Meduka 3.3: The End of Stormcloud (But Not of Bugs)

[14:45] <Genshuku> LAST TIME ON MEGUCA:
[14:45] <Genshuku> See, there's nothing there because you can't hear it.
[14:45] <Sakata_Ginko> But you can smell it, because someone took a dump on the fan.
[14:45] <Yuna_Mizuno> Wow, Ginko-san, such crude humor...
[14:46] <Sakata_Ginko> It's also watery and particle-y. I think some got on your clothes, Yuan.
[14:46] <Sakata_Ginko> Yuna*
[14:46] <Midorikawa_Misao> We know this to be true, however!
[14:46] <Genshuku> Because it's loud. Louder than anything you've ever experienced. And you even feel as if it could be louder, but you're sure the magic keeps it from getting entirely out of hand. ...Whatever it is, though, it outright prevents verbal communication and is giving everyone but Yuna (who has really magicked up a defense) a seriously hard time.
[14:46] <Genshuku> The lightning bugs buzz a buzz, and they're ready to do a bit more than that. Anyone driven mad by the buzzing is seriously disadvantaged...!
[14:47] <Genshuku> Time to regroup? Time to sorcery? Time to pray? Your move, heroes!
[14:48] <Genshuku> Nezumi seems uncomfortable, of course. Bloody noise.
[15:11] <Midorikawa_Misao> "This isn't good..." Misao recovers from the buzz, and tries to throw a knife at the swarm.  It misses its target.  "There must be some way..."
[15:13] <Sakata_Ginko> The buzzing was seriously getting on Ginko's nerves, not that she could hear anything at the moment. The blood trickling from her ears was drying. Focusing her mind didn't help--even when some magic was applied to it. She couldn't cut out the noise, and she could feel it tearing away at her like a swarm of locusts.
[15:18] <Genshuku> The youma has an advantage! ...As everyone deals with the side effects of the noise, it continues focusing fire on the lightning rod. ELECTRICITY!
[15:19] <Raitaki> Taking a deep breath, Akiko steeled her nerves, and managed to concentrate just enough to conjure a somewhat large paint bucket, which flew across the air and splattered a few bugs with paint, and some others across the floor. Noise-induced headaches weren't very contributive to creativity.
[15:19] <Genshuku> ...It'd like to not aim for that, of course, but...there's only so much it can do!
[15:27] <Genshuku> Nezumi acts in defense of the shield by generating a black barrier, firmly rooted to the ground! The lightning breaks it into bits, but it did stop it enough for the other party to finish the line of defense!
[15:38] * Midorikawa_Misao summons a barrier, similar to the ones made when she attacked, to protect the rod.  It, like Nezumi's barrier, shattered upon completing its purpose.
[15:53] * Yuna_Mizuno looks at the swarm of insects. [There has to be some way to beat this...] she thought to herself. Mentally blocking out the buzzing for a few moments, Yuna concentrated her magic on the swarm. A triangluar swath of green light shone from the top of the area, seemingly out of nowhere, then rotated around the youma as if scanning it.
[16:00] <Genshuku> Scanning, scanning...
[16:00] <Genshuku> Name: Swarmcloud
[16:00] <Genshuku> Vitality: 47/70
[16:00] <Genshuku> Abilities:
[16:00] <Genshuku> Magic-jamming noise: Deadly to non-magical combatants, crippling to normal ones: still uses regular soundwaves but at an incredibly high level, can be migated with well-made items
[16:00] <Genshuku> Reality Lightning: Deadly and branching, but even more sensitive to things that involve lightning
[16:00] <Genshuku> Fear Gaze: Bugs and lightning have been well known to invoke fear.
[16:00] <Genshuku> Notes: Despite being multiple bugs, it is of one presence. However, each one contributes to the whole...so when their numbers thin, it should be a lot easier to handle!
[16:00] <Genshuku> Yuna gets a direct feed of this information. Nice!
[16:03] <Genshuku> ...Doesn't seem like anyone else got it though. And a pity she can't entirely communicate! What a world!
[16:04] <Genshuku> Oh, one more note, LET'S JUST RETROACTIVELY ADD IT ON
[16:05] <Genshuku> As the bugs are a swarm, engaging multiple foes in the same area even without the lightning isn't a difficult feat.
