy. Moreso even than do we. However, I can vouch for their skill. As," she continues somewhat sardonically, "can their asking price." Oh? The expected price is roughly thirty million yen, after all expenses are covered. Thus, I propose we set up to milk this for all the PR you and your skilled associates can muster, Mayuki-sama. ...yeah. You haven't committed us to that already, have you? * Taki holds her breath, waiting for the reaction. I don't think it'd be in our best interests to turn them down after they've made such a generous offer to help us... I have not. Our contact awaits word that we shall pay in advance before bringing it up to those who make the ultimate decisions. However, it would be unwise in the extreme to accept their services and then fail to pay. Right. Rin, this is about as far as you can go without cuing me in. * Taki looks at Rin in a we should tell them sort of way. It's not polite to surprise your leader with fully-developed plans like this. At least we're planning. * Rin notes Taki's look and then turns to Sakura and bows. "My apologies, Sakura-sama. But I believe it is for Taki-san to detail any more than I have, for it would have been impossible to go this far without her aid." Right. It's a pretty good idea, on the whole. But I really need to know who exactly these people are before I'll consider finding the money. * Rin rises, and looks to Taki. * Mayuki looks at Taki as well. Um... *looks at Mayuki* * LadyMallet blinks, and looks up, and glances at Taki. Then goes back to staring at the floor. This doesn't go beyond this room. I don't think there will be a problem, Taki. And the Hierarchy has to know, eventually. ... *sighs* ...you know that. Especially in the long run. Mm. I can keep a secret. If it's something that it won't hurt to keep. ... They're my family. Most secrets hurt more to release, than to keep. Oh? We're um... a ninja clan, hundreds of years old. Yes, we do still exist. Huh. *puts the pieces together* Oh, so that's... *blinks* ...really ironic, isn't it? They can and will get this job done exactly as it needs to be. ... I guess. That's how you figured out who attacked Reaper's team so fast. That's the Junko lead that didn't go anywhere. ...and now they're going to rescue her parents? That's so perfect. Oh, yes. And if they make it look like, instead, they finished the job on the police's watch... ... Well Rin's the one that thought of it... Ninja, huh? I guess that fits you, too. Okay. I can dig the money out of a slush fund, and launder it a little, but it'll take a couple of days. Someone once told me that one must use available resources to their fullest. *smiles mysteriously at Mayuki* Yeah, that's a pretty common speech recently. * Rin bows. "Thank you, Mayuki-sama. Taki-san and I shall contact them and request that they make the arrangements." * Minami snorts. "Probably because there isn't much else *but* those resources..." Thank you. Magical girls hiring ninja. Too weird. Pretty soon we'll be joining the police, or contracting with the zaibatsu or something. ... hey, Sque... *frowns, and falls silent.* * Mayuki shakes her head, but smiles. ... nevermind. What? * Rin chuckles at Mayuki's last comment. * Minami snorts and nods. Come on, Leena, what is it? * LadyMallet makes an effort to not look so despondent. "... I forgot what I was going to say." * Taki just shakes her head. * LadyMallet gets up, and heads back to the kitchen. Whatever. Okay, Rin, let me know where the money needs to go. Just let us know when you have it ready. I will see to it, Mayuki-sama. * Sakura smiles fondly at the group. "You kids are coming along nicely. And you have such interesting contacts, already." * Minami gives Sakura a half-grin. "Thanks." Yeah... Certainly they're doing better than Her Majesty assumed they would. They've turned into real stars. ...Rin is even glowing. Rin, why ARE you glowing? They're ... They're not tools though. They're only going to help you if you're willing to pay the cost. That...is a side effect of an encounter with a very unusual form of Earth magic. We are looking into the causes. Thus far, it seems to have no effects beyond providing my own personal night light. Well, it makes it less of a power drain to read in bed, then? * Norcliff pops out from under the couch. It wasn't Earth Magic. Oh, and speaking of which, I got something back from the Agency. * Rin raises an eyebrow and looks to the little guy. "Oh?" They don't know what caused it, but analyzing it, they think its harmless. Aren't sure when or if it will wear off though. Rin... maybe you should go see Purity. Yeah, it can't be... good for your personal life. I would...prefer not to. Especially not when I am going to need Darkmoon's power in the upcoming mission. If this continues to go nowhere, I will consider it. I just don't want it to become a distraction. I have until April before I must attend school again. As distasteful as it is, I can utilize my male transformation