i can't get no rest

* Welcome to RP Infinite, Build 24b *
Rules:
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1. You've got to get all your paper.
2. Respect me, if no one else.
3. Try me.
4. You may now worry about your powers.
5. Don't ask questions about things you don't understand until it's time to do so.
6. It is now time to do so.
7. Communicate with one another.
8. Have fun.
9. You may make a spirit now.
10. DON'T LOOK LIKE THAT.

Message of the Day:
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Previous Chapter: 30 - Sweet Dreams
Current Chapter: 31 - Fracture

// Date
Friday; 11/11/72

// Weather
Fair

//Status
The Tankoban Volumes have updated.

// Report
Apparently, a famous band will be coming to play at Neo Tokyo soon. There's word that the show will be at Six Tree Nation, but there hasn't been any news on which band in particular is going to be there.

Halloween ended in terror, with three dead and several injured after a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 tore through Scramble Crossing. The car reportedly crashed into a light post before enduring another collision that must have caused it to blow up, or something along those lines. Witnesses report the Military Police moving in on the scene, but being more preoccupied with collecting the pieces of the Ford than apprehending its driver or addressing the aggrieved citizenry.

Last week, one of Gentle Bell's sheds was destroyed in what is presumed to be an explosion. This was taken as an act of vandalism and has spurred the student council on in their efforts to help revitalize Gentle Bell's campus.

   "This is the last time that I will ever subject myself to this again."

	"What?"


					You heard me right, I'm going away.

		Goodbye then."

									"Fuck off."




It is not often peaceful within the hallowed halls of Gentle Bell College Preparatory High School, and unless a change is made, of those fleeting instances this will surely be the last. In ancient times people would make sacrifice to gods to procure a boon, if not for themselves then for the whole of their sanctum. The world has moved on since then, but in case it remains true that those who fail to remember are doomed to repeat, then Gentle Bell is no different, for this is a home, of sorts; this is a sanctum, of a kind, and because of that the school is out of luck. It can't remember its past, so it has no future. It has no sacrifice to offer, and therefore it has no freedom.
  Sugiyama, Mirei | Having spent herself for the day on her restoration effort, a misguided project of questionable intent, Class Representative Mirei Sugiyama deigns to finally head home. She'd have liked to head to class, given that this little project wasn't something she'd received official sanction from the school to engage, therefore making all of her absences thus far unexcused, but the sun was already setting and it was time to go home. "Besides, its Friday." She thought, "It's pretty much the weekend already." Yeah, pretty much. Since they got released early on Saturday, she'd get at her teachers when they were alone and defenseless in the faculty room tomorrow, and push the inconvenience of catching up onto them.

Sugiyama was no stranger to this song and dance. Her charm and exceptional marks had earned her a good rapport with most of Gentle Bell's staff; amidst a sea of delinquents, Mirei was one of few who stood out as exemplary in nearly every regard. Nearly, as she had sacrificed her attendance record just recently, in order to spearhead her renovation effort. But a few absences could always be excused, especially if there's a good cause at the root of her disappearance. There was, now; even if she hadn't been officially sanctioned by the school to do as she had, there was no way the faculty and staff would overlook an effort to embolden their school's reputation. She was fine, now.

She wouldn't be.

Sugiyama left the auditorium, heading back to the main building through the hallway that ran through the garden. She liked coming this way; it gave her a chance to enjoy a view of the gardens, one of the only aspects of Gentle Bell's campus that hadn't been soiled by neglect over the past two years, as the sun crested down through the wide windows lining each wall and lit sylvan green into white gold. She wasn't the only one. The two radiators at either end of the corridor had become slightly misshapen from supporting the weight of students who often came here to recline and take a break from the aimless meandering that serves as a time sink in place of a skipped class. Nevertheless, it was still nice and one of the two radiators still worked, and it worked its ass off when it came to picking up the slack left behind by its despondent twin. So, it was always nice and toas-

Sugiyama's leisurely pace slows to a crawl. She brings her arms up and holds herself to stave off the biting chill. The sun hasn't even set yet, but still, she's freezing, and this is no Autumn chill, either, no, this was a full-on Winter frost. "Jeeze. It's cold." She can see her breath puffing out of her when she speaks. She stops, surprised, and notices that there's ice building up on the windows outside. What happened? "What happened?" Just a second ago, it was pretty warm. The sky looks the same too, hot gold, streaked with bright red encroaches, and on its heels, deep and splendid indigo. "Is it snowing?" She squints. She can't quite tell. It doesn't look like it, but she thinks it probably will once she gets outside. Sugiyama sighs. "I don't have an umbrella." But if it's this cold, it might snow for a while. She decides to hurry and -