[16:06] <Genshuku> Nezumi knows better than to get in range with poor combat ability. But everyone's still topped off...so she continues to wait for an opportunity to be relevent, and not bleeding out of her ears.
[16:08] <Genshuku> Speaking of which, the bugs decided they weren't loud enough. How does something at max loud get louder? You just don't know! But it managed that!
[16:13] <Raitaki> "..!!" Assaulted by an even more intense wave of sonic torture, Akiko's head started swimming! They needed to do something about this cacophonous attack, and fast!
[16:17] <Midorikawa_Misao> Misao clutched her head again, unable to comprehend the true nature of the Swarmcloud's buzzing.  Fighting against it would be a difficult feat.
[16:18] * Yuna_Mizuno was, unfortunately, a tad drained from analyzing the youma, so she was unable to stand strong against this wave of its buzzing.
[16:27] * Yuna_Mizuno straightens herself up again, and surrounds Akiko with a small flurry of green sparkles concentrated around their head. The sparkles then lessened and surrounded both Misao and Ginko. The trio would find themselves able to hear... only marginally better than before... Hey, it wasn't deafening to the point of being painful anymore, and they could, at the very least, h ear themselves think
[16:29] <Midorikawa_Misao> [Yuna-chan... I'm not sure how I'll repay you, but... thank you,] Misao nods towards the Priestess, then faces back to the youma, ready to fight back.
[16:37] <Raitaki> Akiko felt her headache faded momentarily, and directed an appreciative nod at Yuna. Now able to focus, she could finally try to work out a way to at least lessen the torture. Picturing those fluffy, comfortable-looking earmuffs that quite a few anime-style artists liked to draw for some reason, Akiko conjured up five, and tossed a pair to each of her teammates before slipping one on her head.
[16:38] <Genshuku> You are definitely not getting five at once.
[16:39] <Genshuku> For the sake of even attempting to maintain quality, you can only produce one...and it doesn't take too long to realize it's not exactly the best pair.
[16:39] <Raitaki> ...Or not.
[16:39] <Genshuku> Like, it'll...help? It'll help, but it probably wouldn't block it out completely.
[16:41] <Raitaki> Guess they'd have to pass this one around as needed...For now, she decided that it'd be best for Yuna to have them, and tossed them over to the white mage.
[16:48] <Raitaki> (Not enough..!) Unsatisfied with the results, Akiko tried channeling her magic to go even further..! Her body suddenly flashed with yellow, providing a powerful surge to both her action speed and thinking speed, and similiar surges of yellow engulfed Misao and Ginko a second later.
[16:50] <Sakata_Ginko> The lessening of the buzz in her ear somehow was welcoming, though she could still feel the sound gnawing at her. Completely angry, Ginko swung at the swarm, having lost most of her composure and calm.
[16:51] <Genshuku> The swarm, while nicked a bit from the ranged blows, moves as if it were one being, and a fluid one, at that.
[16:52] * Yuna_Mizuno catches the earmuffs, and slips them on, giving a nod to Raitaki. It was really the only method of communication they had at the moment.
[16:52] <Raitaki> Akiko released a small flock of birds which also flashed yellow before swooping at the bugs faster than they could react and swallowing a couple of them, before destroyed by shocks of electricity from the eaten bugs!
[16:54] <Raitaki> "Tch...So birds /aren't/ the natural enemy of these particular pests..."
[16:55] <Genshuku> Akiko realizes she can't hear herself. Weiiiirrrddddd.
[16:55] <Genshuku> ...But reasonable, all considering.
[16:57] * MidorikawaMisao (uid89381@gensoukyoueasternstory.net-F641C758.irccloud.com) Quit (Quit: Connection closed for inactivity)
[16:58] * MidorikawaMisao (uid89381@gensoukyoueasternstory.net-F641C758.irccloud.com) has joined #Meguca
[17:01] <Midorikawa_Misao> "I must do this... for the hope of Mae!" Even though people can't hear her, Misao declares this as she charges at the youma, stabbing it several times!  She steps back afterwards.
[17:06] <Sakata_Ginko> Another swing from Ginko. Another miss. It's honestly getting on her nerves.
[17:09] <Sakata_Ginko> "God damn it. Someone somewhere must hate me enough to only allow me to roll 1 and 2s," she muttered under her breath.
