Meduka 1.05: Fate works overtime

[20:01] <&Genshuku> THE YEAR IS 20XX
[20:01] <&Genshuku> EVERYONE PLAYS FOX.
[20:03] <MisaoMidorikawa> "[Radio edit] you.  Marth is better," Misao counters.  Where was this voice coming from?
[20:04] <&ApatheticForestFairy> (Pls to no breaking the 4th wall)
[20:04] <&Genshuku> And over here, we have a proud member of those trying to stop the Fox apoalypse. Good job. ...Aaaaannyway!
[20:05] <MisaoMidorikawa> Realizing that the voice was all in her mind, Misao shakes her head, as if it would drive it away.
[20:09] <&Genshuku> Fate knew better than to sit on its laurels, in the year 2015, in the city of Mae, which is part of an island reigon. Even if the previous day of recruiting was a success, magical girls are always ever in short supply, and the threat grows ever stronger. Weak youma seem to have ceased to be, pushing newcomers ever harder...and that usually doesn't end up well. But still, the fight rages on. It must. And so, Fate arrives in front of the window of Misao's room, calling out with a voice that isn't audible from his position, but yet resonates in Misao's mind, definitely heard.
[20:09] <&Genshuku> "Excuse me? May I have a moment?"
[20:10] <&Genshuku> If the blinds/curtains/whatever are open, she'll find a white rabbit with a gear in its head, staring directly at her!
[20:11] <MisaoMidorikawa> "What in the-  Who are you?" she unexpectedly wakes up to some sort of rabbit on the window.
[20:12] <MisaoMidorikawa> In futility, Misao rubs her eyes, hoping that this was not real, or that she was given a hallucinogen.
[20:15] <&Genshuku> It was definitely real, whether or not she liked to admit it! Whether she would actually recognize it as real anyway...is a different story. "I am called a tsukaima, and I have a proposition. ...But I would rather not expend my energy talking to you through a window, so could you let me in?"
[20:16] <MisaoMidorikawa> "I... um, y-yes," she nods, letting the... thing... come in.  This was not her day today, was it?
[20:19] <&Genshuku> On the window being opened, it hops in the room! It eventually hops onto Misao's bed before fully coming to rest! "...Before I begin, I'll note that you seem troubled. Rest assured, you aren't going crazy, hallucinating, whatever have you, even if what I'm about to say may seem...unreal to you. ...Unless it's something else?"
[20:21] <MisaoMidorikawa> "N-no, it's not something else," the girl shakes her head, and seems to have recovered somewhat from the initial shock of the rabbit thing.
[20:23] <MisaoMidorikawa> So this was real.  Great.
[20:25] <&Genshuku> "Then, I'll continue. Before I make these unrealistic claims, I ask you to think about the state of the city you're in right now. Buildings destroyed, people missing, and you haven't thought about any of it in the least." This claim, dubious as it would sound, strikes a chord. You never really HAVE thought about this stuff! Not even a little. And...neither has anyone else. It's DEFINITELY been happening, and you probably know a few people that would care about this sort of thing, but the subject never so much as came up EVER. Only now do you feel like a fog has been lifted, and you're able to see the world as it is. It's...probably a very freaky thought!
[20:29] <MisaoMidorikawa> "What?" Misao gasps, taken aback. "I... no, come to think of it, I should have given those things some thought.  It shouldn't be happening..."
[20:34] <&Genshuku> "And this, I can explain. The source of your lack of thought is the ability shared by all youma, terrifying creatures capable of massive destruction, and their aim seems to be naught but to destroy. Due to their power, normal humans cannot actually grasp the actions they do, even when they have really real effects. The only ones that can stop the youma...are magical girls, and you have the potential to become one!"
[20:35] <MisaoMidorikawa> "Magical girls?" Oh no, she was going to become one of those-  No, not while she had a say in it!  But if she didn't do anything to stop it, then who else would?
[20:36] <MisaoMidorikawa> "Who else has accepted this offer?"
[20:39] <&Genshuku> "...Many have. But, the youma continue to get stronger, and even with the multiple magical girls with us, the youma still threaten to destroy this city, perhaps aiming to go beyond, with the inhabitants none the wiser. And...save for a recent sudden surge in recruitment yesterday, less have joined the cause over time. It is a desperate situation. That said, not all is doom and gloom."