Oh.
  Suou, Koichi | Leaning against the wall up ahead, right beside one of the radiators and in between two of the large windows, was a boy of around 170cm. He was short, but not small. He had a thick neck, and the gakuran running tight against his broad chest no doubt obscured a plenitude of fantastic, meticulously sculpted muscles. There was a slight curve to his shoulders that suggested a propensity for slouching and made him look vaguely like an ape. Long tresses of chestnut spilt down his neck and grazed his face and that girl, that girl there at the other end of the hall noticed that, for the first time ever his hair was clean. She could practically smell him from here, and it was actually, actually quite pleasant.

His eyes, which were a strange sort of color, like emerald cut and edged with silver, fixed on hers and she saw him, all of him, in the dying light of day, and thought he looked almost, almost handsome. "Yo. Long time no see."
  Sugiyama, Mirei stares at Suou Koichi, of Class 3A from her place at the opposite end of the corridor. She stares for a long time, as if trying to get a read on something strange, foreign and, well, that's because she is.

Suou Koichi was a habitual truant. He very rarely came to school even before he'd been expelled following the brutal ambush that occured earlier and towards the beginning of the year. It wasn't strange to find him reclining here peacefully, it was strange to see him at school at all, especially after he'd been cut from the student roster for good.

Although, there was something about his stature and the ease with which he lay there that made her feel off. A certain edge to his peace. When had Suou Koichi ever projected this kind of confidence? "Suou. It's nice to see you again."
  Suou, Koichi feels like it isn't though, but he chooses not to pursue the issue.

Instead, he comes up and off of the wall. Then he faces Class 3B's representative. "You cut your hair."
  Sugiyama, Mirei flinches, when Suou steps forward.

She hates herself for it too. "Yeah. I guess I did."
  Suou, Koichi: "I liked it better, the way it was before you know. You should have told me you were going to do something like that. I thought we were friends. It hurts that I'm just finding out about this now. Really, it does."
  Sugiyama, Mirei: ". . .I'm sure you would have had time to get used to it, if you were at school more often."
  Suou, Koichi throws his arms up, as if in surrender. "Hey! Hey! Cool it! I came this year! As a matter of fact, I think I've been pretty good about making every day count this year."

He only came once this year, and that was to introduce a new dent to Hideo's skull. He's been pretty productive, all things considered.
  Sugiyama, Mirei: "I guess you must have been busy."
  Suou, Koichi nods, "Yeah. That's right."

Busy smashing some ribs in.

Suou raises one finger to catch Sugiyama's attention, just in case it might be fleeting. "But I'm here now."
  Sugiyama, Mirei | Those words become like an anchor. At once, Mirei feels weighed down and disgusted. It feels like a thick wave of something gross is laying over her, and she shivers. The cold redoubles, and she continues to shiver. She can feel it, and no matter how hard she tries to fight to keep her posture it's just no good, because she can feel herself convulsing underneath the weight of - the weight of. .  of what?

Of Suou Koichi, obviously.

"Why?" She almost--no, she didn't want to ask. But, she felt compelled.

She hated herself for it.
  Suou, Koichi: "I came to collect some insurance."
  Sugiyama, Mirei | In return to that answer, Sugiyama Mirei delivers an upturned brow. She doesn't know what that means, and this time, in the long silence that follows, she doesn't think to ask.

"Oh. Okay."
  Suou, Koichi supposes she doesn't get it, or at least, if she does, somewhere inside of her, it hasn't caught up to the rest of her yet. Which is fine with him. When it comes to consequence, the essential irony of a poetic justice is never lost upon him. Granted, there's nothing just about this, but there is consequence and he's sure it's ironic. He doesn't know everything about Sugiyama Mirei, but he's sure it's going to be ironic. Suou Koichi's smile falters.

"By the way," he begins.
  Sugiyama, Mirei: "Sorry. . it's raining or something, and I don't have an umbrella, so I have to go. It was nice catching up, Suou-kun."
  Suou, Koichi: "I've been meaning to ask, if you've been keeping up with Tetsuya lately."
  Sugiyama, Mirei scoffs. In that moment, all of Sugiyama Mirei's frigid apprehension dissolves beneath a veil of heated indignation. She starts forward. "Think I should?"
  Suou, Koichi 's answer is curt and loud in the severity of its force. He would not let her win, in any way whatsoever. Neither her, nor her circle. Not her, or anyone like her. Never that. Never again. He would not be reduced by Mirei Sugiyama. "Actually."
  Suou, Koichi: "I do."
  The Merciless Walker watches the scenario unfold. It's head tilts downwards, hovering high above Koichi. It gives him a rallying nod, as if saying. . 'Yeah. Tell that bitch what's good.'