[17:12] <Genshuku> And then, the insect swarm itself...realizes that it's not quite doing the trick right now. Not like this.
[17:12] <Genshuku> Especially due to these very dwindling numbers. NOT GOOD AT ALL.
[17:13] <Midorikawa_Misao> Without speaking or making silly one-liners, the other Knight pointed her rapier skywards, somehow summoning floating copies of the weapon.  She pointed at the swarm, as if in declaration to slay the abomination, and the copies flew towards the youma, intent on perforating their target.
[17:14] <Genshuku> ...So in the wake of new, pierced comrades, it opts to take a different approach, part of the swarm going off to the side, then closing in around them to biting and gnashing at the party before returning to the swarm!
[17:15] <Genshuku> They totally get the rod, too
[17:19] <Genshuku> Nezumi, in the wake of the bug cloud, reaffirms that her decision to not get too close was a good one!
[17:25] <Raitaki> "What--" Caught offguard, Akiko wasted a few precious seconds wondering what the best defense against an angry swarm of insects was, before erecting a magical canvas to block the swarm of! However, they narrowly avoided crashing into it, and while Akiko could vaguely see about half the swarm heading for her being stopped by someone's barrier, the rest reached her and went to work! "Ow! Urgh! That stings!"
[17:26] <Sakata_Ginko> It wasn't a barrier. Ginko's sword forced the swarm to scatter and miss its mark. "Well, it was good for something," she snapped at an invisible person.
[17:28] <Genshuku> Nezumi wonders how they can even stand opening their mouths. What if a bug gets in them? TERRIFYING, especially because it's a lightning bug. Not a firefly, but a bug with literal lightning.
[17:29] <Genshuku> In the interest of group cohesion (and maybe less smack talk in the end), she heals up Akiko, with a white flash of light!
[17:34] <Genshuku> The bugs, due to the earlier onslaught, have visibly thinned in number. While their vigor keeps them as effective as they were, this is starting to slip.
[17:34] <Genshuku> It's still completely impossible to hear though. Their numbers are still yet large.
[17:35] <Midorikawa_Misao> [They're weakening... now's our chance to strike!]
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[17:44] * Yuna_Mizuno threw her arms up to protect herself against the oncoming swarm of insects. Despite her best efforts, they still managed to deal a decent amount of damage to her. "Nnnhh..." she clutched her staff in her hands as the swarm began buzzing loudly again... though thanks to the earmuffs Akiko-san so graciously provided, she barely heard anything. Combined with the fact that thje swarm was weakening...
[17:46] * Yuna_Mizuno feltas though they were backing the Youma into a corner. First thing was first though, take care of herself. A dead meguca was of no use to anyone, after all. Muttering a few unheard words under her breath, a soft glow surrounded Yuna, and the wounds that the youma had inflicted just moments earlier healed up. Some scars still remained, but she was feeling much better now...
[17:49] * Yuna_Mizuno then turned to Akiko, who didn't seem to be as lucky with the whole resisting of the loud noises thing, and the same green sparkled from before surrounded her head, then drifted over to Ginko.
[18:05] <Sakata_Ginko> Perhaps because the swarm was getting smaller, the insects were getting distracted. Ginko's sword swing actually splashed several against its blade, the bugs exploding into balls of sticky, presumably acidic goo.
[18:06] <Sakata_Ginko> "Eww," Ginko muttered as she swung the sword again. The goo on the sword didn't separate much, but what left it dripped onto the floor and sizzled.
[18:06] <Genshuku> Well, it's definitely some kind of goo. Ewwwwwwww. Maybe it's good that she didn't get much hits on!
[18:07] <Raitaki> Wow, and Akiko thought the mess she left with that bucket earlier was just paint. Ewwwwwww.
[18:07] <Genshuku> The swarm continues to dwindle! The buzzing is at an all time low, you MIGHT be able to hear yourself if you scream very, very loudly!
[18:12] <Midorikawa_Misao> A determined grin on her face, Misao charges at the swarm once again, this time attempting to cleave the swarm with an axe!
[18:13] <Genshuku> She...uh, does get them, but in a particularly thin section of the horde. You still got some though! All over your axe.