to get around in public without raising any eyebrows. He does not glow. And your family - oh, that's right. They live out of town. They do. I second the seeing Purity... ... * Norcliff holds a hushed conversation with Haruko ... she's not gonna do any good. The problem is, the way things go, I don't know if it would *ever* be convenient for you to see her, as far as the powers thing goes. Since we're pretty much constantly on call. She's helped with some... strange things that have happened to others. They didn't lose their powers at all, except for maybe they were a little more draining to use for a day. It would facilitate things if Haruko could arrange for her friend Young to show himself, but that seems to be beyond her capabilities at the moment. He's not my friend. I'd never seen him before that night. Friend of a friend, then. I'm not sure he was really the Dragon Lord's friend either... but its not really important. Haruko can't do anything useful for you. Why even bother asking? * Rin does not reply. ... * Minami sighs, rubbing her temples. Right. Well, maybe I'd better move on. I wouldn't want to let my presence here inhibit your... debate. Only a day, huh? Sounds worth it. And it has some certainty to it--just waiting to see what happens might just complicate things. * Haruko just sighs at Taki * Minami looks up at Mayuki. "Actually, before you go, there was sort of something I thought I might ask you and Sakura about, if you have a moment." In private, probably. Oh? * Minami nods. Do not trouble yourself, Mayuki-sama. Your presence is no burden. ...if you'll excuse me, I should clean the dishes. If some of you girls would help me? *looks at everyone who isn't Minami or a Princess* Well, I suppose we can adjourn to my office and- * LadyMallet stalks back in, grabs her textbook, and stalks back into the kitchen. * Taki eyes Mina before moving with Rin into the kitchen. The door to the front cracks open, and the Secretary sticks her head through. "Excuse me, there's an American here, and he... knows about... you know." ...or, that can wait. * Minami looks at the Secretary. "Is he in a uniform of some sort?" She shakes her head no. "He said you'd met him, though." We should transform... ...excuse me a moment. *puts down the tray she brought into the kitchen and steps into an area that gives her some space, pulling out the Tessen* Right. Well, I suppose we can give him an audience... * Taki transforms, keeping he clothes. * Sakura transforms in a shower of blossoms. * Minami nods and moves out of the way to transform on the spot without hitting anyone. * Minami transforms in a shower of playing cards. 8D * Rin does her standard transformation sequence; the purple moon seems to be waning again. When done, Lord Darkmoon changes his clothes into a simple blue t-shirt with blue jeans. * LadyMallet is already transformed, and out of sight in the kitchen, anyways. * Mayuki doesn't even get up to do it. * Haruko transforms in the corner, a few seconds after her transformation finishes, the lovely bruise she had been sporting has vanished. * LadyHeat transforms in a mild burst of steam which wets the floor slightly. The secretary nods, and opens the door as everyone finishes transforming. * Lord_Darkmoon eyes his Katana, as if surprised it's in that form, and flicks it back to Tessen form. Ah. I seem to have interrupted a conference or something. * Civilian bows. "Princesses. Ladies." * LadyRoyal nods cordially to the man. "Hello." Hi. * LadyMallet peeks her head in. New guy? Ah, the man with no name. How nice to not meet you again. * Lord_Darkmoon raises an eyebrow at being excluded, but bows in greeting anyway. "Good day, sir." Long time no see. You're not interrupting much. We were just finishing. Not that long. We've been busy. * LadyRoyal eyes him. "So, I'm pretty sure you're not here for pleasure. What's the business?" Well, there have been a few developments. Such as? * Civilian pulls a thick envelope from under his coat. "I think I should explain a few things, first." * LadyRoyal raises an eyebrow. "Oh?" Have a seat, and go ahead. * LadyMallet frowns, and walks back into the room, textbook held in one hand. * Civilian nods gravely at Lady Royal. "We've been watching you, Lady Royal. Have been ever since we, uh, made contact with you." ... I figured as much. * LadyRoyal takes a seat relatively across from the civilian. "And?" It was pretty obvious that you were being used as bait, so we decided to watch for anyone who was, uh, sniffing around you. We kept out of your team's sight, which wasn't so hard - you are... amateurs, though good ones. Except for that Mits-chan girl. She scares my men. * LadyRoyal sniffs softly. It's hard to tell whether that was agreement or disagreement. * LadyNightshade can't help but be a little proud of Mitsu for that. ... oh, hell. We also have been watching some other girls who survived Takeuchi Memorial and did not go into hiding. They, too, should have been investigated by the... Tokko. Mm. It's been hard to separate out the media inquiries from the real suspicious stuff, but it looks like we have some definite hits in the last few days. * LadyRoyal scratches her nose. "On me or the other girls?" ... wait, what? Both - that's what really twigged us to it, that two of the same people were nosing around you and some of your classmates. * LadyRoyal touches her lip briefly. "Is one of them a nurse and the other a poker player?" Is the information on them in the folder? The poker guy, yeah. We had someone on your father that night and saw that. A nurse? We know your mother is hospitalized, but we hadn't seen anything strange there. Mm. Then who's the other? The other has been interviewing - very obliquely - your neighbors. * LadyRoyal raises an eyebrow and, very neutrally, looks around at the other girls before turning back to the civilian. "I see." Yeah, we did find a dossier on the "poker guy". And...? * LadyMallet frowns some more, and pales a bit. * Civilian pulls out about half of the papers in the envelope. "Another military type, it looks. A little more straitlaced than our other friend, but also from a very traditional family. He is officially retired from the SDF, but had worked for a year or two as a bodyguard to the Emperor before he dropped out of sight. * LadyRoyal nods to herself. Oh. My. So same thing as that other guy. * LadyRoyal mutters something about 'fitting the profile.' ... Yes... and we did more research into him as well. He had a number of friends... * LadyMallet rubs her head. * LadyRoyal listens intently. * Civilian pulls out a half-dozen other single sheets - more compressed than the other full dossiers but still rather informative - with pictures of different men. * LadyRoyal peers at them, upside-downly if necessary. * LadyNightshade looks over at them to see if she can recognize anything. You're my hero. * Lord_Darkmoon steps over and looks, too. ...who were seconded to the Imperial Management Agency before disappearing. Exactly like him. * LadyRoyal quirks her eyebrows at Taki for a second, then goes back to paying attention to the civilian. "IMA, eh?" And they... well, we're still following the chain. But it certainly looks like the Emperor's keepers are recruiting for your enemies. * LadyRoyal sits back with a whuff of breath. "Huh." * Lord_Darkmoon 's expression darkens. ... man, this day just keeps getting better and better. Interesting, but certainly nothing out of the scope of our suspicions. Well... yes and no. Unless you have m--oh? So what can we do about it? I think we should let him tell us all he has before we start asking questions. * Civilian pulls out one last picture from his envelope. This one is of an old man - he is balding or has shaved his head, and has a sort of rigid authority about him that oozes from the photo. * LadyRoyal frowns. * LadyNightshade studies it carefully. Who is it? * LadyHeat looks at it. * LadyMallet gravitates closer, drawn to the picture. "... he looks important." Mmhm. A little research on the Imperial Management Agency will tell you that this man, Seiji Sato, is in charge of it. * LadyRoyal snorts. "I wouldn't have expected much less." Of the IMA, or the recruiting? Or both? The IMA, 'cause I'm guessing they're subtle enough so you can't find that out with casual research. Although, all things considered, he probably *is* in charge of recruiting. * LadyRoyal looks up at the man. "Am I right?" What casual research will not tell you is that he changed his name after the war. That he used to be one Masanori Sato, who was once a young Lieutenant in the Tokko. The OLD Tokko. ...I see. * LadyRoyal raises both eyebrows. "Mm." ... fun. Fantastic. * LadyMallet glances over at Sakura. He kept a low profile through the Occupation, then joined the IMA when he was secure in his new identity. He has risen slowly through the ranks of the bureaucracy there, and now has the budget and the authority and the respect that... well... ... he sounds driven. ... is he a fanatical zealot, too? * PrincessSakura is staring at the photo with interest. One hand is stroking the butt of her pistol at her waist. That he needs to do, basically, everything that's been done by this group of antagonists. * LadyRoyal glances at Leena. "Someone from the old Tokko? Would have to be, at least to some degree." ... any idea what his beef is against us MGs? I don't know if the canned message from TM is the real story or not. It is, if he truly is of the 'old Tokko' mindset. It makes him no less a fool, but perhaps he is an honest one. * Lady_MakeBelieve is sitting in the corner, not willing to waste her time on this nonsense. * LadyNightshade looks up at Sakura, but not yet speaking. He has a reputation as a cold, precise authoritarian. No one knows what he does in his personal time. Under his direction, his agency has made the Imperial Family's life... uncomfortable - you've heard of the comments the Emperor has made