It's just a light one, though.
  The Morningstar looks down long and hard at Adam's writhing body. He had a 30% chance of making it. Unlike Cyrus, who had been absolutely promised to pull through, he did this one on a whim. Why?

He was threatened.

Being threatened by potential only leads you to attempt to steal that potential. If you can't do that, you must steal the person with potential.

He says nothing, turning towards Cyrus with a look of dejection.

"Leave."
  The Morningstar: "Don't ever come back."
  The Morningstar: "I had no right to force this life on you, or anyone else."
  Cyrus stared with an expression of emptiness. Confusion, maybe?

His mouth opened, but then shut a second after. There were no words left to be exchanged. He looked upon his friend, writhing on the floor in pain, the two of them exchanging looks.

Then he was off.

"Then."

"I'll have to do it for you."

The door shut behind him.

He took the Arm with him.

Morningstar and Adam were gone.

But, as a resident of the Morningstar Bar, and with a rather intimately-connected keycard, he was free to access this place whenever he saw fit.

  Cyrus knew he'd end up there eventually. It'd still be sitting at the end of the road.

"Well."

The chevrolet sat at the stoplight. It's driver was scrolling through his phone contacts. Many names, many faces. Some symbols -- one in particular.

It was a really gay rainbow emoji.

----

Yagami Hiro recieves a phone call.
  Yagami, Hiro clutches his chest.
  Yagami, Hiro || No, he takes a look at the phone. His eyes went wide momentarily, and he picked it up.

His first question.

"Cyrus?"
  Miyako turns around with a sharp intake of breath, "What?"
  Cyrus: "I'm not dead, faggot."
   And for the first time in a long time. . .
   I get caught in the water.
   Yeah, it's the first time in a long time. .
   I get torn by the wind.
  Cyrus turns up the radio very loudly.

"It was Singed the whole time."
   Cyrus' chevrolet endorsement intensifies.
   Ten fold.
   THAT I'M DOING IT ALL FOR YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.
  Vasco Cruz was running around the city with a goal of 10 KM being his goal, He had taken up the One Punch Man workout routine since he started and didn't want to give it up now. He does this everyday he didn't have school, got bored and skipped class or just generally had enough time.
   Yeah!
  Yagami, Hiro pulls the phone away from his ears. That shit was loud.
  Yagami, Hiro: ". . ."
  Yagami, Hiro looks at Miyako. "He's alive."

He starts speaking back into the phone. "Get to the library in the university."
  Cyrus: "I'm hungry, though."
  Cyrus: "You want anything from. . .oh, god, they don't have like a Subway in this city, do they?"
  Yagami, Hiro: " "
  Cyrus: "I'm fuckin' serious."
  Miyako: ". . .Oh."
  Miyako: "I'm . . glad."
  Cyrus: "Man, fuck it, I'll find something."
  Yagami, Hiro: "Get better taste in food. Just grab something from the University cafeteria or stop by a McDonalds."
  Cyrus audibly frowns.

"I'm not eating that horseshit."

Distant yelling could be heard through Cyrus phone, followed by car honking.

"Alright, fine, I'll be there."

Yelling.

"-- What the fuck did you just say to me?"

The line goes dead.
   Over the course of his trip, Cyrus ends up popping a bud light open on another man's car.
   It's a good day.
  Yagami, Hiro: ". . ."
  Yagami, Hiro inhales.

It's followed by a brief exhale. He looks at Miyako. What she's saying isn't exactly matching her face. He notions his head towards the door, and starts walking.

He wanted to talk to her for a little.
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "Xapham. . ."
  Miyako: "And Cyrus."
  Sakakibara, Yayoi feels a pang of sadness inside of her heart, for Anri.

But.

"I'm glad."
  Miyako leaves the rest of the group after affirming this, and follows Hiro down the stairs and nearer to the door.
  Cyrus sped down towards the university. The taste of bud light and blood in his mouth seem eerily familiar.

He chipped his knuckles on someones tooth, eugh.

Good thing he didn't use his "good" arm.

Then he would've died.

Ha.

That'd be hilarious.
  Yagami, Hiro doesn't need to leave. They're far enough away from anyone who wants to listen in.