[18:17] * TinySpringFairy (tinyspring@gensoukyoueasternstory.net-5E8B0D7B.hsd1.nj.comcast.net) has joined #Meguca
[18:18] * Yuna_Mizuno (IceChat9@gensoukyoueasternstory.net-5E8B0D7B.hsd1.nj.comcast.net) Quit (Ping timeout: 242 seconds)
[18:19] <Raitaki> Good...The swarm was thinning considerably, and seemed sufficiently distracted by its losses. Stepping forward, Akiko yelled to get the bugs' attention and posed dramatically, channeling energy...Channeling...Channeling...Just about when assuming nothing was going to happen would be reasonable, suddenly the wall behind the swarm crumpled like paper as a large battleship hull effortlessly crashed through it and
[18:19] <Raitaki> "landed gently" on the floor before fading away, leaving quite a crack that housed many squashed insects!
[18:22] <Genshuku> In what might be the most bizzare thing you've ever heard, the loud crashing of the wall underneath LITERALLY A BATTLESHIP sounded like some sort of negative noise, a noise that quieted everything around it. Almost at once, everyone regained your sense of hearing (though it's probably pretty bad right now anyhow). The buzzing, both from the bugs and the electricity, had fallen silent.
[18:23] * Yuna_Mizuno (IceChat9@gensoukyoueasternstory.net-5E8B0D7B.hsd1.nj.comcast.net) has joined #Meguca
[18:23] <Genshuku> You'd think it'd be loud, that would make sense, but it was everything but loud. It's about as disorienting as the noise itself was, really.
[18:24] * Midorikawa_Misao could only watch in wonder and amazement as Akiko's finishing blow ended the battle.
[18:25] * Yuna_Mizuno wondered where the heck it came from...
[18:25] <Raitaki> "Haaa..." Akiko let out an exaggerated (only slightly) sigh as she collapsed to her knees and unsummoned the rod and earmuffs. "That...certainly was a different kind of pain..."
[18:26] * Yuna_Mizuno blinks as the earmuffs are suddenly gone from her ears. She looked around in confusion as suddenly all was silent, save for the gasping of all the magical girls that fought tooth and nail to defeat the swarm
[18:27] * TinySpringFairy (tinyspring@gensoukyoueasternstory.net-5E8B0D7B.hsd1.nj.comcast.net) Quit (Quit: Colloquy for iPhone - http://colloquy.mobi)
[18:28] <Genshuku> The building trembles...you should probably keep further business here short. On the bright side, you see two objects not unlike the thing that the bird had dropped earlier...!
[18:28] <Genshuku> ...They're somewhere in that rubble, and probably warrant a closer look.
[18:29] <Raitaki> "....Uh. That...sounded like the sound of me overdoing it. Maybe we should get out..?"
[18:30] <Genshuku> Nezumi comments, after getting used to having a sense of hearing! "...You all adapt pretty well. Guess I wasn't much help at all, huh?" She seems pleased!
[18:30] * Yuna_Mizuno looks around, "there's still the oblivion seeds it no doubt dropped...
[18:30] <Genshuku> "Don't forget to nab the seed. Or seeds. Hard to tell from here."
[18:30] <Midorikawa_Misao> "Oh my gongs..." Misao hugs Akiko tightly, forgetting to revert.  "That was amazing, Akiko-sama!"
[18:31] <Sakata_Ginko> The buzzing ceased. Ginko let out a long sigh as her own transformation collapsed, and she almost collapsed from the fatigue. "We should probably get out of here," she said as she leaned against the stub of a wall. "After that kind of beating, the hospital is not going to last long."
[18:32] <Genshuku> "Would probably be easier to escape while transformed. You wanna get carried? ...Cause I'm not gonna carry ya. ...Didn't even have to carry any of you~" Someone's gotta get the seeds! They're not hidden, just somewhat obscured.
[18:33] * Yuna_Mizuno is aware that the building is probably goinmg to collapse, but instead goes to the pile of rubble where the youma once was to look for the seeds.
[18:35] <Raitaki> "Uh, thanks-- Wait, now's not the time! The seed, huh?" Akiko peeled the other magical girl off herself, and hurried over to the rubble to look for the Oblivion Seed(s) with Yuna. It would be a massive waste if they somehow lose those after all that trouble!
[18:36] <Genshuku> They're not hard to find! One sparks with electricity, a constant pulse that would probably be felt in your pocket, even sort of humming like a vibrating phone...and the other glows a sickly red...green...mixture. It's kind of disgusting, really, and despite having the same texture as the other, it FEELS disgusting. A seed IS a seed, though!
[18:39] <Genshuku> ...The tremors get louder, as the building is (somehow very slowly) losing structural integrity, and it occurs to everyone that the power is out. Nezumi, on recognizing the seeds were obtained, starts flying out herself, making sure everyone else is doing the same!
[18:40] * Yuna_Mizuno picks up the one that was glowing... then feels the ground shaking beneath them. "O-oh!" she immediately takes flight and makes a beeline for the nearest opening to the outside.
[18:40] <Raitaki> "Right, there they are. Let's go!" Akiko picked up the other seed and flew out the gaping hole left by her Warspite earlier, following Nezumi!
[18:40] <Midorikawa_Misao> "Uh... well, guess it wouldn't have lasted longer," Misao shrugs, flying out of the hospital.
[18:41] <Genshuku> ...Well, it can't be TOO hard to escape from a higher floor on foot? Hopefully?
[18:41] <Sakata_Ginko> "Let's get out of here," Ginko yelled. She dashed toward the window opening and leaped out, transforming and maintaining that until she landed with a roll, and sprinted out of the vicinity of the building.
[18:41] <Genshuku> Or no, she can ACTION HERO!
[18:42] <Sakata_Ginko> Ginko glanced behind her. She couldn't see much, but the building seemed to have collapsed into a greyish dust cloud. "...... My life seems like a damn movie, all of a sudden," she muttered, wiping the somehow sticky sweat off of her forehead.
[18:44] <Raitaki> "...Well. I...hope you didn't have fond memories of that hospital..?"
[18:45] <Sakata_Ginko> "Well, I slept in there a couple times, if that's what you're asking," Ginko replied nonchalantly.
[18:46] <Genshuku> Perfect landing! Behind her, the building is indeed but rubble, a poor excuse of what it once was. It was once a place to save lives, now it is kill.
[18:49] <Genshuku> When all's said and done, Nezumi claps! "I'd have helped out more, but my skillset isn't too good with defending or attacking, and Yuna over there is good at recovery...and attacking. Sorry about any assumptions I made earlier!"
[18:50] <Midorikawa_Misao> "Hey, it's alright, Nezumi-san," Misao remembers to revert, and hugs the monochrome girl.  "You still helped out a lot."
[18:50] * Yuna_Mizuno smiles over at Nezumi, "It's all good," she replies
[18:50] <Sakata_Ginko> "Yeah, you're fine," Ginko muttered, then she lowered her voice: "If only I got some good rolls...!" The stickiness of the dried sweat was somehow beginning to bother her.
[18:51] <Genshuku> "I was thinking we should have fallen back when it started friggen buzzing, but you all managed to do a fine job of it anyway--hey, bad touch--oh who am I kidding, you're kind of adorable~" She lets herself be hugged after fussing about it a bit!
[18:52] <Genshuku> "...Still, though, that reminds me. That was...a difficult battle, especially for anyone that actually got into the thick of it. This is the part where we acknowledge feeling weird if any magic residue...slips out."
[18:53] <Genshuku> "I'm keeping what I've got built up to mess with my team when I get back. You've all got a lot to deal with as it is, I imagine!" She grins.
[18:53] <Sakata_Ginko> Ginko wiped some more sweat off of her forehead and... somehow her hand stuck. "What the..." She ripped her hand free, and touched it. "The hell is this...?"
[18:54] * Yuna_Mizuno looks puzzledly at Nezumi, "Bleeding it off? What do you..." she begins, then hears Ginko complaining about something. "Ehh? Something wrong?"
[18:55] <Sakata_Ginko> "Hold on, is this..." Ginko instinctively smelled and licked the residue. "... the hell!?"
[18:57] * Yuna_Mizuno giggles to herself, holding a hand over her mouth. "Seems like you've gotten into quite the sticky situation..."
[18:58] <Sakata_Ginko> "I'd have smacked you for that if I weren't so upset right now," Ginko licked the residue over and over again. "You know how many bugs I'm gonna attract with this sweat syrup!?"
[18:59] * Yuna_Mizuno "Well look at it this way... no bug can be worse than what we just fought..."
[18:59] <Genshuku> "Well, on the other hand, the bugs weren't exactly attracted to her."
[19:02] <Midorikawa_Misao> "Whyyyyyy..."
[19:02] * Yuna_Mizuno looks over at Misao, "Do you really think I'm gonna lose an opportunity to make a joke like that?"
[19:05] <Raitaki> "Well...Ginko-senpai, if you DO attract bugs like that, we're just going to run away. Even if they're not youma."
[19:06] <Sakata_Ginko> "Son of a bitch," Ginko licked more of that sugary residue off of her hand. "My clothes are gonna be ruined. I need a freaking shower."
[19:20] <Midorikawa_Misao> "U-um... onee-san, look out!" Misao points at the rubble, which seemed to have... bugs coming out of it?
[19:22] <Genshuku> TONS OF BUGS. While the other swarm of bugs recently slain was actually a great variety, only a single kind was coming from the rubble behind them.
[19:22] <Genshuku> Flies.
[19:23] <Raitaki> "...........Ah."
[19:23] <Genshuku> They begin buzzing out, perfectly normal, but there's still a lot of them coming out.
[19:23] <Sakata_Ginko> "......" Ginko heard the buzzing. And then the bugs were flying toward her. "God fucking dammit," she cursed. "I need a pool of water like now!"
[19:24] <Genshuku> YEP, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
[19:24] <Genshuku> Nezumi speaks up! "I'll see if I can hold them back! Fountain in the square might work for you!"
[19:26] <Midorikawa_Misao> "R-right," Misao nods, then transforms again to fly the heck out of there.  "C'mon, onee-san, let's go!"
[19:27] <Sakata_Ginko> "OK!" Ginko transformed as well, and broke into a sprint. After all, flying is kind of conspicuous.
[19:32] <Raitaki> Serenely watching her two comrades take their escape, Akiko started to speak. "Well...Nezumi-san, right? I should have said this earlier, but...thank you for helping us out back there, and..." She dramatically turned back towards the incoming swarm of flies, and conjured a magical canvas. "I don't suppose you'll want your story to end right here, just like this..?"
[19:36] <Genshuku> "Well, no! But I'm not dead, so it's not over!" Still transformed, she makes a mid-air spin. "Just another chapter, wherein I gain some faith in rookies!"
[19:37] <Genshuku> "I'll probably be returning to my team at the end of the day, though. Fun people, you should meet them sometime~"
[19:39] <Raitaki> "Hmph, you didn't play along. And other magical girls, huh. Un, meeting your friends does seem nice." Akiko chatted relaxedly, as the canvas suddenly whirled forward--
[19:40] <Genshuku> "That was too hard to catch on to. Wouldn't hurt to be just a bit more obvious--eh?" WHAT IS SHE DOING.
[19:43] <Raitaki> What is she doing?
[19:44] <Raitaki> She is CARVING HER NAME INTO THE TALES OF TERROR OF FLIES AND INSECTS EVERYWHERE, ONE SMACK AT A TIME, is what she is doing.
[19:45] <Genshuku> "R-Right, holding them back." THAT'S A THING THEY NEEDED TO DO. She almost wanted to watch the swarm chase her. Nuts.
[19:47] <Genshuku> She swats the flies with a black...wall mass. "Still, though, beyond my expectations, the bunch of you~!"
[19:50] <Raitaki> "Really? I suppose having something to more or less negate most of the youma's attacks made it considerably easier, but...How smoothly does the average youma hunt go down, exactly?" Akiko wondered aloud, while being glad that the senior (?) magical girl didn't come in time to see her freak out earlier.
[19:54] <Genshuku> "Depends on if we get the drop or not. If we see it before it takes issue with us, all the more time to plan out how to beat it up. A lot of magical girls don't plan, charge in, get caught by surprise, and some tend to die from that. Sort of skews the average."
[19:55] <Genshuku> "Othertimes, the resultant destruction isn't limited to abandoned areas." She glances at the abandoned hospital!
[19:55] <Genshuku> "And of course there's the issue of finding them. There's a lot of people looking, after all. Fresh meat, as it were!"
[19:58] <Genshuku> "And THEN there's the ones that try too hard..."