[20:41] <&Genshuku> "As the youma have gotten stronger, they have dropped objects that we've dubbed 'Oblivion Seeds'. If you gather 13 of these, it is possible for us to be able to grant you a wish! Though gathering 13 for yourself might be hard, as the youma are more than a match for a single magical girl, it is to be considered."
[20:43] <MisaoMidorikawa> Many have?  Could it be that /she/ was among the many?  The possibility existed that she didn't, but it was still there.
[20:43] <MisaoMidorikawa> And if slaying these youma meant that a wish could be granted, then maybe...
[20:45] <MisaoMidorikawa> "I'm no so sure about this all," Misao looks down at the lavender sheets on her bed, worried about the choice she would make right here, right now.  "But I shall become a magical girl."
[20:47] <&Genshuku> "Very well! With your acceptance in mind, close your eyes, keep them closed, take a deep breath, and relax."
[20:48] <MisaoMidorikawa> Dangblast it, this was the part where names are exchanged!  Did this thing read minds?  With reluctance, Misao complied.
[20:53] <&Genshuku> And with Misao's eyes closed, the gear atop Fate's head began to glow. One can only barely tell it's started, but it glew ever brighter! As Misao's eyes were closed, the gear grew ever brighter, the shining radiance seen through her eyelids. And even then, it continued to get brighter, so much as if it rivaled staring into the sun with open eyes, even though they were closed! About when it reached that moment, however, the light suddenly went out, and Misao felt like she could open her eyes rather well, despite the shining earlier!
[20:55] <&Genshuku> "It is done! All that remains is getting you with other magical girls in order to fight the youma, preferably in the town square at 4 PM tomorrow! Take the time to figure out how to explain your absence, if needed."
[21:02] * Raitaki ([email protected]) has joined #Meguca
[21:12] <MisaoMidorikawa> She opened her eyes, which closed immediately after when she fell asleep, suddenly feeling very tired.
[21:17] <&Genshuku> "...Ah. I suppose it took a lot out of her. This happens sometimes. Perhaps I'll have to visit later, to remind them that this all happened, as well as the time." It begins to hop out!
[21:19] <&Genshuku> Uninterrupted, it will close the window on its way out, an admirable feat for something that doesn't have opposable thumbs!
[21:24] * Raitaki is now known as Shirayuki_Akiko
[21:36] <&Genshuku> THE YEAR IS 20XX
[21:37] <&Genshuku> EVERYONE STILL PLAYS FOX, TO TAS LEVELS OF PERFECTION.
[21:38] <Shirayuki_Akiko> To the detriment of the 99% who don't like playing Fox.
[21:39] <&Genshuku> But it doesn't matter! Fox is the best character. That's all that matters, in the year 20XX.
[21:41] <&Genshuku> ...Well, Fate got a magical girl, but they fell asleep after the recruitment process. Is that a success? It supposes so. Onward! It eventually arrives at Shirayuki's house, right outside the window in her room! It speaks with a voice that could be heard audibly if the girl had super-hearing, but can still clearly be heard, ringing in their mind instead of their ears!
[21:41] <&Genshuku> "Excuse me, may I have a moment?"
[21:42] <&Genshuku> If their blinds or whatnot are open, they'll find a white rabbit with a small gear in their head staring at them! If not, she'll know to look there. What do?
[21:45] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "Huh?" Akiko jumped in surprise at the sheer novelty of hearing voices in her head, and confusedly looked towards the door, checking to see if anyone came in. Finding nothing, she held her stare for a short moment before starting to turn back to her homework, and catching the sight of an unexpected figure outside her window.
[21:47] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "...Some kind of stuffed animal?" Akiko wondered as she opened the window, scanning the streets below to see if anyone threw it up here.
[21:49] <&Genshuku> It speaks with the mental voice once again! "I assure you, I live and breathe. And I have a proposition for you, if you would let me come in." It blinks, possibly to assure you that it has moving eyelids.
[21:52] <Shirayuki_Akiko> The girl jumped again at the voice, and stared at the...rabbit in disbelief. "A...proposition..?" She repeated its words as if they were in another foreign language, and took a few more seconds to process the oddity of the whole situation some more before reluctantly stepping aside as a gesture of allowing the creature to enter the room.