"You're don't look too hot."
  Miyako: ". . .Huh?"
  Yagami, Hiro: "Yeah. Something has been bugging you since we got here, so. . . What's wrong?"
  Miyako 's heart sinks.

"I don't know what you're talking about."
  Yagami, Hiro shuffled closer towards her. "You don't have to put up a wall around me, you know. When we spent those days together, I was happy. Sincerely. Even if I was dragging my ass around like a sad puppy, you were there."

"I want to return that favor. I want to be there for you."
  Cruz introduces Alk Fortune to the household gym, after a long walk through a winding stairwell.

It is a sprawling room with various items meant for exercising. Dumbells, metal poles attached to the walls for muscle ups, pull-ups, and chin-ups, a pool large enough to swim in, a track meant for running or performing suicides, and even a treadmill.

Cruz approaches a nearby bin and reaches inside, rummaging through items that make a loud 'clink.'

"Tell me, how many pounds do you think you can carry without faltering?"
  Miyako still isn't sure if her heart is a place she can allow anyone else to tread.

Not even Yagami Hiro, "Hiro. . ."
  Miyako: "I said I'm fine. Just drop it, alright?"
  Yagami, Hiro stops. He can't really bring it up if she wouldn't let him. But, he can, at least, comfort her. "Okay."

Yeah, that's fair.

"If you do want to talk, I'm here. You know that, right?" A hand reaches out to take her own.

"And, hey. After we're done with this mess, we can go get a nice dinner somewhere."
  Miyako: "What? Are you . . .what are you saying?"
  Yagami, Hiro: "I'm saying I want to take you to dinner, somewhere we don't have to worry about spirits, or shades. We can sit down, eat, and just talk."
  Yagami, Hiro: "Nothing on our chests but a few crumbs."
   Where a bib then, you baby.
  Miyako: ". . ."
  Yagami, Hiro spell wear right faggot
  Miyako: ". . ."
  Miyako: "I'm not a messy eater like you are, Yagami."
  Yagami, Hiro snickered a bit. "I'll work on my table manners after a few dates."
  Cyrus drummed his fingers on a wheel.

"Yo Danny Fenton he was just fourteen."
  Miyako turns away from Hiro, hands rising to settle upon her hips.

". . ." This presumptuous guy is really annoying.
  Miyako: "As you should."
  Li Tai looks to both Hiro and Miyako as he walks through the door, pausing upon seeing them both. His hachimaki is wrapped around his neck, and Li Tai is wearing a black and red jacket on top of a white tee the piece of cloth almost blends into. One hand rests on the doorframe, leaning against it slightly with one foot forward, pausing himself.

He's immediately realized that they were about to do something intimate. Though, on further scanning of Miyako's face, he confirms that these two have grown close. His brow raises for a moment and he awkwardly looks behind him to see if Fafnir's there. Regardless of whether or not he is, Li Tai gazes back at both Miyako and Hiro. He almost smirks a bit at them.

"About to head out?"
  Yagami, Hiro was going to say somethin---

This fucking guy.
  Miyako: "----------"
  Miyako: "L-. . ."
  Miyako practically tackles Li Tai into a hug.
  Cyrus || The door opens.
  Cyrus looks down.
  Yagami, Hiro looks at Cyrus.
  Cyrus looks up.
  Yagami, Hiro looks up.
  Cyrus: "If you fucking tackle me."
  Yagami, Hiro: "You wish, homo."
  Cyrus: "Fag."
  Yagami, Hiro: "Ugly."
  Cyrus: "Woah."
  Cyrus: "Too far."
  Li Tai steadies himself and wraps one arm around Miyako to return her hug, arching another brow.
"Sorry for vanishing for so long, Qingfu."
  Cyrus: "Might as well kill myself again."
  Cyrus leaves.

[ BAD END ]
  Miyako: "We thought the enemy got ahold of you! We tried to come and see you!"
  Li Tai: "They did."
  Alk Fortune swallows, heavily. Alk was always a thin and small boy -- seeing all this equipment here. It was the kind of thing he imagined his Father using to improve his body. Alk Fortune could say with certainty, that most of this was totally beyond his body. " I --- I don't know. "

He'd been able to carry Quinn in a time of need. But that was different than this. "F..fifteen pounds ..? Ten pounds. No, fifteen ... maybe."
  Miyako recoils.
  Yagami, Hiro shakes his head, turning towards Li Tai. "You come out alright? Everything looks in order. Your hair seems a bit different."
  Li Tai: "I've seen the faces of my enemy and what they have at their disposal. They kept me in a coma, experimenting on me and attempting to let a shade consume me for data, as far as I've gathered."
  Miyako takes some time before responding, but she understands at once.

