Meduka 4.1: Dark Beasts as Black as the Night

[14:29] <Sakata_Ginko> THE YEAR
[14:29] <Sakata_Ginko> IS
[14:29] <Sakata_Ginko> 20XX
[14:29] <Sakata_Ginko> AND MAN HAS FALLEN
01[14:29] <Genshuku> AND THE FOXES HAVE RISEN.
[14:30] <Midorikawa_Misao> "Not Mar-Mar!"
01[14:30] <Genshuku> ...and they've plenty of opportunity, because apparently, things that were only properly described as 'impossible to actually make a visualization of but they're kind of voids' are sort of off KILLING EVERYONE, which just won't do!
01[14:33] <Genshuku> And so, they all went off to the business district. Obviously, such a place would be the least fun to investigate, so as the least investigated place, the group thought to come here! While investigation is happening the least here, you can certainly tell there's more effort to clean up here than anywhere else, by the amount of bodies around. ...That is, none. Literally none. Dead or alive, the place has no one on the streets. Plenty of bloodstains, but no one's out right now. You can see people hard at work inside, but not outside.
[14:34] <Midorikawa_Misao> "Weird..." Misao nervously looked from right to left.  "Shouldn't there be some activity by this time?"
[14:36] <Sakata_Ginko> "It's more convenient for us this way," Ginko filled up her water bottle from a fountain and then proceeded to splash some more water onto her.
06[14:37] * Lily_White sighs, looking at Ginko... She wondered what would happen to herself if she let her magic build up too much
[14:37] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Akiko couldn't help but cringe as she passed by the bloodstains. "Can't say I pass by this area often, but...I don't think it's usually this messy, right..?"
[14:37] <Sakata_Ginko> "No, murders and fights don't usually happen in the shiny parts of the town."
01[14:41] <Genshuku> The sheer amount of bloodstains as well as the abandoned streets make the place...not look all that shiny, really. Friggen morbid is what it is. The most lively things on the streets are the cars. The parked ones. Because none are being driven, see.
01[14:42] <Genshuku> Akiko not only cringes, but feels a bit light-headed!
01[14:42] <Genshuku> ...By which, of course, I mean 'she starts flying up for no discernable reason'!
01[14:43] <Genshuku> ...Or more like 'falling up'. Which sort of means she's going up head-first.  She just has to go. Her people need her.
[14:44] <Sakata_Ginko> "The hell--hang on!" Ginko transformed in a puff of smoke and started sprinting up the exterior of a skyscraper on the side, following Akiko.
[14:47] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "...Huh-" The first thing that came to Akiko's mind as her feet lifted off the ground was "why am I suddenly flying", but the rushing of blood to her head soon told her that she was in more of a free-fall! She quickly transformed and attempted to use her innate magical flight to stabilize herself, but realized that the only way she had ever "fly downwards" up until now had been simply aborting flight!
06[14:49] * Lily_White squeaks as she realizes Akiko is suddenly 'flying'  upwards. "Oh jeez!" she says, starting to panic. This was one thing that was just... oh god what is even happening
[14:49] <Midorikawa_Misao> "Whuh!?" For a few moments, Misao just looks on, but transforms as well, opting to instead try to "catch" Akiko by flying up to her.  "I'm coming, Akiko-sama!"
[14:52] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Feeling herself rising upwards faster and faster, Akiko quickly tried the next thing that came to mind, and conjured an...anchor on a chain, which she quickly threw at Ginko! "Senpai, catch!"
03[14:52] * Lily_White is now known as Yuna_Mizuno
[14:53] <Sakata_Ginko> "Whoa!" Ginko caught the rope, and it proceeded to coil around her arms and tugged. "OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!" She barked as the tension from the rope threatened to tear her off of the side of the skyscraper to which she was stuck.
01[14:56] <Genshuku> Ginko and Misao rush up! But it's Ginko who catches the rope (the anchor slams against the wall. It's enough to stop Akiko's...ascent, though it's certainly strenuous to keep hold of her like this...thankfully, only because she's being pushed down properly due to the anchor's weight (and that anchor left quite a dent on the skyscraper wall)!
01[15:03] <Genshuku> With enough effort, she can be properly pried down until this whole thing blows over (eventually)!
[15:03] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Akiko's straight ascend slowed down to an arc as the chain tensed and...anchored her to the skyscraper, leaving her swinging to and fro as if hanging from a cliff by a rope...while upside down. Akiko sighed in relief, but she could still felt the mysterious force trying to pull her upwards, and even though she was transformed, she still felt somewhat dizzy by those high-speed manuevers.
06[15:05] * Yuna_Mizuno let out a sigh of relief as ethe crisis was averted... for the time being...
[15:06] <Midorikawa_Misao> "So, um... this isn't good," Misao points out.  "Ahhhh, that sorta stuff doesn't happen in those shows.  What do we do?"
01[15:07] <Genshuku> ...Of course, that means grabbing the anchor and...unprying it from the wall. One can only wonder if the people here have the balls to fine magical girls.
01[15:14] <Genshuku> ...Either that, or just enduring the wall hang for a while. Surely, it's not going to stay lie this forever, r-right?
[15:14] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Now that the risk of "free-fall" was over, Akiko could take the time to figure out how to fly downwards (it was quite a novel concept to have to work to go downwards in mid-air) to the anchor, twhere Misao and Ginko were. "....I had no idea why this is happening," Akiko quickly blurted out, holding onto the chain while nearly upside down.
01[15:18] <Genshuku> Still, the unique vantage point in the air does offer some peculiar sights, registered mostly after the fact...that being, that there actually WAS a dead body in the distance unattended to. Sort of hard to get to it at the moment, but it's definitely there, just past that gaudy pink car!
06[15:19] * Yuna_Mizuno transforms and flies up to where Akiko was, ready to help if needed.
01[15:24] <Genshuku> As Yuna flies up, Akiko finds herself suddenly and very abruptly descending to meet her. The anchor and tugging...probably don't help with this sudden change to normal gravity!
[15:28] <Sakata_Ginko> "Well, try something to make it un-happen!" Ginko yelled with a grimace. That force nearly tug off her skin. In an unrelated thought, sugar make for good adhesive!
[15:29] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Akiko did a cursory glance across the skyscraper, nearby buildings and the streets to make sure no ordinary people witnessed the fiasco, and the sole dead body in the area caught her eyes! "..! Over there! I see someo-" Her voice was suddenly cut off by the unexpected return of the free fall (in the other direction now), and the anchor, angled diagonally up because of the angle of Akiko's throw earlier, easily came off! Akiko tried
[15:29] <Shirayuki_Akiko> to fly upwards, but...she was upside down, so she flew downwards even faster instead! Gravity is hard!
06[15:32] * Yuna_Mizuno 's eyes widen as she spots Akiko falling. "Hang on! I'll catch you~!" she cries out, rushing as fast as she could towards her fellow magical girl.
[15:34] <Sakata_Ginko> "OWOWOWOWOWOW HELP ME WITH THE ROPE DAMN IT MY SKIN IS TEARING OFF OWOWOWOWOWOWOW!
02[15:36] * Miko_Toyosatomimi (thirdeyeba@gensoukyoueasternstory.net-5C5672D8.c.fibreop.nl.bellaliant.net) Quit (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)
06[15:39] * Yuna_Mizuno rushed downwards so that the two wouldn't slam into each other. Eventually the two met in mid-air, and Yuna grabbed ahold of Akiko and, with all her willpower, quickly reverse direction to avoid plowing into the ground
03[15:40] * Miko_Toyosatomimi (thirdeyeba@gensoukyoueasternstory.net-5C5672D8.c.fibreop.nl.bellaliant.net) has joined #Meguca
[15:46] <Midorikawa_Misao> The other Ginko, who was most certainly not Misao, tries to alleviate Ginko's pain by helping her lift the rope.
[15:46] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Akiko felt herself colliding with someone, and quickly braked! Once she had stopped, she dismissed the chain and anchor, and turned around to find Yuna, as expected. "I-I'm sorry, Mizuno-san! I didn't know I was about to crash into you!" She furiously apologized.
06[15:48] * Yuna_Mizuno shakes her head, "You didn't crash, I caught you..." she says, setting her down gently on the ground.
[15:53] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "I see...Thank you..." The whole ordeal probably lasted maybe a few minutes at most, but it felt like an eternity since Akiko was last able to stand firmly on the ground. After a few moments of savoring the feeling of having the hard, firm ground underneath her feet again, Akiko remembered what she was about to tell everyone and snapped out of her daze. She quickly yelled at her two teammates in the air to come down to talk.
[15:56] <Sakata_Ginko> "Oof..." Ginko let out a relieved sigh. She let go of the ropes, then poured water down her hands and feet. Losing grip, she slid down the side of the building and broke into a sprint, landingon solid ground momentarily after.
06[16:02] * Midorikawa_Misao descended with Ginko.
[16:07] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "When I was up there, I had a chance to look around, and spotted someone lying around over there--" She pointed in the direction of the person-- "Not sure if they were dead, and they looked like they were, but no harm in checking to be sure. Let's go." She immediately took off flying in the direction she pointed after finishing her explanation.
02[16:14] * Midorikawa_Misao ([email protected]) Quit (Quit: http://www.kiwiirc.com/ - A hand crafted IRC client)
[16:24] <Sakata_Ginko> "Oww," Ginko rubbed her hands and skin. "Hey, the hell you doing?" She grabbed Akiko by the wrist before she could take off. "Slow the hell down."
[16:25] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "..Hmm? What is it, senpai?"
[16:25] <Sakata_Ginko> "You've been behaving weird since we got here. What the hell's going on?"
[16:28] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "...Weird?" Akiko contemplated Ginko's claim, confused. She had been acting weird? "How so?"
[16:29] <Sakata_Ginko> "All of a sudden you start flying up without giving an explanation, and then you tell us things you've seen and move without even hearing what we think about it. What's going on?"
[16:35] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "Er...Um..." Akiko muttered while fidgetting nervously. "I'm...not entirely sure what happened..? I suddenly got pulled upwards by something, and then it just suddenly stopped too, so since we didn't notice anything that could have caused it I just assumed it was a result of overusing magic, or something, so..." Akiko answered, in uncharacteristically hesitant words while trying to avoid eye contact with the others.
[16:37] <MidorikawaMisao> "Hey, if something's on your mind, tell us!  We're all friends, right?"
[16:38] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "Ah-- No, there's nothing wrong! I've already caused enough trouble, so..."
06[16:40] * Yuna_Mizuno follows them, staying silent for the most part
[16:42] <Sakata_Ginko> "Yeah, see, that clears it up," Ginko folded her arms in front of her chest. "I thought you went insane or something. Listen, we're causing quite the theatrics outside in the streets. I don't know what'd happen if the general populace finds out about the magical girls, but I don't want cops on my ass either, so let's settle down and find the best way forward, yeah?"
[16:46] <MidorikawaMisao> "Uh... what onee-san said!" Misao nods along.
[16:47] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "But-" Akiko was about to argue that there didn't seem to be anyone around right now anyways, but her eyes were drawn to the collateral damage she caused with her anchor earlier. ...Right, she didn't really have a right to argue. "A-Alright. You have a point, senpai," Akiko said as she untransformed.
[16:48] <Sakata_Ginko> "Okay, cool--ugh," Ginko tried to unfold her arms, only to find that they were stuck to the tank top she was wearing. "Now, which building was it that you saw it? And which floor was it? Do you remember?"
[16:51] <Shirayuki_Akiko> 'It'? Akiko's mentally cringed at the choice of pronouns. Even if they were really dead, wasn't that a bit too much? "They were on the streets, actually, next to a weird pink car. The car shouldn't be hard to spot when we get there."
[16:53] <MidorikawaMisao> "Then what're we waiting for?" Misao reverts back.  "Let's go!"
[16:55] <Sakata_Ginko> "Pink car, huh--idiot, what did I say about settling down!?" My goodness, her teammates sometimes drives her mental. "Pink car... pink car... I can't see it from here."
01[16:56] <Genshuku> Twas the aerial vantage point that allowed her to make it out. Akiko remembers the direction vividly enough, though!
[16:57] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "Well, there /are/ all these other cars blocking our line of sight. We'll need to get closer to see it from the ground."
[16:58] <Sakata_Ginko> "Ok. If it's a youma, we'll need to lure it away from here. Let's think about a plan while we get there, okay?"
[17:00] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Akiko nodded. She'd have to take real care and not mess up a third time in a row...
[17:02] <Sakata_Ginko> The party advances! Toward the pink car!
[17:02] <MidorikawaMisao> This totally won't go wrong!
06[17:08] * Yuna_Mizuno looks around, "So are we looking for anything in particular? Or just investigating?"
01[17:08] <Genshuku> With the gang finally moving, it isn't long before the pink car is actually in sight, and Akiko is confirmed for not being entirely insane! Who would even drive a pink car? ...And not even far from that, you see a dead body, details hard to make out in the distance...
01[17:09] <Genshuku> ...You're pretty sure it's dead, anyway. It isn't squirming or anything, there's no one around, lots of dead bodies...
[17:09] <Sakata_Ginko> "Bodies." Ginko gestured the party to stop, but she herself moved toward them. "Looks like it's quite the massacre."
01[17:10] <Genshuku> No, no, dead bodies is just the norm to be expected. There's only the one right now.
[17:12] <Sakata_Ginko> (( Allow repost? Y/N ))
01[17:12] <Genshuku> ((Y))
[17:13] <Sakata_Ginko> "Body." Ginko gestured the party to stop, but she herself moved toward it. "I'm pretty sure it's dead. Let me get a good look; maybe we could try to figure out what killed it."
[17:15] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "...Alright." Akiko had no objections; she'd rather not be the one staring down the person/corpse up close and personal.
[17:16] <MidorikawaMisao> "Heyyyy, I wanna see," Misao pouts in disappointment, but stays back with the others.
01[17:17] <Genshuku> Ginko takes a good look! ...And perhaps it might be for the best that SHE looked at it. It's...actually kind of fresh, but yet, it doesn't bleed. The woman, in a business suit, clearly worked here. But now, with around three baseball sized holes in her, she's offically retired. ...But what's interesting are the outlines of the holes. ...Looking at them, they seem impossible to describe. The closest you could actually describe it is darkness, but it's a few steps beyond that. Your very eyes have trouble properly percieving it...
01[17:17] <Genshuku> ...but what you know, Ginko, is that it really pisses you off. A few grades higher than usual.
01[17:17] <Genshuku> Not entirely sure why. Maybe if you think on it?
01[17:18] <Genshuku> ...Why it's not bleeding is particularly odd, since the other ones certainly bled, but...maybe that's because it's still fresh.
[17:19] <Sakata_Ginko> "Holes, too big to be bullets," Ginko breathed heavily, her brows furrowed into a knot. "No sign of decay yet. It's either recent or something else caused it. If I were a betting woman--and I am--I'd say trouble's around."
06[17:34] * Yuna_Mizuno kneels down and inspects the corpse as well.
06[17:36] * Yuna_Mizuno instantly stands back up as she gets assaulted by the stench of the body. Instead she deceides to look around to see what might have gone on in the area
01[17:43] <Genshuku> While Ginko looking about doesn't yield much results (and Akiko doesn't do much better), her observation is mostly clear. It's less of an 'or' though, and more of an 'and'. That much is revealed by Misao's sharp eye: there are, in fact, youma about. Hiding behind other cars, peering through windows. Youma that, being very hard to grasp in general, are particularly hard to spot...for they are fully made of the very stuff that made up the linings of the dead person's holes, a void beyond making sense of. The pair spot different packs hiding: some ones with pointy tops that are in positions that suggest that they're lying in wait...and may not have even so much as noticed you yet are seen by Misao, while Yuna catches some more spherical tops crouch down the moment she turns towards them, suggesting that they might have been followed to this point by them.
01[17:43] <Genshuku> While Misao knows that there is a threat in wait, it is Yuna that has plenty of reason to dread.
06[17:47] * Yuna_Mizuno "Uhh... You mi ght want to be on your guard... we're being watched..." she says, slowly looking around at the youma that were laying in wait
[17:47] <Sakata_Ginko> "Watched? By what?"
06[17:50] * Yuna_Mizuno "Youma..."
[17:51] <MidorikawaMisao> "For the hope of Mae, I shall pierce the darkness!" Misao, having seen what Yuna was talking about, transformed to take on the pack she saw.  "The Flame shall be the light that will purge these fiends!"
[17:51] <Sakata_Ginko> "Shit." A puff of pink smoke later Ginko was also transformed. "Misao, stop making a ruckus! We gotta get them away from this area."
[17:53] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Akiko also transformed, and once again looked around the area, but once again spotting nothing. "Mizuno-san, where did you spot the youma?"
01[17:54] <Genshuku> Natrually, if something's stalking you, it's not too far behind you!
06[17:55] * Yuna_Mizuno "Everywhere..." she said, quickly transforming
[17:58] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "...Everywhere..?" There were multiple of them..? Fighting one at a time was hard enough, so this was definitely a very bad situation. "...We should run."
[17:58] <Sakata_Ginko> "So we're surrounded?" Ginko held her wooden sword in her hand. "Okay. Which direction are they the thinnest? We should try to get out there."
06[18:01] * Yuna_Mizuno "I... honestly can't say..." she responds... "So far they haven't made a move yet..."
01[18:02] <Genshuku> Almost as if the ones in back noticed the fear in the air that signaled their presence being spotted, they came out. A shapen void--three of them, speaking in a noise that's unhearable. They take a wildly warped, yet humanoid form...and you can swear that you can make out something that resembles a sword in all of their humanoidish hands, though when it's all void, it's honestly sort of hard to make out. "1,1                     " Like their voice!
[18:03] <Sakata_Ginko> "Oh, cock," Ginko swore under her breath as she moved in front of the rest of the girls. "Exit strategy, now!"
01[18:04] <Genshuku> ...And as if signaled by that, another group of three, much more spread out yet actually surrounding them in all other angles, float into the air. They're shaped differently, and are a lot less humanoid. Perhaps they have a humanoid head and some sort of mini body? Whatever the case, that marks six. NOT EXACTLY THE BEST ODDS HERE. "1,1           "
[18:05] <MidorikawaMisao> "Onee-san, you're not taking them on alone!" Misao brandished her rapier, ready for action.
01[18:05] <Genshuku> Keeping watch (and possibly the lack of attention that the floaty ones paid) has managed to let you avoid an outright ambush, and perhaps even offered you a few moments to think about how not to get six-wayed, if you so wished!
[18:06] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "Six of them..." Yep, they really needed to get out, and quick. However, recklessly charging through a perimeter of unknown, presumably intelligent enemies were probably suicide. What would be for the best..?
[18:08] <Sakata_Ginko> "Hell no, none of us are taking them on. We're getting out of here," Ginko snapped at her kouhai.
[18:16] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Searching her memories, Akiko digged for any piece of art she could use to get them out of this mess. "...I think I've got something. Get ready to run, you three. The way we came from, alright?" Akiko whispered to her teammate, as the image of farmers working a dense wheat field popped into her mind. Concentrating, she-- wait, gotta exclude the poor farmers from the sorcery-- she willed the wheat field in her visions into
[18:16] <Shirayuki_Akiko> existence, in the middle of the street. "Now!"
01[18:18] <Genshuku> And at once, a thick wheat field! Seeing their prey suddenly become a wheat field must have baffled these things, but more importantly, it obscures your position. ...But at once, the sword-using voidlings begin cutting through it to get to where they saw you, and the ones with the hats begin firing something on your position. You've gotta move!
[18:21] <Sakata_Ginko> "Follow me, move it move it move it!" Ginko yelled a whisper as she trod through the field. The sword that cut down some wheat almost nicked her scalp as she passed by one of the youma. Yikes.
[18:25] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Not needing to be told, Akiko quickly followed the silver-haired girl out of the field!
06[18:25] * Yuna_Mizuno had been wordlessly following the group through the field
[18:26] <Sakata_Ginko> "Book it book it book it! GO GO GO GO GO!" Ginko yelled, gesturing everyone to run away from the group as she, too, ran at the rear of the group.
06[18:26] * MidorikawaMisao hurried after Ginko.
01[18:27] <Genshuku> The youma's....voidballs? Are they voidballs? Whatever they are, they attempt to follow you, but due to passing too close to the cutters, they start veering off course. The cutters, perhaps too eager to reach you, barely even notice that they nearly GOT Ginko as they tear through. ...Though they then stop, and decide to just start cutting more paths through the wheat. A close shave with the ones that had followed behind you opens up a path the way you came in!
01[18:31] <Genshuku> Once you escape the safe grasp of the wheat, the hatlings take notice and start firing upon you! Of course, by then, you've gotten plenty of distance, and you outpace the shots entirely. It's followed shortly by the sword-users popping out to notice you're beyond reach. It does cause them to stop chasing, shouting "1,1                            "! ...Er, whatever they shout. They speak as they are: some very dangerous nothings. Not at all sweet.
[18:32] <Sakata_Ginko> As Ginko run at the rear of the group, she glanced back occasionally to monitor if they were actually catching up to them.
01[18:33] <Genshuku> Oddly (or perhaps not), they did not bother to pursue further. Instead, their ambush foiled, they scattered in the distance.
[18:34] <Sakata_Ginko> "Okay!" Ginko slowed to a stop, panting profusely. She took out the water bottle and dumped whatever remained in it over her. "They're not chasing after us."
[18:34] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Once they were a relatively safe distance away, Akiko willed the wheat field to disperse. "Well, that's a problem...How do we get rid of them if there are so many?" Trying to ambush THEM for a change was a possiblity, but...Given that those things were sentient and could communicate, and that they managed to sneak up on the group mostly undetected, that seemed like a slim possibility.
[18:36] <MidorikawaMisao> "Hrm..." Misao places her hand thoughtfully to her chin.  "Maybe if we, like, blast them with magic or something?"
[18:37] <Shirayuki_Akiko> ".......That's more or less what we had been doing to the other ones. Though those are one by one. Technically." ....That insect youma counted as one youma, right..?
[18:39] <MidorikawaMisao> "I meant like a super-explosive burst of magic that would wipe out all those things, but..."
[18:41] <Sakata_Ginko> "What, like a nuke? those'll blast the city apart."
01[18:42] <Genshuku> After the danger had passed, it left Ginko's subconscious able to root around, considering why the voidlings pissed her off so much inside. That tell-tale destruction, impossible to properly notice to normal eyes and even beyond their meguca vision...their apparent focus on killing and their scary efficency at it...oh, yeah. Right. In retrospect, it's pretty obvious that these things were responsible. The signs were there all along, they just weren't seen. Hell, YOU couldn't see the signs, you wouldn't even be able to see them. They totally killed senpai. Perhaps not them, specifically, but if they work in groups as if they are one, then they might as well have.
[18:43] <Sakata_Ginko> "...--!"
06[18:45] * Yuna_Mizuno thinks on what Misao said, "I'm able to control light... Lasers are just concentrated light, aren't they?" the priestess said, "If we have to, I can just blast a massive hole in their ranks...
[18:45] <Sakata_Ginko> The whole of Ginko's movement slowed to a crawl. Her breathing grew heavier and heavier. Syrupy sweat seeped out of her forehead, beading and almost immediately boiling away into a wisp of ash.
[18:46] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "...? What's wrong, senpai..?" Akiko instinctively asked, noticing Ginko's unexpected agitation.
[18:47] <MidorikawaMisao> "Onee-san, are you okay?"
[18:48] <Sakata_Ginko> Ginko broke out into a sad chuckle. That chuckle grew into a laugh. "How could I not have remembered," She snarled, looking into the sky. "I found them. Bastards."
[18:49] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "...Uh....."
06[18:50] * Yuna_Mizuno tilts her head, genuinely confused
[18:50] <Sakata_Ginko> "They have to die," Ginko took a deep breath. The knuckles with which she gripped her sword was white. "Right now."
[18:51] <MidorikawaMisao> "Onee-san, we can't take them on!"
[18:52] <Sakata_Ginko> "No, it's not your fight," Ginko turned to face where they came from. "It's mine. I need to do this."
[18:53] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "Se-Senpai, calm down! We'd be outnumber right now! We'd need to at least bring some more people with us!" Akiko tried to reason, saying whatever first came to mind.
[18:55] <Sakata_Ginko> "They're the reason I sold myself in the first place," Ginko snapped at Akiko. There were only hate and bloodlust in her eyes. "I finally, finally got their trail, and you're telling me to calm down?"
[19:12] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "I-I see..." Akiko was too surprised by Ginko's sudden outburst to think about her words much, but it was obvious that this was a personal grudge. "But-- if we just charge in now, we might just lose and accomplish nothing!"
[19:15] <Sakata_Ginko> "I cant'
[19:15] <Sakata_Ginko> "I can't just let them off like this! I can't just let them go and not find them again! I can't!"
[19:20] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Akiko took a deep breath. "Okay...How about this: Let's all have a vote, on whether or not we go after these youma. I will vote first, and I will vote in favor of going after them...But only if you promise me one thing," Akiko looked straight into the older girl's eyes, and tried her best t look determined. "Only if you promise that if the vote doesn't go through, or that if we try to fight them and things go sour, then we would
[19:20] <Shirayuki_Akiko> all back off and find another way with you with us, okay, senpai? Promise?"
[19:24] <MidorikawaMisao> "... we can't take them on," Misao shakes her head.  "Not even with the four of us, at our strength."
06[19:25] * Yuna_Mizuno "There's the possibility of pushing ourselves to our absolute limits, but even then..." she said solemnly
[19:25] <Sakata_Ginko> "......" Ginko fumed. Then she sheathed her sword. "I can't ask you to do any of that.
[19:27] <Shirayuki_Akiko> "...No, no, senpai, that's a death flag. You're not going alone," Akiko retorted, balling her fists.
[19:38] <Sakata_Ginko> "... you can't stop me.?"
[19:43] <Sakata_Ginko> "You understand why I have to do this, right?"
[19:44] <MidorikawaMisao> "Huh?  What do you mean?" Misao tilts her head in curiosity.
[19:45] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Akiko sighed again, much more harshly than usual. "Senpai. There's a time and circumstance for everything. If you really want to go right now, I will come with you. You can't stop me."
06[19:49] * Yuna_Mizuno nods, "And if you're going, so am I..."
[19:51] <MidorikawaMisao> "Is there something that everyone's been- I mean uh... yeah!" Misao pumps her fist in enthusiasm.  "We're a team!  And a team sticks together!"
[19:52] <Sakata_Ginko> Ginko let out a heavy sigh. "I..." She opened her mouth, but she couldn't say much. "I just..."
[19:58] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Sensing Ginko wavering, Akiko started to deflate as well. "...If you understand, senpai, let's go back to your apartment and we can talk about it. Maybe after a shower and a meal," Akiko suggested.
[20:03] <Sakata_Ginko> "... fine."
[20:18] <Shirayuki_Akiko> Once the group arrived at Ginko's apartment, Akiko immediately went straight to making dinner after telling the others to take a bath. She would have preferred to buy fresh groceries for dinner for tonight, seeing how emotional Ginko got, but she also wasn't in favor of torturing Ginko's poor refrigerator any further.