[19:59] <Raitaki> "Ah...I see..." Akiko replied sheepily to that last comment. It was true that all their battlefields up until now had been quite unpopulated and run down, so people would probably not miss whatever Warspite wrecked too much. Still, she should proooobably rein in that habit a bit. Moving on. "The ones that try too hard..? So some magical girls manage to smash a bit too much of the city?"
[20:01] <Genshuku> "As an end result of using magic too much, they can break a bit more than just the city, but their own allies. Don't know too much about how that works, and I don't plan on it." She shivers. Scary stuff.
[20:06] <Raitaki> Akiko hummed thoughtfully. Being reckless to the point of dishing out friendly fire, while possible, seemed rather unlikely in Akiko's opinion. There can't be more than a few people who are THAT reckless, right? "This seems like even a bigger deal than it seemed when I signed up, huh." She looked at the ruined hospital once again, wondering how the entire city hadn't been wrecked between youma and magical girls.
[20:09] <Genshuku> "Yeeeeeah, it is. Everyone figures that out, except maybe the people declining the offer in the first place. They might be the smart ones."
[20:14] <Raitaki> "Weeell, to be honest, I didn't imagine it to be this big. I was picturing just fighting invisible monsters on the level of people running through buildings carrying a machine gun or something like that, and the ones that could wreck buildings were the deep end. I didn't really expect to go up against something big enough to be tossing around huge concrete slabs on the first day. Or being one of the parties doing the
[20:14] <Raitaki> building-smashing myself."
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[20:23] <Genshuku> "...Yeah, I guess you're right. Though, it wasn't entirely them wrecking the building this time around!"
[20:24] <Raitaki> "You're...right..."
[20:26] <Raitaki> "W-Well, how well has it been going for your side, Nezumi-san?" 'How many buildings have you wrecked' was probably supposed to be included in there somewhere, but Akiko managed to hold off on actually saying that aloud.
[20:32] <Genshuku> "A lot less destructive, though still not entirely smoothly. Someone grew bat wings. Big ol' bat wings on their back, even when they're not magical. They're not taking it too well!"
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[20:49] <Raitaki> "That...sounds tough, in many ways...How does that happen?"
[20:54] <Genshuku> "Magic use! Crafty rabbit doesn't explain that one too clearly, but if you hold it in without letting go...it gets bad. Sometimes it's just minor incidents, but it can get so bad that you can get scarred forever." She untransforms, and is clearly in a school uniform...but her very black hair and completely unnaturally white skin remain unchanged.
[20:54] <Genshuku> "...Still like this look, though."
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[21:02] <Raitaki> "...Ah. I see. That...could be a big problem, huh." Seeing a black-and-white Nezumi in regular clothes felt really odd. Maybe knowing Nezumi was in her magical girl form made it a lot easier to accept that...color scheme. At least this might explain the tree and the sudden outbursts from their first fight? The tree being part of it seemed plausible, but as for her teammates' bad moods..."Knowing this, it...makes me
[21:02] <Raitaki> uneasy to know that there's something I might blame if I ever do unexpectedly do something outrageous..." Akiko blurted out.
[21:02] <Raitaki> ((IGNORE THE FIRST DO IN HER LAST LINE))
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[21:06] <Genshuku> "Yeah, it could be. And yeah, with how magic can twist mind and the world alike...you definitely gotta be careful with it. But if it's the only way to combat the threat, then perhaps the side effects are a suitable price to pay..."
[21:17] <Raitaki> That wasn't quite what Akiko meant...She knew that more than anyone, she'd take all responsibility for any kind of horrible things that magic can drive her to do-- To say "magic made me do it" would be saying "it's fine if I have an excuse", and that would be the end. Thinking about it this way, she started feeling afraid of using her magic as freely as she had been up until now-- but if her hesitation caused danger
[21:17] <Raitaki> to befall others, it would be just as bad. ...Shaking these depressing thoughts out of her mind, she spoke. "Those two haven't returned yet, so they probably headed straight to Ginko-senpai's apartment for her to change or something. I think I'll join them now, so...Once again, thank you for your help, and I hope I'll see you again, Nezumi-san."
[21:21] <Genshuku> "Sounds about right. I'll probably be around the fountain like everyone else at the usual time, if you want to say hi! See ya round~" She seems to not notice your contained brooding at all. While smart, she is quite notably carefree!