to the media, right? * LadyMallet glances at Squeeg. "... can you draw someone like him out into the open with your, uh, influence?" ...his behavior is... For one who claims to respect the Emperor, he has done much to harm the Rising Sun's ability to rule. *is looking at the picture with a face that is oozing hatred through a calm mask* I... well, the IMA gets its way with EVERYTHING. * LadyMallet is looking at it steadily, with almost a detached boredom. Maybe tiredness. They have the authority which the Emperor nominally has. More, even. ... it's so disappointing. If this is one of the guys behind all of this... ... it's so meaningless. Why? Why all this hurt and pain and blood and death and fear? From just some old fart? But they're bureaucrats, so it's all behind the scenes. I don't know how they could be "drawn out" at all. ...I will look into this, Princess. * LadyRoyal snorts. "Who were you expecting, exactly?" This blasphemy and greed and abuse of power will not go unpunished. Sometimes I envy Make Believe and the unshakable foundation of her beliefs. Do they need to be drawn out? They just need to be dealt with. We will continue research, but this is about as far as we can really go. This is getting awfully close to interfering with a friendly government, and if we were exposed... * LadyRoyal nods. "Of course." ... drawn out, to like a restaurant, or something. * Lord_Darkmoon rests a hand on the civilian's shoulder. "I understand. And thank you." For a meeting, or a casual lunch. Will the US government accept us dealing with the situation in our own way? Unless you have more, or a request for us, you may not wish to be present for the remainder of the conversation, sir. ... yeah. *blink* Hell, I'm scared of what you will do with this information. You decapitated Haga, just for annoying you badly - if this is your real enemy... We can not know anything about this. So we will react as we do not. Haga did more than annoy us badly. * LadyRoyal rubs her temples. "Riiight, Leena. Because...eliminating him as a threat...after a public invitation wouldn't damage relations or anything at ALL, would it? It's not as though we've already got any problems with executing people traced back to us or anything." We are Japanese. We will handle this as it should be handled. You, of course, have nothing to do with our internal affairs. He doesn't need to know our reasons. * LadyRoyal nods to the civilian. "We understand." ... thanks for the information. Is there anything else? Ladies... perhaps we should not discuss such unpleasant topics with our casual guest and good friend present. It is quite rude. Um... Is there anyway we can have to contact you personally, should we require your assistance further? ...or should we uncover anything your people would wish to know? Or will you be leaving soon as well? If you make yourselves outlaws, we will not be able to shelter you. But we will remember your... help in these matters. I will be around, as will Captain Wallace. Contact him, if you need anything. * LadyMallet grins a little, fangily. "Dead girls can't be outlaws." With all due respect, there are some things that Wallace doesn't need to be involved in. * LadyRoyal tilts her head towards him. "I see." I... personally, I will pray for your survival. If there are Ningyo out there, then we will need you. ....hah. Well, thank you. * LadyNightshade sighs. ... prayer isn't needed. Just... knowing that there are people who care about us to help us is more than enough for us to survive. You may keep the papers I brought, but please ensure that they will not be captured. Yes. It is nice, to know we are appreciated. And...*grins* what papers? Right. * Civilian goes to the door. "Good luck. Good... hunting." * LadyRoyal stands. "Yeah. Best of luck to you, too." * LadyMallet waves. * LadyRoyal gives him a salutey-wavey-thing. ... I hope to hear from you again soon. * Civilian ducks out. ... Sakura, you look rather eager. * PrincessSakura starts, yanking her hand away from her gun. Sakura, you know I can get to him. Oh, I WANT him. But... * LadyMallet grins not-nicely. "So, if you want dibs on him, I'll let you do it." Well, then. We need him at least for information. We need to know more about what's happening. ... Oh, I highly doubt it's that simple. He's been doing this for how long? And has how much of an organization set up? I reiterate my original position, when the alignment of our foes became clear. We need the Emperor on our side. Fuck information. He's going to die once we get to him. If we simply kill him, we'll just end up with a hydra's nest of little underground cells, all with 'proof' that we're against their beliefs." And that organization would be able to use his death against us. At that point, they won't *have* to sneak around any more. People will be lining the streets to pick us off. .... no. No! *blink back tears* Why can't we just win this!? Who cares what they can prove? We're on the right