"And you. . .won. You beat it."
  Cyrus comes in, holding a bag of McDonalds.
  Li Tai: "It took a long damn time. "
  Miyako: "Yeah. But, you're here now so. . . so come upstairs with me. The witch here will want you hear your story too, and so will everyone else."
  Cyrus: "Ooh."
  Li Tai looks over at Hiro. "Yeah. I'm alive, at least. Fafnir and I had to fight a series of battles before we escaped. Ah--- I'll explain upstairs, then."

He nods to Miyako.
  Miyako blinks.

"Faf. . nir?"
  Yagami, Hiro thinks a bit on that. A person being consumed by their shade? And, from the looks of Li Tai- an odd sense of maturity came off of him. It was almost radiant.

It was almost a complete 180 from what Hiro was feeling.

But, he won't comment. He has a good poker face. To do anything now would only be getting in his own way.

He looks at Cyrus. "Yeah, on that note. You should probably tell them what happened to you too-"

Fafnir?
  Li Tai begins walking up the stairs.
"I'll explain everything that happened to me. He'll probably turn up if we have some ice cream."
  Cyrus seemed silent as Li Tai described his disappearance. It seemed a bit too familiar. He tried to look as benign as possible when they mentioned the shades. He'd reach into the bag and toss a burger at Hiro, simultaneously following him up the stairs.

"Do you know exactly what happened me?"
  Yagami, Hiro grabbed the burger, unwrapping it and taking a bite into it. "You got bombed by a shade that tried to take you with him. It didn't work."
  Cyrus: "It did work."
  Yagami, Hiro: "How did you survive?"
  Cyrus: "I'll explain. Looks like I missed alot."
  Yagami, Hiro nods his head. He walks up the stairs with Cyrus, Miyako, and Li Tai, eventually returning to the rest of the group.
  Sakakibara, Yayoi lifts her head. She fixes her eyes on Miyako and Hiro first, then Li Tai, and finally Cyrus but only briefly before returning her gaze to Li Tai.

"You're back."
  Cruz retireves four circular items from the bin and approaches Alk. He yanks up the boy's sleeves without warning and attaches two of them to his wrists, then clasps the remaining two onto his ankles.

"Watch closely." Cruz turns a small gear located on each of the black rings, and the tiny screen lights up with a number. It's 3. "You can increase the pounds on these weights by turning the gear clockwise and decrease them by turning the gear counter-clockwise. For safety reasons, they will automatically detach when the pounds reach 0, or if you use the safe word: Ante."

As Cruz speaks, the increased weight is apparent on Alk Fortune's young body -- 3 pounds multiplied by four coming to a grand total of twelve tugging away at him. Can he handle it?
  Li Tai nods to her.
"I'm back. I was trapped within Rude Flynn's basement for the time I've been away."
  Li Tai looks around at all the familiar faces. It strangely puts him at ease.
"Most of the usual gang is here, I see. Ah... where's Eckart-sensei?"
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "She's not here. Welcome back from the basement."
  Erin Eckart: "Sorry for being late!"
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "Oh."
  Erin Eckart: "I was tutoring another student, sorry! Sorry."
  Bakuto gives Li Tai the two fingered salute.
  Fujiyama, Tenshi perked up. "Oh, Eckhart-sensei! I was wondering where you went off to."
  Fujiyama, Tenshi ... took a moment to tally up heads. "... My, there really are a lot of people involved in all of this." And this wasn't even all of them, huh? ...
  Li Tai is glad to see Bakuto's still alright. Li Tai gives him a nod. Then, he turns around to look at Erin Eckart.
"Looks like your organization's growing bigger, Sensei."
  Yagami, Hiro || < Kenneth, Adam, Eijiro, Quinn, Alk, and. . . Taito aren't here. >
  Erin Eckart: "Hmm."
  Yagami, Hiro thinks on the missing numbers. He tosses the wrapper of the burger he finished into the trash, and just waited. Everyone had something to say, it seemed.
  Erin Eckart would like to say the more the merrier, but this is dangerous work.

"I hear we've had some losses."
  Erin Eckart seizes Li Tai by the cheeks and pulls on them really hard.
  Erin Eckart: "You were among them."
  Li Tai: "There's been lo----"
  Li Tai is not prepared for this despite any amount of 'maturity'. Li Tai twitches just a bit when his cheeks are pulled and he grasps Erin's hands gently.
  Alk Fortune seems to stumble trying to adjust. