Nonahu 5: Holders of Power

[11:52:32] <@GeMshuku> THE YEAR IS 20XX
[11:52:49] * Giantree is now known as Fox
[11:53:14] <@GeMshuku> Melee is so popular that people can play money matches instead of doing a job. Naturally, it's Fox mains that actually accomplish that, and they do this by winning every single match, except against each other.
[11:53:25] <Fox> No, we win those too
[11:53:50] <Fox> ... ok
[11:53:52] * Fox is now known as Niina
[11:53:55] <@GeMshuku> Yeah, you tie those
[11:56:58] <@GeMshuku> A lot of things had occured after the battle with the fiery youma. Reports of its appearance had made its way across the world (and many of them believed it to be one hell of a time with a movie maker), but despite all the reasons to cancel school in the revelation of FIERY DEMONS FROM HELL (as at least one news station reported), it still ran. The weather was particularly nice!
[11:58:37] <Niina> FOR NOW.
[12:00:25] <@GeMshuku> As one would expect, it was one of the only things people talked about...and considering the destruction that they, themselves, could see the results of, most believed that something happened. Some assumed it was a cover-up (or at least that there was one involved), some considered the end of the world, but you still got about as much strange looks as you usually did, whether you joined in the conversations or not. Some things just don't change.
[12:01:17] <Niina> That's fine, because the 'joining' just amounted to going "Told you so" and then walking off cooly.  Heh heh heh.
[12:01:48] <@GeMshuku> See, you can walk off cooly because the weather is nice.
[12:02:09] <Niina> You know, the sort of 'cool' that seems actually cool when you have intense chuunibyou but to everybody else is just dorky.  Wearing some hella sleek (read: dorky) thin frame glasses helped for that btw.  And pushing them up while speaking.  That too.
[12:04:12] <@GeMshuku> ...that said, there's no mistaking it, the adults have their tensions at an all-time high. You've heard the word 'moving' a lot, and Chikako in particular managed to slip by to mention that her parents have mentioned the military, and it might be harder for her to get outside (but not impossible)!
[12:07:01] <@GeMshuku> Of course, in order to keep what cred she still has, the talk didn't leave much room before she had to preserve her cred (which she thinks might still have some importance), but either way...perhaps knowing this stuff was actually worth attending school for once?
[12:08:19] <Niina> Yes, Charm, it's worth attending school AND the world is shitty and etc etc etc.
[12:08:28] <Niina> wow that sounded very mean actually that wasn't the intention
[12:08:58] <Niina> So therefore, it's time for today's blog:
[12:11:14] <@GeMshuku> Oh yeah, before you start, people ARE wondering about who the two are that helped save the area from the attack...but no one suspected you at all. Heeeeeee.
[12:12:38] * Niina shows up at school for the first time in forever. And considering there's almost definitely a uniform enforcement in place (It IS still Japan... right?), those rules are defied as much as they possibly can be while still not straight-up breaking them. Like, skirt hiked u- actually no, people would be EXPECTING THAT, so the skirt is untouched. Shorts underneath yeah sure that's a given
[12:12:38] * Niina in case a generic male protagonist who sits in the second window seat from the back in homeroom ends up 'accidentally' peeking at them during a mysterious incident, but otherwise nothing else. Because that would mean like, maybe cutting it up or something? And that's a direct rule violation, can't do that. The tie (if there is one) with the blouse (if there is one), that's the big deal because
[12:12:38] * Niina it's work as lazily as possible. Like, not even a cute little bow, it's just hanging over... if there's a pocket, it's inside the pocket actually. And let's be real because that sounds comfy as fuck, a school with summer uniforms that have a pocket on the front, even (read:especially) the girls'. So it's like that. Oh, and only every other button is buttoned, as opposed to every one. One
[12:12:44] * Niina sleeve rolled up while the other isn't.
[12:12:47] <Niina> ... Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyep that should about cover it.
[12:13:40] <Niina> Oh and Niina hated the glasses for one day total, after that they immediately became part of the chuuni image.  Really, you have no idea how cool it feels to push your frames up with a thumb or something right after you say something you think sounds smart until you try it.
[12:14:44] <Niina> .. btw you left angels with burning hearts playing
[12:14:52] <Niina> (we'll face the risk of our liiiiiiiiiiives)
[12:14:57] <@GeMshuku> Your hearts are still burning, right?
[12:15:08] <Niina> Yeah, like the song of an angel with a tear in her eye, with an affection for her guardian.
[12:15:29] <@GeMshuku> Niina/Chikako, OTP.
[12:15:43] <Niina> Oh I ship with Fate actually
[12:15:47] <Niina> BUT WHICH OOOOOOOOOOONE?
[12:15:56] <Niina> right, sorry, carry on
[12:18:16] <Niina> Oh, right.  The fact that they're getting known for saving the world - even not as themselves - is actually making the chuuni sadder than one would expect a chuuni to be, considering they're destroying their known reality in the process.  What if people only care BECAUSE reality was shattered and changed from what it was supposed to be, and in the original world Niikako are from people would
[12:18:16] <Niina> just watch magical girls on TV and be like 'oh yeah, that's normal?'  Etc etc etc.
[12:18:35] <Niina> To more directly express the results of that:
[12:18:42] * Niina sleeps through class. Like usual. Zzz.
[12:19:42] <@GeMshuku> Even though you sleep through class, it's not like people do interesting things in class anyway. The question is, do you hear anything particularly interesting between them?
[12:19:48] <@GeMshuku> Roll insight, just because!
[12:21:24] <Niina> Yeah, the interesting part is AFTER class when people go to shit like 'paranormal research clubrooms' and have wacky adventures that 99% of the school doesn't know about for some reason.  ... Of course if there was something like that here, reality may have collapsed TOO much already.
[12:24:41] <@GeMshuku> C-C-COMBO! You're absolutely sure that you noticed that it was easier to get from class to class, particularly because there's not as much people around. And like, that makes sense, right? Scared normie parents, and kids willing to cash in on that by not going to school (or just scared normie kids, take a pick).
[12:26:20] <@GeMshuku> But these numbers also include a trace of kids that have never, never missed school, even if they had to call in sick and get thrown out of it.
[12:26:27] <Niina> gotta love that n-word
[12:26:41] <Niina> Alright, sounds like it's time to...
[12:26:46] <Niina> QTE
[12:26:51] <Niina> A) Talk to Chikako
[12:26:56] <Niina> B) Ask randoms
[12:27:12] <Niina> ok RNG you hate fun i see
[12:27:56] <@GeMshuku> Are you finding a way to talk to her in school, or after? I don't even know!
[12:28:00] * Niina does this the cool way, and passes Chikako a 'meet me on the roof [at lunch/after school]' note.
[12:28:32] <Niina> The note itself is so pretentious-looking and folded like... half an origami crane and half paper airplane or something, so there's no doubt who sent it.
[12:28:44] <Niina> Well, unless they're not in the same class, but why wouldn't they be?
[12:29:11] <@GeMshuku> That...can answer that! Who eats lunch on the roof? You do! And because of that, people usually don't eat lunch on the roof. You drove away the lovebirds.
[12:29:14] <Niina> Though, in that scenario, it would be an ACTUAL paper airplane (with half an origami crane on it) that would be thrown through an actual window.
[12:29:18] <Niina> but that's so obnox
[12:29:33] <Niina> ACTUALLY delinquents ALWAYS eat lunch on the roof, anime 101
[12:29:40] <Niina> ... oh wait, that must mean there's only one delinquent
[12:29:43] <Niina> ... which would be...
[12:29:45] <Niina> ...
[12:29:50] <Niina> continue
[12:30:08] <@GeMshuku> One deliquent that's actually attending school right now, that much you can ascertain.
[12:30:59] <Niina> Yeah, there's the bully bancho ダーシアス from class 2-B, him not being there makes everything a lot easier.  And what a weird name to have in Japan anyway.  Dweeb.
[12:31:18] <Niina> AHEM
[12:31:41] * Niina leans off the edge of the roof, looking at the sky like a badass. A contemplative badass.
[12:32:32] <Niina> Aaaaand then waits for the other lovebird to arrive.  Get it, because all mahou shoujo series have gay protagonists and it's implying that they're gay for each other, even though that actually isn't the case?
[12:32:48] <Niina> ... Unless it is, but if that's how it is the reveal comes later.
[12:33:18] <@GeMshuku> Either way, come lunchtime, Chikako eventually arrives, fancy lunchbox and all! "It was hard getting up here without anyone noticing. It's good practice!" Yeeeeep, that's Niina, looking in the sky, it couldn't be anyone else! ONLY THE LOVE OF HER LIFE, scribbles the fanfiction author in the margins.
[12:34:05] <Niina> What a weird pairing, surely there are better, cuter lesbos out there.  ... Nah, actually, real lesbos are all dykes anyway.  Unimportant.
[12:34:16] <Niina> "It's hard the first time.  Not so much after that."
[12:34:40] * Niina spins around, twirling her glasses with a finger in the bridge. That had to take practice.
[12:35:29] <Niina> "... Well, actually, I thought you might've had some more popular friends to hang out with, I wasn't even sure if you'd come at all.  So er, thanks."
[12:35:36] <Niina> "But you noticed, right?"
[12:37:09] <@GeMshuku> "Yeah, a lot of them weren't even here. Bet the half that is are too busy gossiping to even notice that I'm not there either! They'd have found out if anyone saw me though, but whatever."
[12:37:41] <@GeMshuku> "Yeah, noticed you have glasses. Still a bad idea to stare at the sun though."
[12:38:26] <Niina> "Uh, er, actually you got it the first time."  Her hand clamps them shut, closing them shut as well.  "T-These don't even look that good on me, huh?  Heheh."
[12:39:29] * Niina walks closer, with a stern look on her face. "I mean, it makes sense that a lot of people are scared of the youma - Hi Fate by the way, don't get caught by the hall monitors - but aren't some of the absentees a little weird?"
[12:39:56] <@GeMshuku> "No, they're good~! Makes it easier to have a secret identity, too. Glasses on, not magical, you're Niina. Glasses off, magical, you're Reina."
[12:40:21] <@GeMshuku> No response from Fate, either because it's being sneaky or because it isn't here.
[12:40:44] <Niina> "Oh hey you're right, Reina only has one eye so that kinda works."  A sage nod.
[12:41:34] <@GeMshuku> "...All I've been able to notice is that there's just a LOT of people not here, but there's an easy explanation for that, so..."
[12:43:28] <Niina> "Mhm.  Don't worry, I've snuck a few peeks at the other students' records before, and some of them just makes no sense.  Perfect attendance, perfect grades, but they're still not here; why do you think that is?"
[12:44:11] <Niina> "Maybe their parents pulled them from school and put them in bomb shelters, or maybe..."  Niina puts the glasses back in just to push them up with her index finger.  Chikako might be able to see a flash from them- you know, like, a flash of insight?  "... they got abducted."
[12:53:05] <@GeMshuku> "...Abducted, huh? But...by who? Youma? ...Fate? ...Some person, freaking out?"
[12:54:10] <Niina> "Any of those things."  She sits down and opens her tiny lunchbox which actually just has a single onigiri in it or somesuch.  "I'll go over them one-at-a-time, actually."
[12:55:00] <Niina> "We don't understand the youma entirely yet, and since the last one went on a destructive rampage, it makes sense that in this altered-reality world they'd have it out for humanity, right?  So there could be one that, say, eats people, or uses them as fuel, or something."
[12:55:31] <Niina> "We already know what might be going on with the second one, so I won't say anything for now, but it could be even worse than we imagine."
[12:57:38] <Niina> "And the last one, well, there are lots of apocalypse theorists out there who think this is the end of the world, right?  Maybe they're going crazy and abducting kids for no reason, or maybe there's actually a secret underground cultist hideout and they're taking otherwise-well-to-do high school students and using them as sacrifices to summon Cthulhu and battle the world-destroying aliens
[12:57:38] <Niina> with the power of the Old Ones."
[12:58:05] <Niina> "... Which will, in turn, end up destroying the world anyway, but I mean, I'm sure they're prepared for that, right?  That's why they're cultists."
[12:58:27] * Niina eats the whole onigiri in a single bite. "Anyway, those're my theories. But the point stands that there are enough people missing that something's definitely up."
[13:06:57] <@GeMshuku> Chikako's got...fancy food, who'da thunk. Despite all the fancy food though, she's eating a perfectly normal sandwich right now. She gives what Niina says a long, hard thought. "...No matter how you cut it, it's kinda scary either way. In the case of it being youma, the question is if they're just abducting smart ones, or abducting random kids...or just random people. If it chooses its targets, that'd tell us it's smarter than the last one, probably..."
[13:08:12] <Niina> "And if it's the rabbit, they might be skipping school fighting youma as we speak.  Which would mean reality's already about had it."
[13:10:29] <@GeMshuku> "Yeah, and if more youma show up because there's more magical girls, the military will definitely get caught up in this. It'll become an actual warground...people will investigate the youma, as well as the magical girls, and that'll probably lead into them questioning Fate."
[13:11:02] <@GeMshuku> "...Thinking about it like that, I wonder just how bad that scenario would be...but it makes me wonder how the All-Seeing One would take it."
[13:15:41] * Niina leans back, lying down on the... whatever material the roof is made of, and stretches out a bit. "The more I think about it, the more I realize that what's happening right now is sort of my fault. And with the All-Seeing out of the picture, I can basically take its place, right? ... I mean, I can't ACTUALLY see everything - they told me my eyesight's like 20/100 or something now, geez
[13:15:41] * Niina - but I can at least do a lot of research and try to have 'eyes' in a lot of different places. And I'm also able to prevent as much damage as possible from being done, right?"
[13:17:37] <Niina> "I," a sigh, "still didn't write that message yet.  Kinda feel like I want to see how bad it actually gets before I'm ready to tell people in the future what our world's like now.  But, we're also running out of time."
[13:18:53] <Niina> man afternoon in crossbell is ABSOLUTELY roof music holy hell i never even thought about it that way until now
[13:20:09] <Niina> "Anyway, you have any ideas on this?  I have... one, but it's risky and might even take more power than we have right now, so I think listening to you is a safe bet for now, Miss 'Power of Protection.'"
[13:26:17] <@GeMshuku> "Hmm...well, first we gotta figure out what thing is actually happening. I feel like if it's number two, some are checking the scene of our last battle, cause if they're magical, they'd check out the scene where magical girls fought something, right? If they're not magical, then it would rule out number two. One and three...would probably require combing the entire city to find out where they are, or making me the target for a kidnapping. And I'd rather not!"
[13:27:33] <Niina> "Aww.  You say that like I wouldn't rescue you if you got kidnapped!"
[13:29:30] <Niina> "... But you're right.  I mean, we could always just fly up in the sky and use a LOT of magic to give a big, obvious magical signal, but.... then again, the other day we talked about this, right?  How they might not want to be our allies?  So that's dangerous to do, even if we find out their identities."
[13:29:59] <Niina> "Instead, how about we try to get a different kind of ally?"
[13:32:35] <@GeMshuku> "W-well, you would, yeah! But I'd still rather go through all the other options first! If my parents ever catch wind of me getting kidnapped--the very idea of it, even--I'll never be able to sneak outside again. It'd get messy fast."
[13:33:00] <@GeMshuku> "24/7 cameras. Homeschooling."
[13:33:26] <Niina> "Ooh, 24/7 cameras.  Gotta write that one down."
[13:33:44] <@GeMshuku> "...That said, yeah, you got a point. But what other kind of ally could we get?"
[13:33:53] <Niina> "Well, not on you specifically, but, erm," cough cough.  "Yeah, as I was saying."
[13:35:44] <Niina> "Well, we're on the news, so I was thinking... what if there are people who are total freaks for this kind of thing?  Like, obsessed with the occult (stop looking at me like that), or camera weirdos?  They'd really want to find out all they can about magic and magic-users, right?"
[13:37:05] <Niina> "That's what I was thinking of with the idea of 'having eyes in a lot of places,' like the All-Seeing One.  If we can find a perfectly normal human, maybe even a few of them, and get them to be spies for us, we can find out about other magic-users without having to worry about getting too close to them ourselves, wouldn't you think?"
[13:42:38] <@GeMshuku> "...Oooh, I can see that working (though those people wouldn't be normal at all yes I'm looking at you)! If we just find people that...are into this stuff that won't rat us out, it'll make things a lot easier~!" She nods vigorously! A good idea!
[13:43:11] * Niina activates the /glassesadjust command.
[13:44:11] <@GeMshuku> /glassesadju--wait, she doesn't have those. "...Maybe I should get a pair of sunglasses."
[13:44:14] <Niina> "You've got a good point, yeah.  If we reveal our identities, then that rabbit could find them and make them magical, too.  And then we wouldn't have anything to gain anymore."
[13:44:39] <Niina> "(I'm surprised you don't have any really, you'd think you'd have like, twenty pairs by now)"
[13:45:17] <Niina> "Ahem.  Well... that all depends on where we look, though."
[13:46:53] <Niina> "... Lunch is almost over, I think.  I could probably swing by the clubrooms and see if there's anyone here who could help, but then we'd have to deal with the risk we just talked about.  We COULD hide our identities, but then we'd have the problem of getting them to trust us..."
[13:48:16] <@GeMshuku> "(Mom insists on hats.) People are pretty hard to work with, especially when there's a lot of reason to worry. I could always use my own leverage if things go too far south?"
[13:48:37] <Niina> "Our powers make us stronger than normal humans though, right?  Ever watched those Yakuza movies?  I bet we could totally dig around for a criminal underworld and show off our stuff and get some shady adults to be our eyes.  Even Fate would have a hard time dealing with those types of people, so if we pulled it off, we'd be clear, yeah?"
[13:49:02] <Niina> "... I mean, they'd have to actually exist, but since we're in a reality where MAGIC exists I dunno if that's so far-fetched anymore."
[13:49:49] <Niina> "Oh!  And there's a third option."
[13:49:59] * Niina adjusts her glasses with ferocity never before seen on this earth.
[13:50:05] <Niina> "... My little sister."
[13:51:15] <@GeMshuku> "...I...go on."
[13:51:45] <Niina> "
[13:51:48] <Niina> lol
[13:51:51] <@GeMshuku> lel
[13:53:51] <@GeMshuku> Can she possibly be this cute? Inquiring minds want to know.
[13:54:12] <Niina> "My sister Michiru really likes watching TV shows about... uh, I think it's pretty similar.  Teenage girls transforming and wearing frilly costumes and using stock footage moves to fight monsters or something?  I was kinda thinking, what if there's an age limit to magical power?  I don't have any proof to go off on, but maybe an adult would be too old to get Fated, and she'd be too young.
[13:54:12] <Niina> She's like, 9.  So if my theory's right, we could get that kid to play detective and find all the magic in Maebashi... but, it's just a theory, and my mom would have my head if she found out."
[13:54:44] <Niina> oh god i just had the worst idea in the world but i'm not going to say anything right now, let it never be spoken for the sake of humanity
[13:59:34] <@GeMshuku> "...It seems possible, which leans a lot towards possibility number two. ...And if there's anyone that'd figure out magic really fast, it...it would be a 9 year old that watches that kind of thing, wouldn't it? And let's say she did rat you out, she'd be 9, that'd be hard to believe, especially since you're...well, you."
[14:00:14] <@GeMshuku> "Though, uh, if you get involved with the yakuza and then get your little sister involved, that might get kinda scary. So we can only do so much of these plans at once!"
[14:02:51] <Niina> "Yeah."  Sitting up, Niina crosses her arms and gives another nod.  But her expression is especially perplexed, this time.  "Option #1, finding someone in school, is the easiest, but probably most easiest to get us ratted out.  #2 is the most, well, overall bad, but if we go in transformed they wouldn't be able to find out our identities maybe?  ... Still the possibility of getting shot and
[14:02:51] <Niina> everything bad that comes with shady people like that.  #3... well, I talk to her a lot, but thanks to my mom she probably doesn't ACTUALLY believe the things I tell her.  But that one could work out really well for us... and bad if Fate finds her.  Maybe."
[14:03:06] <Niina> "I wish I had a 3-sided coin, but those don't exist.  Hmmm."
[14:03:20] * Niina lies back down. "Eh, I don't wanna overthink it. You pick for me, 'kay?"
[14:08:43] <@GeMshuku> She ponders for a short while, quickly coming to a decision (unlike this post, which took years). "Fate would find out really quickly if you had a sister either way, and if she became magical, you'd get upset realllllly fast, and maybe it's smart enough to not risk that. And #2's still really bad, so...if I had to prioritize them, it'd be #3, then #1, then #2."
[14:09:23] <@GeMshuku> "And really, there's probably a surge of occult interest from other, less shady adult cause of this, so...we could always include people that aren't students from #1 if it's preferred?"
[14:10:53] <Niina> "Oh!  Yeah, we could just to straight TO a news crew and tell them what's up, huh?  I guess I'll see Micchi then, and if that falls through no harm done.  Not like she can think I'm any crazier than she already does, having to put up with me her whole life and all."
[14:11:30] <Niina> "Fate having told us that it's killable really helps out, because if something happened to her I'd find out whether it was telling the truth or not REAL fast."  A vigorous nod.
[14:13:15] <@GeMshuku> "Uh, news would be bad. They love figuring things out. If they figure things out, everyone will know, no questions asked. Last thing they need is a really good look at our faces, magical or otherwise."
[14:13:44] <@GeMshuku> "Like, I'd opt out of talking to them, because they might recognize my face. It's not too changed from the magic, see."
[14:13:50] <Niina> "... Right."
[14:13:58] <Niina> "No-no on that one then."
[14:14:49] <@GeMshuku> "I can still see other people working, though, but definitely no to the news. ...Might not matter if it goes really well with your little sister, though! ...But again, she IS one person, and...well, 9."
[14:14:56] * Niina gets up. "Gotcha then. Should be the bell soon- I'll tell you how it went tomorrow, 'kay?"
[14:16:38] <@GeMshuku> "Alright, good luck! I'll see if I can figure anything out from my parents or something, and if I figure anything out, I'll let you know~!"
[14:17:27] <@GeMshuku> She managed to finish her whole lunch! There was actually a lot of fancy food, but somehow, lunch actually lasted a time. It's nice that there's some long lunchtimes left in this cruel world.
[14:18:47] <Niina> Chikako has monstrous metabolism, noted.  Guess someone's gotta.
[14:19:35] <Niina> Aaaaaaaaaand classtimes whocares guess who's sleeping through it, and probably through the inevitable youma attack where a students gets their dream locked and forms a youma made out of the dream of wanting to be a soccer player or someshit
[14:19:38] <Niina> yyyep
[14:24:54] <@GeMshuku> It's CLAAAASSSSSSSSSS, who caaaarrreeessssssssssssszzzzzzz...
[14:24:58] <Niina> zzzzzzzzzzzzz
[14:25:14] <Niina> SO WE DOIN THIS?
[14:26:29] <Niina> If you're not confident, we could always skip past it and then I'LL perspectiveswap and make you run loliventures, but there's an obvious danger with that in that it'll go full Rainy so you should probably handle things
[14:27:44] <@GeMshuku> You find the lack of youma invading your dreams...well, you find it something. But eventually, you make it home! Mom's out, she's not saying where, assume the worst.
[14:28:00] <Niina> Good answer.
[14:28:25] * Niina assumes the best: She's doing old lady shit, like gossipping with other old women about their children's misbehavior.
[14:30:05] <@GeMshuku> ...Brother's out, as usual. Convinent? Probably! It means that the one watching the house is 9 year old 中上川三千留, who's...watching TV right now, which isn't exactly the house.
[14:30:18] <Niina> It's about to be the house.
[14:30:22] <Niina> ... wait that makes no sense
[14:30:44] <Niina> .. ran out of puns, ask again later
[14:31:48] <Niina> In that case all Niina has to do once is barge in through the door and take a look left and right to make sure the other jerks aren't home.  They're not?  Good.  One's out mackin' on kawaii neckos, and the other's doing old lady shit, couldn't be more perfect.  .. And even if those assumptions aren't true, good enough.
[14:31:58] <Niina> So without further adieu:
[14:32:19] <@GeMshuku> The kawaii neckos are probably all worried sick. Someone might actually become a cat with how things are going, honestly.
[14:32:29] * Niina bursts through the door with so much excitement that her tongue looks like it curled into a heart shape. "Hey Micchy, wanna help save the world?"
[14:34:10] <Niina> Literally nobody else on earth gets a nickname like this from Niina of all people.  みっち is the only one.  And it's not even like, 'Micchan' or something, because '-chi' sounds even more cutesy.  It'd actually be kind of embarrassing outside of the house, nevermind the fact that it was vaguely mentioned at school earlier.
[14:36:04] <@GeMshuku> She gets up, turns to you, and starts to say something, but instead stares...squints...her 9 year old brain hasn't been made to mush by TV yet, it seems.
[14:37:11] <@GeMshuku> ...And then her eyes shine. "...So it was you! It's a secret to everyone!"
[14:37:18] <Niina> ... your music is infinitely better than the one I was going to suggest
[14:38:02] * Niina grins ear-to-ear. "That's my little detective, alright. What tipped you off?"
[14:40:05] <@GeMshuku> "Asclon, duh! That, and you're a dork!" She grins too.
[14:41:07] <Niina> Ascalon's actually in her pocket.  Yeah, that one.  And it comes out almost instincively, held out for Niina to stare at it.  "Oh, hey, you're right.  And who else would put a 'zero' in their name like that, seriously, wouldn't they think it's too corny?"  She's not even trying to hold back a chuckle, now.
[14:41:56] <Niina> Well maybe it's less 'chuck'e and more 'chaotic laughter.'  The chuuni throws herself on... a bed, or couch, or something, making sure to close the knife first lest it lead to a fatal accident.  That'd be really anticlimactic.
[14:42:08] <Niina> disregard that ' misplacement, somebody else is laughing chaotically too
[14:42:44] <Niina> "... Oh, shoot, I didn't say my name that time, did I."
[14:43:41] <Niina> "Heh, whoops!  Oh well serious offer, world needs savin' really bad.  Up for the task?"
[14:44:32] * Niina whips out a candy cig and munches it whole btw. Not even pretending to smoke it, just NOMF.
[14:44:43] <Niina> those things taste like chalk btw
[14:46:31] <@GeMshuku> So about as good as a normal cig. ...Michiru thinks about it for like, half a second. "Sure! I'll be the number three!" ...She's getting the wrong idea. "Why doncha have five anyway? Haven't found em yet?"
[14:46:43] <Niina> beautiful
[14:47:18] <Niina> "Well um, there's a reason for that..."  She scratches the back of her head, suddenly becoming conscious that there's not a giant nothing-hand to do it for her.  "That's... gonna be the hard part to explain."
[14:48:00] <Niina> "See... uh..."  She pushes her index fingers together, struggling for words.
[14:48:45] <Niina> "..."  Imagining the sheer disappointment that's going to be on the imouto's face makes it so much worse.
[14:49:33] <@GeMshuku> She struggles to concentrate long enough to listen in her general excitement. IT HURTS YOU INSIDE, proof that you're not entirely a void yet.
[14:49:40] <Niina> "We kinda..."  Down to a hushed whisper, "... are the bad guys."
[14:50:42] <Niina> "W-Well uh I mean not like BAD-bad, but... like... a-antiheroes?"  Then the realization that a 9-year-old would have no reason to know what that term means.   Hell, even adults struggle with it.  "Er... uh..."
[14:50:55] <@GeMshuku> You can visibly see her struggling to understand this one.
[14:51:10] <Niina> "Like Tuxxxdo Mxxx!"
[14:51:12] <Niina> just like in manga
[14:52:24] <Niina> "Like, how he was good but he still did the things that Sxxxor Mxxx couldn't, and..."
[14:52:41] <Niina> "... Nevermind, how about this way."
[14:53:13] <@GeMshuku> You can practically see the (?) clouds above her head multiplying.
[14:53:27] <Niina> "We got our powers from evil aliens and it's going to destroy the world, and it's kinda your oneechan's fault that it happened at all.  So we wanna stop that from happening!"
[14:53:34] <Niina> "While... still looking cool and fighting monsters?"
[14:53:42] * Niina wears a big smile, hoping that one worked.
[14:55:20] <@GeMshuku> ...And they all clear up for a (!)! "Kinda-sorta like Mxdxkx!" GOD DAMN IT MICHIRU WHY
[14:55:37] <Niina> aaaaaaaaaaa "... Yes."
[14:56:01] <Niina> "I regret peeking in to see that show that one time but from what I saw, it's kinda like that."
[14:56:19] <Niina> "... Okay, those two times."
[14:56:22] <Niina> "..."
[14:56:41] <Niina> "Alright I marathoned it anyway doesn't matter, that's pretty much what's happening."
[14:57:40] <@GeMshuku> "...So what was your wish?" Michiru pls.
[14:59:13] <Niina> "Oh, I kinda got shoehorned into one of those 'become magical to not die' situations.  Turned out the thing I wanted to not get killed by was actually not such a bad guy at all and was just a misunderstood guardian of the universe or something."
[14:59:41] <Niina> "Aaaaaand now here we are."
[15:00:15] <Niina> "(Totally blasted it by the way)," still grinning, "(Real shame there weren't any cameras that time)."
[15:02:29] <@GeMshuku> "Ooooooooooooh." She...is pretty sure she understands, at least so she thinks inside her head. She gives you a thumbs up. "Goooood job!"
[15:03:13] <Niina> "I KNOW, RIGHT?  Someone understands!"  She's a second away from picking up the 9-year-old and spinning around in a circle.  It's a very, very difficult urge to resist.
[15:03:30] <Niina> "... Er, the first part's not good, though.  That's not quite right, Micchy."
[15:04:22] <@GeMshuku> "W-well, if you blasted him, he was gonna do something bad, right?"
[15:04:26] <Niina> "See, uh, it's all really complicated, but basically each time magic happens it chips away at reality, and before you know it you'll wake up and realize you're a sandwich.  And you've always been a sandwich."
[15:04:50] * Niina headscratches. "... Right, I forget you're so genre-savvy. Yeah he wanted to destroy humanity but we could've talked it out I swear!"
[15:05:02] <@GeMshuku> Pick her up, swing her around, let go, [spoilertext]SO LONG GAY BOWSER, BOOM[/spoilertext]
[15:05:06] <Niina> "Like in Nxxxha!"
[15:05:12] <Niina> n1
[15:06:19] <Niina> "We didn't, though, and now the aliens are free to invade Earth.  So listen closely now, this is really important, here's what I need you do to."
[15:06:36] <@GeMshuku> She listens as closely as she can. ...Which could use some work, really, but there it is.
[15:06:40] <Niina> the realization that this is going to be impossible to explain without some kind of disappointment happening starts to sink in
[15:06:55] <@GeMshuku> Again.
[15:06:57] * Niina even sweats a little bit. Like, Phoenix Wright sweat, not gross 'just ran a mile' sweat.
[15:07:45] <Niina> "So... I think there are going to be more magical girls.  Like, A LOT more, because each one helps the aliens.  You know how that works, right?"
[15:08:31] <@GeMshuku> "Uh-huuuuuh." She nods in understanding. At least three more. Gotta have five. She's too dorky to not have five.
[15:08:40] <Niina> "And..."  She looks to the side, gritting her teeth, bracing for this one.  "... If you became one too, that'd be another step closer to 'goodbye, world.'"
[15:09:05] <Niina> "B-But!"
[15:09:12] <Niina> gotta interject fast
[15:09:29] <@GeMshuku> You don't have much time!
[15:09:39] <@GeMshuku> She's tearing up a bit!
[15:09:44] <Niina> "You can get close to them and watch the cool stuff they do."  Gotta hurry before the explosion.  "In fact, that's what I want you to do!"
[15:10:25] <Niina> "And it also means you're a lot less likely to, you know, get killed by monsters.  Your big sis can handle it, but you know how I'd feel if you were in real danger... and let's not even think about Mom."
[15:10:47] <Niina> "Douchebag wouldn't care at all but let's not think about him, who KNOWS what he's doing right now."
[15:14:23] <@GeMshuku> ...Good enough! Sniiiiff. "Y-yeah. She wouldn't even let me watch Mxdxkx. I'm a big girl! ...And you're a dork!" She at least seems to accept that! "And yeah, big baggie's out..." She tries to do an impression of him. "Calmin some ladies down, rawr." She laughs at her own (far too good) impression.
[15:14:45] * Niina loses it too, it's TOO good. Nyaa. Rawr.
[15:15:14] <Niina> "Yeah, knowing him, the ladies'll probably end up dying of a broken kokoro or something.  Sheesh."
[15:15:30] <Niina> "Er, right."
[15:15:56] <Niina> "Yeah, you're a big girl, that's why I'm trusting you with what might be the most important job in the WORLD.  No joke."
[15:17:57] <@GeMshuku> "A job only I can do, cause I'm...the best detective!" She tries, and fails, to adjust her glasses, mostly because she doesn't have any. She still does it though, and thinks nothing of it.
[15:18:42] <Niina> "Seeeeeee, I don't know anything about these... other magical girls out there.  Actually, there might already be a team of 5 color-coded warriors in sailor uniforms with elemental powers by now, but I can't go talk to them myself because... er, well, what if you were magical and somebody told you to stop using your powers forever?  That'd be even worse than what I'm doing to you now, right?"
[15:19:33] <Niina> "And being the best detective, you already found out my identity when nobody else in the world could, so.  Point for you right there."
[15:21:31] <Niina> "So, if it's not already obvious," she actually DOES adjust her glasses.  Very cooly.  "What I need you to do is find them, and find out who they really are."
[15:26:21] <@GeMshuku> "My job is to...figure out secret identities." She takes this in, and accepts it. Awwww yeeaaaahhhhhh. "That's like, really cool! It does kinda sorta maybe a bit make me like Tuxxxdo Mxxx! ...Does that mean I need a costume? Cause I still want a costume!"
[15:27:38] <Niina> "Hmm, maybe not one made of magic, but those feel really weird anyway (I'll prove it to you in a minute too).  I'll totally help you get one though... wonder if my school has a handicrafts club or something I can ask a favor from..."
[15:28:59] <Niina> She hmms a bit more but then holds up an index finger of warning.  "It's not just fun&games though!  It'll be really dangerous, and really scary.  ... Not as bad as actually fighting but, y'know, up there."
[15:30:20] <Niina> "Just promise me one thing!  If you see a talking rabbit with a gear on its head, you WILL NOT talk to it.  That's the alien, and it'll tell any lie to get what it wants."
[15:30:47] * Niina almost-instinctively scans the room for said rabbit. Geez, would've been smarter to a Fate-check BEFORE starting to talk.
[15:32:24] <@GeMshuku> "Yep! Gotta take serious stuff seriously!" She puts on a super-serious face. ...It's seriously adorable. "...But only with a cool costume! Otherwise, they'll figure out my secret identity! Gotta be seriously serious in a serious costume! ...For serious!"
[15:32:32] <Niina> oh gods hnnnnggg
[15:32:36] <@GeMshuku> Stiiiiill no sign of Fate. That's both comforting and worrying.
[15:32:43] <Niina> VERY VERY COMFORTING RIGHT NOW
[15:33:03] * Niina does a DOUBLE-scan for the gear floating around. Can never be too careful.
[15:34:03] <Niina> ... But goes back to talking anyway.  "Oh, yeah.  I don't wanna put you through the same fate" heh "I'm going through but I'm not heartless.  I'll make sure you get the coolest costume EVER.  Maybe with like, a mask and everything."
[15:34:32] <Niina> "..."
[15:34:40] * Niina pauses to think for a second.
[15:35:12] <@GeMshuku> ...No gear, either. That's comforting!
[15:36:02] <Niina> "As proof of my good intentions, I'll let you borrow Sacred Blade Divine Ascalon for a while.  I'll try to put some of my magic in it too so it can protect you if things get really bad, but not SO much that it'll give you away.   ... Wonder if I can even do that?  No better time to find out than the present, I guess."
[15:37:24] <Niina> "Here, take it.  Don't let anyone see you with it, but my new friend and I are more than enough to fight the youma right now."  Still giving a chuunibyou grin, she pulls the closed pocketknife out and hands it to a 9-year-old.  Please don't do this at home.
[15:41:38] <@GeMshuku> Giving a knife to a little kid is pretty why, but then again, so is Niina. Her eyes glow, seeing the previously thought to just be an ordinary knife that her big sis called Ascalon for no good reason but is ACTUALLY THE LEGENDARY WEAPON ASCALON but is probably still just an ordinary knife unless she gives the knife some serious oomph. Anything else might as well not even.
[15:41:49] <@GeMshuku> If you want to give it actual magic, it'd probably involve a sorcery.
[15:41:59] <@GeMshuku> Otherwise it's like, a good luck charm sort of deal.
[15:42:21] <Niina> GOOD because transforming to show off is going to happen anyway (there's another why to add to the pile), but let's see how many sixes we get anyway.
[15:45:16] <@GeMshuku> Where's that sorcery section...
[15:45:32] <Niina> i... oh god there are rules for rolling TOO HIGH aren't there
[15:45:35] <Niina> EWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN
[15:46:00] <Niina> That's 35 btw.  Just uh... just so you... lemme get started
[15:46:17] <@GeMshuku> DID YOU ROLL MORE WHEN I WASN'T LOOKING
[15:46:41] <Niina> Yeah you can go look now, it's right there
[15:47:33] <@GeMshuku> >Extreme (26): Effect has a substantial effect on the lives of the people throughout the city
[15:47:50] <@GeMshuku> You...you're writing something, right? I'll...I'll wait for you.
[15:48:04] <Niina> ... Well, the intention was to have this influence people's lives anyway, just... sub... tly....
[15:48:34] <Niina> btw the nick's taken by some random again, just gonna be a bit lazier
[15:51:07] <Niina> Suffice it to say, the weapon handed over is in essence definitely a legendary god-slaying weapon and not just a knife.  Even though it was SUPPOSED to just be a good luck charm.  Niina instantly transforms, proving to her imouto that there was nothing but honesty in her words, and as a bonus one of the nothing-colored tendrils at her back taps the little girl on the shoulder.  It feels just
[15:51:07] <Niina> as weird as it looks.  Touching the blade with the giant hand that comes out of her right eye, it begins to glow... and glow, and glow, and glow, and glow.  And then it stops.  If opened, the blade instead looks like a GIANT-ASS LIGHTSABER LIKE IN THE LAST BATTLE BUT AS BIG AS TWO HUMANS STANDING ON TOP OF EACH OTHER.  Closed, it's just an ordinary knife.
[15:51:52] * Niina immediately tries to detransform after that, a little embarrassed. It seems like most of the power went into the disguise, but there was still A LOT sunk into its weapon strength. Jeezus.
[15:52:24] <Niina> Oh and Niina's blue eyes are probably sparkling like a shoujo protagonist by now.
[16:03:00] <@GeMshuku> [THE LEGENDARY WEAPON ASCALON] retains its legendary weapon status, and perhaps a bit more than that. While a lot was put into the disguise, you don't really have the MOST control over that, and even closed, it's radiates a sense of magic...and quite possibly unease, but maybe it's because you're not holding it anymore, and she is. She, she hasn't felt so at ease in her life. Her big sis is, in fact, ridiculously awesome, and not just a huge dork (but she still is).
[16:04:10] <Niina> "Uh..."
[16:04:24] <Niina> "T-That... well... er... I..."
[16:04:42] <@GeMshuku> "Coooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" oh she's gonna be at this for a while
[16:04:50] <Niina> A) "Nevermind, I'll keep that."
[16:04:59] <Niina> B) "... Eh, it's fine, that'll protect you from anything."
[16:05:02] <Niina> ...
[16:05:03] <@GeMshuku> "oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"
[16:05:09] <@GeMshuku> She takes a breath.
[16:05:10] <Niina> >B) "... Eh, it's fine, that'll protect you from anything."
[16:05:20] <@GeMshuku> "oooooooooooooooooooool!" IT IS.
[16:05:20] <Niina> "... Eh, it's fine, that'll protect you from anything."
[16:05:33] <Niina> bad ideas just keep piling up
[16:05:50] <@GeMshuku> You feel the world tremble as a result of the excessive magic use, of course. Strangely, you don't feel anything else but it, trembling. Perhaps Ascalon truly does keep them at bay, in which case you're really feeling >B) right now. Even as an emoticon.
[16:06:18] <@GeMshuku> ...Of course, that means something might have happened elsewhere.
[16:06:20] <Niina> "Just don't go around showing it to people, 'kay?  That's for if the job I gave you puts your life in danger."
[16:06:25] <@GeMshuku> ...Or maybe not. You don't know!
[16:06:57] <@GeMshuku> "OK! It's a secret to everyone! If evil aliens show up, I...er, does beating it up do anything? Or does it like, eat itself?"
[16:07:03] * Niina happily points at herself with a thumb. "After all, it IS the legendary weapon of the Savior of the Universe!"
[16:07:39] <Niina> "Hmm, I dunno what would happen if you actually beat an evil alien.  I don't think we wanna find out."
[16:08:16] <@GeMshuku> "Allllright. So if anything ELSE shows up, I'll...uh, keep it away with this!" She's figuring this out!
[16:08:51] <Niina> "What I wanna do is find the other magical girls and talk some sense into them to help me save the world.  And I'm gonna need leverage to help me do that."  She grins a wicked grin.  "By which I mean their identities, obviously."
[16:09:22] <Niina> "... Oh and I also wanna find out if that's why a lot of people went missing from school, and it probably is, but the other thing's important too."
[16:10:21] * Niina pats Micchy on the head. "That's all your big sis wants, though. Think you can handle it?"
[16:16:31] <@GeMshuku> "I can do it! I can do all kinds of things! I'll find people with secret identities, and I'll find out what they are~!"  Grin. "And then big sis can be a huge dork and save the world with them! Somehow!"
[16:16:48] <Niina> "Hehe.  Good girl."
[16:17:03] <Niina> "Oh yeah, one more thing..."
[16:18:00] <@GeMshuku> "Huh~?"
[16:18:08] <Niina> "You have one of those, like, secret diary things, right?  One of the fancy ones with the passworded locks?  I think I remember seeing something like that."
[16:18:16] <Niina> "Uhh, if you haven't been using it for anything, mind if I borrow it?"
[16:23:22] <@GeMshuku> Too busy watching TV? Too busy watching TV. "Suuure!" She gets up, and goes to her room. ARE YOU GONNA FOLLOW HER IN?
[16:24:26] <Niina> Absolutely.  Ready to battle the youma that's hiding in there, bring it let's go
[16:25:25] <Niina> Besides, how much merch can a 9-year-old have?  Even... a 9-year-old with parents who have more money than they need.  Oh god it's gonna be poster & wallscroll city in there.
[16:26:42] <@GeMshuku> YOU GO INTO HER ROOM AND IT'S FULL OF YOUMA--wait no actually it isn't that's just all the merch. EVERY SINGLE PRECURE.
[16:27:23] <Niina> Nice.  Hopefully she has good taste, like 'liking yellows.'  Yellows are the best.
[16:27:36] <Niina> ... Even in tokusatsu yellows are totes the best actually, funny how that works
[16:28:25] <@GeMshuku> They are, she knows it, you know it. There's actually some of the monsters here, but they're all arranged in ways that have them just getting beat up. JUSTICE IS VICTORIOUS.
[16:28:34] * Niina walks in totally nonchalantly so long as the cures aren't actually magical. .. With all the magic she just used it probably FEELS like they could all come to life, which would make her imouto absolutely piss herself in joy (and probably faint), but hopefully that isn't true.
[16:33:40] <@GeMshuku> Thankfully (for me), they don't. It DOES feel magical, but not as magical as your little sister, right? ...You know, since she has the [THE LEGENDARY WEAPON ASCALON]. She goes in a drawer and digs out--more merch, eventually followed by a diary which also happens to be merch itself. C*r* P**c* on the front and everything! "Here you go! Take good care of it!"
[16:35:56] <Niina> Not P*n*?  Awwh.  Still not the worst choice, so the World-Savior happily takes it.  "Thanks a bunch.  I need this to save the world too, if you can believe it."
[16:36:24] * Niina looks blissfully at the ceiling. "Things are really looking up, I guess. Couldn't do it without your help."
[16:37:09] <Niina> "But be really careful, okay?  Don't get so close that you get hurt, I dunno what I'd do if that happened."
[16:40:34] <Niina> ... please don't search precure on soundcloud btw, nothing is worth this suffering
[16:41:32] <@GeMshuku> "Together, we'll save the world! From the evil aliens, and...er, whatever else! And don't you worry! I've got the Ascalon by my side! It will guide me!" She's almost starting to sound as dorky as you. Is dorkiness terminal? Is your mother going to have a heart attack? Signs point to yes!
[16:42:22] <Niina> Yep, no doubt about it.  "Heh heh.  There's nobody I'd trust more."
[16:42:38] <Niina> "... Now I'm really gonna need to sleep, that" -yawn- "took a lot more out of me than it should've.
[16:42:39] <Niina> "
[16:42:54] * Niina starts the trek back to her room, and immediately collapses on the floor.
[16:44:17] <Niina> btw i was looking for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9bn9E6SOvo which the cloud doesn't have at all for some reason, but have it anyway
[16:44:25] <Niina> your mission: get this unstuck from your head
[16:44:31] <Niina> (difficulty: impossible)
[16:45:41] <@GeMshuku> welllllllllllllll
[16:45:43] <@GeMshuku> there's https://soundcloud.com/icelilac1/maika-japanese-h-ppy-together
[16:46:15] <Niina> oh huh i guess that's what i get for searching in runes instead of using the name
[16:46:19] <@GeMshuku> but, NO VOCALOID
[16:46:51] <Niina> actually that sounds really good
[16:46:59] <Niina> for being what it is
[16:47:00] <Niina> WEIRD
[16:47:46] <Niina> still P R E C U R E SONG 4 U LET'S DANCE FRESH PURIKYUA
[16:48:31] <@GeMshuku> "Good...afternoon!" Niina, after a hard day of sleeping in school and destroying the world, falls asleep on the floor, after getting her little sister involved in a huge mess!
[16:48:44] <Niina> THE BEST PERSON
[16:50:38] <Niina> (
[16:50:39] <Niina> p
[16:50:40] <Niina> r
[16:50:40] <Niina> e
[16:50:40] <Niina> c
[16:50:41] <Niina> u
[16:50:41] <Niina> r
[16:50:43] <Niina> e
[16:50:46] <Niina> )
[16:51:20] <Niina> ok ready to immediately move on to the youma fight?  : ^ )
[16:51:35] <@GeMshuku> WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST TO BRING YOU
[16:51:48] <@GeMshuku> something else for the moment while shuku recharges

/intermissionmusic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9JlrTKCO5k
/endintermissionmusic

[17:11:03] <@GeMshuku> Shuku is basically charged! ARE YOU READY to like, wake up at 10 PM or something?
[17:11:33] <Niina> aw yeah, it's either do that here or do that irl
[17:11:39] <Niina> and only one of us has alcohol to drink
[17:11:49] <Niina> ... for now
[17:15:25] <@GeMshuku> Niina does that, then! Sleeping on the floor, when the bed's RIGHT THERE. Just Niina things.
[17:15:41] <@GeMshuku> ...No one awake to keep you from exploring!
[17:15:47] <Niina> sometimes you just magic so much you could probably have knocked the moon out of orbit
[17:16:00] <Niina> Takes a lot of energy!
[17:16:44] <Niina> Well, a normal person probably would've tried to go back to sleep until morning, but this isn't a normal person, and destiny calls.  There's almost definitely some sort of suffering awaiting outside.
[17:17:08] <Niina> Miiiiiight as well get it over with.
[17:17:52] * Niina yaaaaaaaaaawns and throws on- oh geez, still in uniform. For some reason cops always get onto kids in uniform out past curfew, though it's not like they don't get onto kids out past curfew regardless.
[17:18:31] <Niina> Ehh, no reason to change, it's fine.  No plans to get caught anyway, and it's summer.
[17:19:33] * Niina nonchalantly walks out the front door, taking the diary with though. Maybe in a little bag or something. If nothing else happens, tonight MIGHT be the night.
[17:20:14] <@GeMshuku> It's definitely 10 PMish, and it's definitely night, and it's at the temperature you expect...nothing feels off, OK, you're pretty sure no youma are hanging out here. Good, you can nonchalantly walk out the front door in peace!
[17:20:15] <Niina> Another paragraph more than a minute after the previous one to bait you into backspacing everything you just wrote due to new information.
[17:20:21] <Niina> damn i tried
[17:20:23] <@GeMshuku> Too bad, this is still good!
[17:21:05] <@GeMshuku> You note that there's more traffic than usual at this hour. Most of it's trucks. Not hard to guess why THAT is, huh?
[17:21:38] <Niina> It's gotta be Big Mutherfuckin' Crabs.  Reality has changed so much that the Mutherfuckin' Crab Goddess is unleashing her truck-drivin' minions on Earth.
[17:21:50] <Niina> Fucking crab truckers.
[17:22:07] <@GeMshuku> Shit, you got me, let's just put this system down and start running that, you're a kid now, you're a crab now.
[17:22:30] <@GeMshuku> ...you're pretty sure those are people, though, so nevermind.
[17:22:30] <Niina> ok all traits are "Chuunibyou!," got my d8s ready, bring it
[17:22:36] <Niina> ...But no yeah
[17:23:15] <Niina> The night stroll is as standard a night stroll as it can be, no intentions of raiding houses or anything this time.  The traffic can make it a little less peaceful than it should be, but it's not like she's walking in the middle of the road or anything.
[17:23:58] <@GeMshuku> That said, you're pretty sure that if Chikako isn't asleep, she's holed up in her room. An uneventful night, at least for now.
[17:24:50] <Niina> Yeah, and hopefully Micchy's a smart enough kid to not start trying her assignment this late at night... should've checked that before leaving, ah well.  It's probs fine.
[17:24:54] <Niina> ~ominous~
[17:25:26] <Niina> this song is no longer fitting does soundcloud have peace after darkness fades or something
[17:26:23] <Niina> ddddddddddddoesn't seem so
[17:26:34] <@GeMshuku> in the meantime
[17:26:49] <Niina> "It's quiet."  No reason not to be cliché.  "Too quiet."
[17:27:13] <@GeMshuku> It's night, doofus.
[17:27:16] <Niina> ok yeah that works
[17:27:42] <Niina> "... Hmm, that would've been a good time to pop out.  Must be busy."
[17:28:03] <Niina> "Which means..."
[17:28:41] * Niina lets out a sigh. Wonder what the fountain square looks like at night- that's not far, right?
[17:29:23] <@GeMshuku> It being busy is suspsicious enough. Scary scary. But what can even be investigated, in the dead of night? ...Town square probably isn't that crowded! And it's not far at all, thankfully for your middle aged mom with plenty of reasons to go shopping frequently, and no reasons not to.
[17:30:27] <Niina> It's just a sort of romantic setting.  You know, a fountain at night?  Happens in all media pretty much.
[17:30:57] <Niina> Well, either that or the 'You couldn't sleep either?' where the hero and heroine meet each other while staying at an inn, but this is pretty common too.
[17:31:40] <Niina> ... Also https://soundcloud.com/muzicfilez1/together-with-you-a-certain-rookie-blacksmith is arguably my favorite night music if you can stand the GBA-almost-GBC quality, but this one's fine too
[17:32:26] <Niina> That's more 'meeting someone at night' and not just 'night in general' though; chance encounter by the fountain roll the roulette let's go
[17:33:30] <@GeMshuku> The town square! The fountain square. A square where meetings are all too common. You want to roll a dice? ROLL A 1d100.
[17:33:37] <Niina> fuck yeah motherheller
[17:41:09] <@GeMshuku> The TOWN SQUARE. The FOUNTAIN SQUARE. A square where meetings are all TOO COMMON. It's not too far south from here, where the first non-major youma had surfaced, and then destroyed ON LIVE TELEVISION. Fun times. Of course, it's really late, and tensions are high, so people are far too busy leaving the area as opposed to gawking at it like a tourist attraction (like people were in the morning)...not that it's stopped everyone from coming and going.
[17:42:41] <Niina> It's nice because it's a relaxing sort of place.  Well, maybe not in daytime, but it's Niina's plan to just sit down there for a minute after arriving.  Unless cops are out & about, but it's easy enough to play an 'avoid the guards' minigame in that case anyway.
[17:43:27] <Niina> A good, peaceful night like this is a good time to scope out both this place AND Minasan's eveningtime versions, and then maybe get attacked by youma.  Or not.  A break's nice.
[17:44:17] <@GeMshuku> The weird thing that can still be seen in the lights still present, though, is a girl about your age sleeping right next to the fountain, somehow actually picking a worse sleeping location than you. Someone taped a 'weirdo, do not disturb' paper on her hoodie, which she has somehow managed to sleep inside. It looks like there's another deliquent here, actually.
[17:44:59] <Niina> ...
[17:45:03] <Niina> WHAT COLOR IS THE HOODIE
[17:45:06] <Niina> THIS IS IMPORTANT
[17:47:11] <@GeMshuku> ...A decidedly light shade of pink. ...You know, that's not a deliquent shade of hoodie. Still though, it takes tons of deliquent points to actually sleep outside.
[17:48:10] <Niina> Yeah, delinquent.OR a hobo.  Or... just a weirdo.  Either way this is something that gets in the way of plans.
[17:48:41] <Niina> "Oh no, somebody being here interferes with my plan."  Said stonefaced as ever, and out loud to boot.  "Whatever shall I do."
[17:49:23] <@GeMshuku> STILL no Fate. The hoodie girl stirs a bit, though.
[17:49:52] <Niina> "Far be it from a bright-eyed," by the way that's more true than it should be, kind of weird-looking even, "upstanding youth like myself to go against such clear instructions."  And those eyes look straight at the sign.
[17:50:22] <Niina> "... Just kidding."
[17:50:28] * Niina prods the sleeper with a foot.
[17:50:52] <Niina> A nicely-shoed foot, thank you very much.  .. Well, an untied tennis shoe, but whatever.
[17:51:15] <@GeMshuku> So, an...unnicely-shoed foot.
[17:51:28] <Niina> It's nicely because it's more of a shoe than a hobo would wear.  Which would be no shoe.
[17:54:28] <@GeMshuku> Or a shoe so badly worn that it's completely come apart on the outer side, so it's sort of like wearing a ring on your shoe for some reason. But literally who? Not her, since it's revealed that there are in fact shoes in that hoodie as SHE POPS RIGHT OUT OF IT, and the only reason she could get in the entire thing was because it was clearly oversized. Jeans, oversized hoodie, rainbow--wait, what?
[17:54:56] <Niina> What.
[17:55:11] <Niina> Oh, a brony?  Time to purge.
[17:56:26] <@GeMshuku> Alright, double-take that. Long rainbow hair, and yellow eyes. She seems quite wide awake--er, no, not actually. Wide awake only works in the sense that she's awake, and quite. But she can't quite tell what from whom. "Who--where--you!" And she quickly turns to Niina. "Who are you?" Oh lord, she might be legit unhinged.
[17:58:14] <Niina> Hmm.  Well, there are people obsessed with dyeing their hair out there.  "I'm a weirdo."
[17:58:31] <Niina> "But it seems like you're a weirdo just asking to get robbed or worse.  Don't you have a house to sleep in?"
[18:08:54] <@GeMshuku> She shakes herself to attention, and then notices the sign. Then she sighs. "I guess I'm a weirdo to these idiots, then. Not that I am, they just can't see. And even if they could see, they wouldn't be able to feel it. They don't get it, I keep telling them, but they don't get it. It doesn't matter where they run, it doesn't matter if they bring more people here...the world is undone..." ...Yeah, definitely legit unhinged. If she weren't, and if she didn't have rainbow hair, you could swear you feel your memory pawing for attention. You're pretty sure you don't know this weirdo, though.
[18:12:51] <Niina> "Hmm, well, yeah, I'm not a weirdo to me either.  But I've been called that by the rest of the world, so what do I care?  As long as it's not true to me, that's all that matters."  A stretch.  "I might as well be a weirdo for now though, it's not hurting me any.. Anyway, you should probably get headed home, but... I'm curious.  What caused the world to become undone in your opinion, mysterious
[18:12:51] <Niina> person?"
[18:13:39] * Niina takes a chomp of a you-know-what. Yep, she still has plenty.
[18:18:47] <@GeMshuku> "People. People do everything, so obviously, it's...people. People...people and..white. A whiteness...a s-sickening whiteness...a presence, everlasting and chaotic...it won't go away..." She shakes.
[18:20:10] <Niina> "Oh, these are white."  She hands out a candy cig.  "Want one?  I'm sure if you eat enough, they'll go away."
[18:22:30] <Niina> "Couldn't be more wrong though.  People do make mistakes, sure, but it's because of their nature that they're able to fix those mistakes.  The world is only doomed if people don't make an effort to save it."  Niina pauses and bites off another big chunk of a cig.  "... Sorry, I guess that's a weird thing to say to a stranger; I just remember someone I met before saying something really
[18:22:30] <Niina> similar."
[18:29:20] <@GeMshuku> She gives the cig a look, but keeps talking. "...no, no. People...they started it. They're...going to lose control to the white. I feel it. Only those tainted with the white can see...the others, they might notice, but...as the world becomes undone, so will they. They won't make it in time...the white and the black, all ingraspable to them...bystanders to their own fate, of their own making..."
[18:32:17] <Niina> "... You're pretty perceptive.  I have a hunch what you're talking about, and even if you are just totally nuts, we won't lose control.  The world's in better hands than it seems like."  Retracting the offer and stuffing the pack o' cigs back in a pocket, Niina stands and offers a hand.  "Need a walk home?  I'm feeling generous today."
[18:33:46] <Niina> By the way something scrawls 'weirdo' on the fountain somewhere, in very small writing.  With the way it's written it almost looks like the hand from Reina's eye wrote it, but it isn't anywhere to be seen.  THEN WHO WAS WRITE?
[18:38:24] <@GeMshuku> "...There is no house. There never was a house. There was never a house. The white, it corrodes, the black, it extinquishes. The rest, it is caught in between, tainted, taken, removed. The bases of the white, and perhaps the black, ingraspable, incomprehendable, immense, impossible." She gets up. "If you want to try to bring me to which there isn't, be my guest. The night is long."
[18:39:06] <@GeMshuku> "...until the sun is eternal."
[18:39:23] <Niina> "Okay."  The hand recedes.
[18:40:17] <Niina> "I think I understand now.  Then one more question, and I don't think I even need to ask who you are."
[18:40:24] * Niina closes her eyes and exhales.
[18:40:38] <Niina> "How do you feel about... Fate?"
[18:42:02] <@GeMshuku> She tilts her head in confusion. "...Familiar...but not."
[18:42:47] <@GeMshuku> "Fate is...impossible. Too much chaos."
[18:43:19] <Niina> "... Hmm."  Her eyes open to a befuddled expression.  They're still very vivid.  Sorry, not much of a... vivid way to describe that one.  "Different from what I expected.  How did somebody like this get caught up in all this..."
[18:44:40] <Niina> "I assume you're going to tell me you don't have a name either, huh."
[18:47:13] <@GeMshuku> "The white. It shone. There is no house. I don't exist. But I still exist...but I don't."
[18:47:45] <Niina> "Right.  You were removed."  Stated matter-of-factly.
[18:48:11] <@GeMshuku> "Name....name...." She thinks. "...I have one, but it's not here. It's gone."
[18:49:44] <Niina> "I said I understood.  I wasn't lying.  There's only one thing that could cause somebody to remember so much yet so little, and you're proving it all to me.  Thanks."
[18:51:44] * Niina shakes her head. "This world isn't what it should be. If anybody should apologize for that it's myself, that which is neither white nor black; the color that not only doesn't drink up all other colors, but pushes them away, accepting nothing from them. The 'void' that caused all this."
[18:52:36] <Niina> "Now that I'm sure I finally sound like a 'weirdo:' what will you do now that you've lost everything, O nameless one?"
[18:59:26] <@GeMshuku> "...You...voids are colorless, but here you are. ...You...understand. ...Understanding...no, no. You are not colorless. You are tainted with white. I am tainted with white. I remain, the rest falls apart. ...You fight for the colorless, kept aloft by the white, I...why am I tainted with white...why..." She trembles.
[19:01:55] * Soft (Bigwood@gamesurge-e947e0af.dyn.centurytel.net) has joined #HomuHomu
[19:01:59] <Soft> nice ping
[19:02:06] <@GeMshuku> Niiiice.
[19:02:07] * Soft is now known as Savior_of_the_Universe
[19:02:11] <Savior_of_the_Universe> "Hmm, that analogy was a bit much.  Maybe too literal," in a whisper with a sigh.  "Listen, the 'white' are able to work together to restore balance.  It isn't impossible."
[19:02:15] * Niina (Bigwood@gamesurge-25db8dcc.dyn.centurytel.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
[19:02:18] * Savior_of_the_Universe is now known as Niina
[19:05:18] * Niina (Bigwood@gamesurge-e947e0af.dyn.centurytel.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
[19:05:27] * Niina (Bigwood@gamesurge-a4ebdb03.dyn.centurytel.net) has joined #HomuHomu
[19:05:34] <Niina> we're undergoing some turbulence, ca'pn
[19:05:35] <@GeMshuku> Best internet.
[19:05:48] <Niina> 10good12u
[19:05:52] <Niina> "It's... going to be really tough, yeah.  But the world won't save itself.  I know I sound like I'm spewing nonsense, like you probably think you are too, but don't ever think it's hopeless."
[19:06:31] <Niina> "Want a name?"
[19:07:21] <@GeMshuku> "The white destroy it. The tainted white have a choice, but they spread the white as they decide, and fight the more graspable black that seeks to extinguish with the white. It is damaged, it retreats, it converges."
[19:07:57] <@GeMshuku> "...Another name would be nice. Perhaps I might keep it."
[19:10:13] <Niina> "Ah, I see, so that's the white.  I get it now... but, the black was always here and then they invaded... was our reality always black, then?"  All said in a contemplative, almost philosophical whisper.  Well, maybe too philosophical.  "... Alright."
[19:11:16] <Niina> "This was a strange meeting, and we may never meet again, but I'm glad you helped me shed some light on a few things I was struggling to understand.  So... I'll give you all I can."
[19:13:11] <Niina> "Even if I'm tainted by the white, I control the nonexistent void.  The 'zero.'  What I hope to do is to become an actual void in your spectrum of black and white, and stop the colors from extinguishing one another.  You seem like your goal isn't too far from mine, and you've also become a sort of void yourself, so..."
[19:14:36] <Niina> "How about ゼロ."  She says it again to sound it out.  "Zero.  It's not something people call themselves in society here really, but you're kind of an anomaly anyway.  Plus it's catchy."
[19:15:15] * Niina scratches her head. "Guess I should've introduced myself first though, huh."
[19:16:01] <@GeMshuku> "...ゼロ. ...Zero. ....The white...prefers Zero. ...But yes, who...are you?"
[19:17:50] <Niina> "Well, you saw right through me, so there's probably no harm.  The next time we meet I'll probably be '零那.'  A kind of zero itself, but read differently, see?"  She's smiling a bit now, but doesn't transform to ACTUALLY become Reina or anything.  This would be a weird place to do that.  "I hope that, when that time comes, we don't have to be enemies."
[19:18:13] <Niina> "Because I'm the force that will change the world back into what it deserves to be, by force if I have to."
[19:26:44] <@GeMshuku> "...Then...do you know a place? A place away from...people?"
[19:27:32] <@GeMshuku> "The white within me...it runs wild. I do not know why."
[19:28:02] <Niina> "Hmm.... I do know one."
[19:28:30] * Niina grabs the crazy by the hand. "Come with me, it's not too far. I think."
[19:28:54] <Niina> ... How far IS the junkyard that the ASO encounter happened at?
[19:30:48] <@GeMshuku> Her hand shakes. "...It is mild, within you. The white is corrosive, but it's all the reason to not let it stay within you. The black watches and waits."
[19:31:09] <@GeMshuku> Well, this is about the middle of the town, and the junkyard is in the outskirts. Kind of a distance, actually.
[19:32:04] <Niina> HMMM
[19:32:30] <@GeMshuku> Of course, you're not exactly going to find a place without people inside town, right?
[19:32:36] <Niina> "Well, a little bit of a walk, but it's the only place I know it."
[19:32:46] <Niina> "Wish I had a secret hideout in the middle of town or something."
[19:33:01] <Niina> "Maybe I should've looked for those yakuza after all..." muttermuttermumblegrumble.
[19:33:12] <Niina> also -know it +know of
[19:34:21] * Niina keeps walking toward it anyway, might as well. "... I was told there's no way to reverse it. The white."
[19:34:59] <Niina> "If I overuse it it'll cause more damage than I want to, but if I don't use it all it won't go away."
[19:35:23] <Niina> +at
[19:39:26] <@GeMshuku> It IS a long walk. Also, you're drunk, but you're not going home. "...The white has no interest in reversing the white. The white cannot reverse the white. The removal of white...that is the desire of the black. But...it involves engulfing the world in black...extinguishing all traces of the white, and those that desire it."
[19:40:30] <@GeMshuku> "Only then, can the black return, and the world develop once more. From the base."
[19:41:35] <Niina> "But the world was always black before the white invaded at all, right?  So that means just returning it to how it used to be by using the y- ... the black?"
[19:43:27] <Niina> "But the white talks to and taints people, and the black are just forces of nature... so that's why people are the cause of everything, and why it's so hard to revert things to how they used to be."
[19:43:33] <Niina> "... Ugh.  Now I'm getting a headache."
[19:46:33] <@GeMshuku> "The black is the origin. The world was once black. Then, it became...something else. Colorless. Blank. Fresh, with possibility. It is...beyond explaining."
[19:47:33] <@GeMshuku> "The black, it watched, content. Now, no longer."
[19:48:54] <Niina> "What..."  Her (vivid) eyes widen, but then close.  "... No, you don't remember who or what you are, guess I can't ask that.  What you mean to say is... humankind are the 'gray' tainting that which is already there.  So a world that's all black, with no white or other colors, is one that we don't live on anymore.  The All-Seeing One was right."
[19:49:05] * Niina sighs a DEEP sigh.
[19:54:54] <@GeMshuku> "...Familiar, yet not. ...Gray...humanity's gray is no taint. It is just a part of it."
[19:55:55] <Niina> "So we can live in harmony with the black?  It can cover the world again with our help?"
[19:56:40] <Niina> "That sounds like what the world should be, but... the white is from its own world, where there's nothing left for it.  So it's pretty much a survival of the fittest thing."
[19:57:14] <Niina> "The white can tempt mankind, even though it's now that's best for us... urgh, my headache's getting even worse now."
[19:57:22] <Niina> -now that's +not what's
[19:58:27] <@GeMshuku> "...As long as the gray calls for the white, the white comes. So as long as white is, black is enraged, as it should be, in the face of the corrosive white, and that which helped it be."
[19:59:56] <@GeMshuku> "If nothing is done, black will...converge to a single point, choked in by white, a black unrivaled...and then..." She, too, gets a headache. "Thinking about that hurts."
[20:00:06] <Niina> "... And I'm what helped the white be.  All I wanted, all we wanted, was a world that was less boring, where it could be closer to our imaginations... I guess this is a coming-of-age story slapping me in the face."  A sigh.  Getting close to the junkyard yet?
[20:00:42] <@GeMshuku> Yeah, you can pretty much see it now. Or like, see. No, let's try again. See. See, if I put see in front it isn't as bad.
[20:00:56] <Niina> I see.
[20:02:28] <Niina> "Here we are!"  Niina rubs her temples a bit but seems happy to not be thinking as hard.  "This is where it all started, where I became tainted and allowed the taint to spread- but that's a coincidence, really.  It just happens to be a place I know of where there aren't any people."
[20:05:44] <@GeMshuku> "Then...you...you are...no, it is too late to be angry. You are why it converges, as the white expands. ...It's...calming here. I'll be able to hold it here for a while. ...You have friends tainted with the white?"
[20:07:28] <Niina> "One.  It... tainted us together, you could say."  She looks straight down at the ground, with a strange look of disappointment that doesn't get shown all that often.  "I don't know if there is any more white taint in the world at all right now, but I assume there is.  The white itself is out there, not even around to hear my calls anymore.  What else could it be doing?"
[20:09:38] <@GeMshuku> "...If I, Zero, am here, then...it should be clear."
[20:09:58] <Niina> "Then, you... no..."
[20:10:47] <Niina> "... Do you know what you are yet?"
[20:11:00] <@GeMshuku> "...The white, it lashes, and...here, I can feel...that there might be some black as well."
[20:12:16] <@GeMshuku> "I...I am a person. ...A person that...that...is tired. All I remember is waking up."
[20:12:24] <Niina> "Nng..."
[20:12:31] * Niina sits down cross-legged.
[20:13:14] <Niina> "I think you're more than a person, to be honest... something else.  But for now, I'll believe everything you've said."
[20:13:41] <Niina> "How much I'll act on it I'm not sure, but it's information that I didn't know.  Almost like... information that shouldn't exist."
[20:14:02] <Niina> "It could be the ramblings of a genuine crazy person, but if that were really the case, why does it make so much sense?"
[20:14:47] <@GeMshuku> "I am in tune with something. ...And it hurts. ...But it needs be still. Until it can be contained."
[20:15:25] <Niina> "... Alright.  This place is safe, I think you'll be able to do what you need to."
[20:16:05] <Niina> "I don't really understand everything yet, but... for some reason, I'm glad I met you.  I might be able to gain the edge I need to really save the world."
[20:16:35] <Niina> "And at the same time... there's still a lot more for me to learn before I can do anything, I'm finding out."
[20:17:13] * Niina gets up and stretches. "You'll be okay here for a while, yeah?"
[20:18:02] <@GeMshuku> "...Only wait. It is safe to wait here. ...I'll wait for you, and more tainted by white. Or perhaps even the black itself. If you are the void, containing that which does not exist...perhaps you hold possibility, in these times."
[20:19:09] <Niina> A sharp nod.  "The All-Seeing One, the black, said the same thing.  It... may not be true, I'm not sure yet.  But I'm willing to do all I can."
[20:19:54] <Niina> "I'll be back to visit sometime.  If I find more tainted, I may bring them too, alright?"
[20:21:56] <Niina> "The logical solution a person would come to is to use the black to wash away the white, but... I think my determination to become the void separating both is stronger than ever now."  As if to prove it, she temp-transforms, eye becoming a hole that a hand made of nothing seeps out of, waving.  And then immediately turns back.
[20:24:11] <@GeMshuku> "Then, even the black...please do. But...bring them all at once. The white rages here. It must be contained. I have only so much strength." She notes the transformation! "...Had that been anyone else, I might faulted there."
[20:25:00] <Niina> "... I just didn't want to sound like my words were empty ones."
[20:25:14] * Niina waves with a regular hand, turns, and walks away. "See ya."
[20:26:17] <@GeMshuku> "...Be well!"
[20:26:34] <@GeMshuku> You leave the crazy amnesiac in the junkyard. Does that mean you junked her?
[20:26:38] <Niina> NICE
[20:26:51] <@GeMshuku> What an asshole.
[20:26:52] <@GeMshuku> <3
[20:27:00] <Niina> Could be worse, could've left her with Yakuza!
[20:27:08] <Niina> ... damn that route would've been fun, suddenly deep regret
[20:28:18] * Niina finishes off the peaceful walk by going straight home, not even bothering with the mall anymore. There'll be a time to write the not!time capsule, and it doesn't seem like it's now anymore.
[20:28:41] <Niina> AND GUESS WHO'S GOING STRAIGHT TO SLEEP
[20:29:33] <@GeMshuku> There is more to...know! But right now, all you need to know is that you're fickin tired.
[20:29:47] <@GeMshuku> But the question everyone's asking is...
[20:29:52] <Niina> Nah not at all, still got a few hours to roll around for sure
[20:30:02] <Niina> ... the player's tired as fuck though yeah
[20:30:04] <@GeMshuku> ...are you going to make it to your bed this time?
[20:30:23] <Niina> I dunno, it's a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong walk home
[20:30:37] <Niina> ... nah it's k, the bed deserves it this time
[20:30:55] <Niina> お や す み
[20:31:14] <@GeMshuku> The bed turns into a youma and eats you, gg no re--could you imagine, though
[20:31:22] <Niina> yes
[20:31:24] <Niina> yes actually