side. * LadyRoyal snorts. Because, despite Haruko's delusions, evil does not reside in the heart of a single mastermind, but in all the cells of his cadaverous corpse. He gave us a whole list of people we can make disappear. * Lord_Darkmoon was responding to Mallet's statement, and sounded sad, but determined. This has been going on how long, and we finally have a name, a target, and we STILL have to hold back? So we're just going to have to spend all our lives facing this fire again and again and again? Because you can't curb the urge for instant gratification? What good is being right if you can not enjoy being right after you do something about it? .... it's... god, I hate this. * LadyRoyal nods at Mayuki. Enough! We do not need to attack each other over this. We must address this calmly. Rationally. Princess Squeegee, I believe that our Queen should find a means of meeting privately with the Emperor. That's going to be hard. Then do nothing. We're more than capable of acting independently. ...if this Sato is what we think he is, it's impossible. The IMA will always be around him, won't they? Yes. But not impossible. I will look into things from my own ... position. Wait, impossible? Impossible - they control everything - EVERYTHNG - that happens around and to the Imperial family. But they are still...human. If he can never be brought around to our side and will only hinder us and Japan itself then he doesn't deserve to live. True, Nightshade. But his death must be brought about in a manner most helpful to us. ... as long as it ends with him dead. His death should be swift and immediate so he can cause us no further harm. * LadyMallet blinks, focusing. "What do we need to do to get to him?" It's for the best he's alive for now. Now we have a head to wrestle with, instead of an endless thrashing body of assassins. How many more Ladies must die before it becomes justified? * Lord_Darkmoon smiles, viciously. "Oh, it will. Painfully. He will be denied the honor of Seppuku, and slain for a coward before all the world." If we throw that away, we're back to square one. The killings won't stop. ... we need to know why. They might even increase. And we need to know how to stop the whole process, not just the head. They're not going to act on their own! They won't last! We can beat the assassins. They'll reveal themselves to be the traitors they are once the head has been removed. Yes, Taki. If the leaders of your ninja clan died, would not your clan simply melt away and continue elsewhere, with new leadership? He is evil; he is our enemy. But now, he is a KNOWN enemy. Oh, aren't they? I think you misjudge them. You've seen what they do. They're trained by someone from the old Tokko, if nothing else. He's the one protecting them though. And organizing. Our only hope of breaking the organization up and removing their undying hatred of us is to have the Emperor himself declare that we are not the traitors. Sato is. And he won't be the only one to hold his position, either the official or the unofficial one. So. We need to get to the Emperor. * PrincessSakura sits back and sighs. The Emperor will not help us! Not right now. You're over estimating his authority, Rinada. If, in the aftermath, the Emperor were on our side, it would help with the public relations. Do we have anybody who can get to the Emperor beforehand? Anyone at all? ...but I don't see how we can possibly reach him. Any contacts over there? If its really just a question of *getting* to him, couldn't Lady Chopsticks teleport us there? Fine. You worry about that. I will find him and end his life. Any of us magical girls who can communicate with him? If I can get within a kilometer of the emperor while the man is alone, I can attempt to have an animal communicate with him. That's something. It's possible. It's not impossible. * Lady_MakeBelieve goes back to her notebook, since everyone seems content to ignore her suggestion. As I said, the IMA are humans. Many well-organized humans, but humans. Hell, we can always fight our way in. Taki, you will NOT go and assassinate him. * PrincessSakura makes that an Order. She's obviously not happy that she needs to. We've got plenty of options if we just storm in to talk to the Emperor. Public, and guaranteed to ruffle a few feathers without knowing beforehand if the Emperor will side with us. ... ...Princess, I wish you wouldn't be so free with those. That's not a very good idea. Why the fuck not?! I'd hardly call this free. Did you listen to what she said? They're always there Leena. * LadyRoyal rubs her forehead. "If your impatience and revenge-lust is the better of your common sense, you can go ahead and *try*. If you care more about instant gratification than really ending this, not just killing someone and *hoping* that it will end it, fine. If you want us to be openly attacked and gunned down in the streets because you couldn't control yourself and think of the long term? It's on your head. But we, as a whole--all the MGs can't afford for you to do that." ... we can off the guy, and talk to the Emperor later, too. That's a better option, I think, if we can get any kind of communication... It's one thing to throw away your life and reputation. It's another thing to do it for everyone else. ... can we discredit the IMA, or Sato? Only with the Emperor's help. It may come to that. It may. But you do not get to decide it for all of us. Without the emperor? We won't be hunted down because we're in the right and if they want to start a fucking war over it then it's on them. Sato might be easier, right? but the IMA is too powerful. We must, absolutely MUST, get him to denounce the IMA. And, if needs be, help him do just that. Yeah, but we're the ones who'll be dying for it. And it's not worth dying for? Not stupidly. You know they've been watching you! You saw them in the same room with your own mother! ...what? You just want that to continue? That nurse you mentioned. That nurse I mentioned has nothing to do with this. What if Sato suddenly decides she's no longer necessary? Way to jump on scraps without considering what they are. * LadyRoyal raises her eyebrows. "What if you run off and kill him, and they decide to kill her in retaliation?" ...Minami. They won't because no one will be alive to MAKE that decision. All of you, calm down. You can't kill them all because you don't know where they all are. * LadyMallet grins. "... calm. Calm as an iceberg." * Lord_Darkmoon walks over to her, and rests a hand on her shoulder. "Minami, we won't let anything happen to her. I won't. I promise." * PrincessSqueegee has been looking though the papers, and frowns. * LadyNightshade grumbles. What is it? * LadyRoyal bats Darkmoon's hand away. This is so fucking stupid to just sit on this. Something... that I need to check. * Lord_Darkmoon stands there, letting his hand drop to his side. Are we going to at least find out if he's been contacting the ningyo? * LadyRoyal glances over at Mayuki. "What?" He almost certainly has. It is the why we must discover. Later. Ah. Is there a connection between the Ningyo, Hitachi/2osen, and him? SHUT UP. All of you. .. Fucking money and power and protecting his fucked up view of the world, what other reason is there? ... * LadyMallet crosses her arms. * PrincessSakura rubs her forehead with the base of each hand. * Lord_Darkmoon turns to regard the Princess with an upraised eyebrow and a bit of irritation. Okay. I would love to go run this guy down. Right now. But if I do that - if WE do that, what comes next? It would be a declaration of war. * LadyRoyal nods definitively. We haven't been fighting one already? Yeah, there already is one. But they don't know that we know what they are. * LadyMallet repeats that, slowly, to herself, frowning. They know how to draw us out though. And if we do let them know, then they will pull out ALL the stops. What happens when they find out about the Palace? How many girls, do you know, do they think might be Ladies? ... that probably have innocent girls mixed in with them? * Lord_Darkmoon nods in agreement with Sakura. If I were them, if our leader were assassinated, I would kill every single possible target. Immediately. Exactly. They'd just bomb the Palace. Well we have a list of some of their members. Let's do the same to them. First. * LadyRoyal sits back and lets Sakura say what she said. We must paralyze the body before crushing the head, lest the death throes slay us all. * LadyRoyal snorts. Not enough to completely wipe them out. If we strike first, we need to finish it. Then and there. There'd be no better way to draw them out than killing the head. * Lord_Darkmoon nods at Mallet. If we're then prepared to defend ourselves. We need to find a way to do this. But for damned sure we are not going to figure it out in one afternoon. Besides they've already attacked every single lady they know of. The only reason they haven't tried anything lately is because they can't find any of us. And we are not going to do it without consulting with Her Majesty. Of course not. ... how are the Palace's info-gathering capabilities? * PrincessSqueegee is smiling fondly at the group now, having put the papers away. Anywhere near good enough to use to root them out? We have... friends. But this is not the sort of thing our friends will be good for. * LadyMallet nods. "Guessed as much. Not enough there to use, or count on." Aren't there any spy MGs like Lady I Can Hear Through Walls or something? So then what are we going to do about it right now, _Princess_? * LadyRoyal snorts at Taki. ... Taki. *blink* ... look, we need to figure out how to do this right. There's too many ways to mess this up. What we're going to do about it right now, LADY, is think it over. You, in particular, can think it over while protecting another Lady. ... Fine. Why should anything change... ... everything's changed, now. We've got a name, a direction, a goal. We know where to go, we're not just shooting at the dark anymore. And now that we know how to do that, we can figure out how to win this, once and for all. Well, where we want to end up, at least. * LadyNightshade goes over to the computer and pages through the data on Lady Fork, since she's had enough of this. ... I think we just got once chance at this before it all goes to hell. If we mess it up, you think what we're doing now is bad? It'll be worse. Every school will be Takeuchi. * LadyRoyal runs a hand over her face and snorts. "Oh, you'd be surprised how much worse things are always capable of getting." And we won't be the good guys anymore. We'll just be one side of the crossfire that'll tear apart this country. Or how much worse we'll allow them to get before we do anything about them. Taki... I know how you feel. There is walking down a set of stairs and there is jumping off a roof. If this country won't accept us then we should find one that will. Dammit, Taki, I know it's ironic for me to say this, but use your head. Slaying Sato would be cathartic. It would be just. I want to just bust in there and beat the hell out of him. I really, really do. * LadyRoyal shakes her head and turns to Sakura and Mayuki. "So...still have time for that private talk?" It would be suicidal. And I hate that. I want his blood on my katana. I want to do to him as I did to Haga, only worse. But it won't work. That's selfish. Remember our ultimate goal? It would be a goddamn step in the right direction. It's to protect the MGs. * PrincessSqueegee laughs. "Sakura, you were right. I admit it. You were absolutely right." Not kill on sight. No. It would be a step into a hornet's nest with a nuclear tripwire hidden beneath it. * Lord_Darkmoon turns at that. "Right about what, Princess?" * LadyRoyal raises her eyebrows. * Lady_MakeBelieve snorts If we go there and bust his head in, we'll be painting a target on everyone suspected of being an MG. Just stop it okay? Leave me alone. I know you don't care. You don't have to rub my face in it. * PrincessSakura blushes. .... god, Taki. What's this? * LadyHeat zoned out when everyone started arguing. Sakura was telling me how proud she was of all of you, that you all weren't magical girls any more. * LadyMallet stops, and turns, slowly, to -eye- Squeegee. Some of us never technically were, entirely. *sardonically* Yeah right. I'm the best there is, and I'm not gonna give that up for nothing. ...oh, this sounds like it'll be interesting. You're NORMALLY a girl, and you're magical. You count. * Lord_Darkmoon winces. "Fair enough." Just you wait till this is over. I'm gonna be famous world-wide! ^__^v * LadyMallet twirls, and POWERPOSES. Wait, I wanna hear this. Her point was that you didn't think like them - didn't act like them. And that it was a good thing. What, caring about people? And wanting justice? * LadyNightshade blushes a bit at that in spite of herself. * LadyHeat glances at Haruko. And you know what? You don't - trust me, I've met too many. And it's a good thing. Fighting the good fight for the sake of the world, protecting your friends? I'd like to think I'm trying hard to fit that. * LadyRoyal listens. And acting like brainless twits the whole time. Gods, I hate our cultural programming. * LadyRoyal rolls her eyes at Leena, but still listens. Consider, Lady Mallet, that Princesses Purity and Majestic Tiara are 'magical girls' in the colloquial sense. ... oh, that. *blinks* I'm glad we're not like that. And yet they get to be in charge. ... bloodshed'll do that to a girl. I'm sure you'll be able to deal with this, too. Anyway, what - oh, Minami. You were going to ask me and Sakura something? And so do Squeegee and Sakura. Which just goes to show, you know, no standards these days. * LadyRoyal smirks. Leena, but we think. Oh, right. Well, we TRY. * LadyMallet almost stops Heat- then nods. "... yeah. I try to. ^_^;" Can we go...somewhere else for this? ...come, we should get back to those dishes. *starts herding people out of the room to leave Sakura, Squeegee, and Royal alone. * LadyHeat picks up her manga and heads out. * PrincessSakura gets up and opens a side office. * PrincessSqueegee follows. * LadyRoyal follows. The door closes solidly behind the three of them. * PrincessSakura raises an inquisitive eyebrow at Minami. * LadyRoyal takes a deep breath. "So." Um, as you know, I was late to today's meeting--sorry again, by the way--because I was in the hospital with my mother. How's she doing? Really? So, uh, a few days ago, I got a call here from them...she had a seizure. Leena, leave them some privacy, damn it! * PrincessSakura blinks. * PrincessSqueegee giggles. "Sorry." * LadyRoyal takes another deep breath and...frowns in the direction of the door. She lowers her voice and puts her poker face on. Leena, it's not nice to listen at doors. * LadyMallet shakes her head, shooing Taki away. LISTEN. * LadyMallet mutters, then yells through the door. "... FINE! REMEMBER WE TRUST YOU TOO, MINAMI!" *stomp* Go help Rin with the dishes. Don't make them order you. * LadyRoyal snorts. * PrincessSakura shakes her head. "Oi. Anyway. Seizure?" * LadyNightshade grumbles something about immature children and goes back to looking through the computer files. * LadyRoyal rolls her eyes and continues, blunter, lower-voiced. "Yeah. They want to move her up the transplant list. There's a...possibility that she could have a donor, that's not a problem." The problem is...the same one we've always had. The money. Oh. * LadyRoyal eyes the Princesses. "Yeah. I know what with this ninja kidnapping project we're already asking a lot of you." Ah. ...we at the Palace sometimes forget that not everyone has such a gilded life. And I know you're already giving my family a lot just for the hospitalizations. * PrincessSakura shakes her head. "I can't make that decision. My budget is stretched right now, though I can help out of my personal allowance, maybe..." It's just, we don't...we're not really in a position to be able to do it any other way. The hospital gave us some loan forms, but... * PrincessSqueegee sits down on a swivel chair. This is going to be something we need to deal with eventually. It's not fair that we only compensate Princesses. * LadyRoyal sighs and looks aside, muttering. "....hate begging...." Do we have the resources to really pay all the Ladies, though? No, not really. Not and grow what we have. Not yet. * PrincessSqueegee grimaces. "It's not fair, but the Hunters really are essential right now." And this wouldn't hurt us that badly. But it's a precedent... * LadyRoyal starts to look discouraged, but tries a last tack, putting her chin up. "And you can't deny that my service in the name of the Queen has been worthy." * PrincessSqueegee twirls her seat around, once, twice, thinking things through. I know all of us girls deal with hard stuff, ningyo and the like. But we're the only team like us. And... * LadyRoyal frowns. "It might not be...a good idea to keep my mother in that hospital any more in any case. I'm not sure." We'll do it. * PrincessSqueegee raises a hand to stop Mina. * LadyRoyal looks up, shell-shocked. We'll do it, but... in return, you're going to have to commit to work full time for us. Not now - not with all this going on - but in the future. * LadyRoyal looks cautious. "....how...so?" In what, ah, capacity? I don't know. But you can see that the Hierarchy is moving more and more towards the point where we'll be interacting with the rest of the world. Someday, we'll be public. Someday we Someday, we'll be public. Someday we're going to need Ladies to be our public front. Or help me with the financial end of things. Or work as an aide to a Princess. Or many, many other things. * LadyRoyal nods once, very slowly, like her neck's a creaky old hinge. "I...see." * PrincessSakura snerks. "There will always be something useful a Lady can do. Even if it's as a lab rat to trade to the Americans." * PrincessSqueegee looks askance at Sakura. "You're kidding." * LadyRoyal twitches at that. "Sounds more like Leena's thing to me." I was talking with Wallace after the bombing... they would pay... well, nevermind. When would this...thing...go into effect? Regardless, this wouldn't be anything menial, or degrading, or that you would find badly objectionable. And I don't know when it would start. * LadyRoyal nods, a bit more easily now. She hehs. "Well, it's not as though I had any concrete plans after this...is over, anyway." And you would be paid, too. But I can't hand out millions of yen without knowing that you will return that value, someday. * LadyRoyal nods, an odd twist to her lips. "Of course." How long would...well, I suppose I can't ask that, either. Or rather that it wouldn't be known yet. I don't know. I will stipulate not longer than ten years, but I have no idea where things will lead. * LadyRoyal nods. Do we have a deal? * LadyRoyal pauses for a bit, thinking things over, then takes another deep breath and nods conclusively. "...yes. Yes, we do." * LadyRoyal goes into a deep bow, snitched from Rin's book. "Thank you, Princesses." * PrincessSakura eyes Squeegee with considerable respect. "Tricky how you just stole her from me." * LadyRoyal straightens up and snerks. "Yeah, but you've got me for the remainder of whatever this is, don'tcha?" You have too many good helpers already, Sakura. Right, right... * PrincessSqueegee turns to Minami. "I'll authorize the transfers to the account that is paying for your mother's hospitalization. All you need to do is tell hospital billing that the money is coming from the same place." * LadyRoyal nods. "I will. Thank you...thank you." * PrincessSakura hugs Mina. Squeegee just ducks out. I'll call later, Sakura. There's a lot to discuss. Of course. * LadyRoyal hugs Sakura back, a little awkwardly. * LadyRoyal then turns away from both Princesses and takes a moment to breathe a shaky sigh, wiping water from her eyes. [end session]