[21:58] <&Genshuku> Assuming that the window is open (otherwise, how would it come in?), it hops in, eventually ending up on Shirayuki's bed! It speaks with a much less mentally pressing voice, now that it's inside. "Yes. But before I explain such a proposition, I'll need you to realize something, lest you think you've gone completely crazy, as a few others generally think a bit earlier."
[22:01] <&Genshuku> "You live in a city where buildings are destroyed regularly, and people go missing even more. But, you have not given this a second thought. While I am here, ask yourself...why?" And it IS true! These things are true, and perhaps you knew, but even so, you never really thought about it. With the presence of this rabbit, however, you can recall all this very keenly, as if a fog was lifted from your mind. A frightening thought, for sure!
[22:09] <Shirayuki_Akiko> As Akiko raised her eyebrows at the creature's strange statements, the scenes of destruction came back to her. It's true, she could now recall them as if they really were happening all along; but if they were, there could have been no possible way for her to simply wave it off. The relevation hit a bit too close to home, and memories of old fires rekindled, Akiko subconsciously took a step back, staring at
[22:09] <Shirayuki_Akiko> the rabbit in shock. "How...How could I have not thought about all this..? What are you trying to tell me?"
[22:16] <&Genshuku> "...With this in mind, let me tell you what had caused these things. Youma, terrible creatures whose existence cannot be fully recognized by normal people. Not even what they do can be recognized by people, and as such, the world is blind to its greatest threat. As you should now clearly recognize with my presence, this is a very big problem!"
[22:18] <&Genshuku> "...But, there's a force that can fight against them. ...Magical girls! And you have the potential to become one!"
[22:25] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "...Youma? Magical girls?" Akiko plopped herself down onto her chair, trying to chew on the rabbit's words as carefully as possible. Of course, taken at face value, the things it was claiming are absurd...However, she could recall the damage supposedly caused by those "youma" as clear as day, and admittedly it seemed a lot more like a battlefield or the aftermath of a wild rampage than some simple urban
[22:25] <Shirayuki_Akiko> accident. It felt like Akiko's sanity would be the losing side no matter if she chose to believe it or not, sure did, but at least there shouldn't be much harm in knowing. "I...see...And if I agree to stopping these youma, what would that involve?"
[22:30] <&Genshuku> "Finding the youma and destroying them, naturally. However, as the strength of the youma increases, magical girls have had to travel in groups to stand a chance. So, it would involve combat, with your magical power. And you'll have allies, so you won't be alone!"
[22:31] <&Genshuku> "In addition, defeated youma drop objects called 'Oblivion Seeds'. If you can gather 13 in your name, your wish can be granted!"
[22:35] <Shirayuki_Akiko> There were no real reasons to believe she would be the only one fighting youma, but knowing that other people were also involved definitely brought it a sense of scope and reality. This clearly meant that this wasn't some small-scale freak occurance or something like that, but a larger problem that would require a concerted effort. As she mulled this over, Akiko heard something strange. "My...wish? I'm sorry,
[22:35] <Shirayuki_Akiko> could you be more specific?"
[22:37] <&Genshuku> "Well, you don't really have to think about it until you gather 13 seeds, but you can have a wish granted if you do! There's some things it can't do, naturally, like 'defeat all the youma'. It would be nice, but some things just don't work out. And only one wish can be granted per 13 seeds, but as you'll be travelling in a group, who knows what could transpire!"
[22:45] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "I...see." Having a wish granted, huh? This whole business just kept getting more bizarre and less plausible the more she asked about it, and it made her head spin even more than Salvador Dali paintings. Akiko took a deep breath, and tried to take stock of the whole picture. What exactly is happening here? If she accepted this offer, what would that involve? What are the consequences of accepting? Or of
[22:45] <Shirayuki_Akiko> refusing?
[22:46] <&Genshuku> The rabbit stares, perhaps into her soul, perhaps just at her, waiting patiently!
[22:46] <Shirayuki_Akiko> ....No good, she wasn't able to see it yet. "I apologize, but..may I take some more time to consider your..offer?"
[22:49] <&Genshuku> "...Hmmm. While such a thing is acceptable, if I were to leave, the revelations of the state of your city will be lost to you. While as a magical girl, this fog would be entirely lifted from you...as you are, you will shove it all in the back of your mind as you did before once I am gone. I can wait, but not for long. The amount of youma requires many magical girls to fight them, and as the dedicated recruiter, I am very busy."
[23:03] * Sisters_Tao (quassel@gensoukyoueasternstory.net-8C9BCAFE.tspeed.irvnca.sbcglobal.net) has joined #Meguca
[23:07] <Shirayuki_Akiko> So she had to make a decision quickly...Akiko sighed unhappily. She couldn't tell if the creature really was hurry, or if it was just simply trying to force a decision in its favor. It simply had an air of...indignation? Impatience? Some kind of dissatisfaction that Akiko couldn't quite place. Facing something that was both so clearly sentient and at the same time so unreadable made Akiko uncomfortable, and
[23:07] <Shirayuki_Akiko> perhaps it was that insecurity that caused her to make up her mind more quickly. "...I suppose I accept." Glimpses of flame flared up in her mind once more, filling her with a subtle but deep sense of responsibility. "So, then...How do I become a magical girl?"
[23:13] <&Genshuku> "With your agreement in mind, all you have to do is close your eyes, breathe deeply, and relax. The rest is my effort~"
[23:16] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "Right..." Akiko closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but she certainly wasn't able to relax. After all, it seemed to be a big responsibility, and it didn't sound safe, either. Normally she would have ways to relax her mind, but she didn't even consider that option now, possibly because of the rabbit's presence in the room.
[23:20] <&Genshuku> "....Hm, no good, no good. My power has a failsafe that keeps me from using it until you're fully relaxed. A counter-measure to avoid...accidents! I do pardon the hurry I must have put you in, but...there's not really much choice, lest things stop moving smoothly!"
[23:22] * MisaoMidorikawa ([email protected]) Quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
[23:25] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "...Accidents?" That seemed somewhat suspect, but Akiko doubted she would learn anything relevant even if she asked. For now, she needed to relax. Closing her eyes, she started to visualize herself going through the basic steps to sketch a drawing. Art always calms her down, and this is how she puts herself at ease when the situation or time constraints don't permit actually drawing.
[23:32] * &Kaede_Jotaro ([email protected]) Quit (Connection reset by peer)
[23:33] <&Genshuku> "We've had to learn some things the hard way. But, we've been through that, and none of these accidents have happened lately, so things have been looking up! ...Ah, there we go...!" Her eyes remain closed (and quite closed, so they can't be opened!) as the gear on the tsukaima's head begins to glow! The glow is barely noticable, as she has her eyes closed, but eventually the glow intensifies to easily noticable levels! It continues to go brighter, until it's like looking directly into the sun with your eyes open, even though they're closed! ...And at once, it stops, and she regains control over those eyelids. "It is done! You are now a magical girl!"
[23:41] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Akiko gingerly opened her eyes and looked at herself. Nothing appeared to be have changed, but she didn't feel exactly quite the same as before. "Okay...So I'm a magical girl now? ...What's next?", she asked, now feeling somewhat foolish for making decision without having properly worked out what it meant to be a youma hunter on possibly no notice. "Do I...patrol the city and look for those youma?"
[23:44] <&Genshuku> "While that IS the plan, you would need to do so in a group. To do otherwise would have disasterous results! Thankfully, the town square is avoided by people at 4 PM due to a very dangerous youkai attack that has since been quelled, and so it is used as a gathering spot, where I can find magical girls to partner up with you!"
[23:47] <&Genshuku> *youma
[23:47] <&Genshuku> (SURPRISINGLY I AM CAPABLE OF TYPOS)
[23:52] <Shirayuki_Akiko> 4 PM...That doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for both afterschool activities and schoolwork. It would be a shame to have to give up on her club...Maybe she could make time to stop by and greet her friends there once in a while. "Understood. I will be there."
Session Time: Sun May 17 00:00:02 2015
[00:01] <&Genshuku> "Very well! Until then~" The bunny begins to hop, hop, hop out!
[00:09] <Shirayuki_Akiko> The girl looked on as the odd rabbit hopped out of sight. She didn't know if her decision was the best one; now, all she felt was dread and grim anticipation. She sighed and scooted her chair back towards her desk, and set her homework aside. She needed an hour or two; she doubted she would be able to focus on homework right now. Flipping her sketchbook to a blank page, she contemplated it briefly, before
[00:09] <Shirayuki_Akiko> starting to sketch what she visualized earlier.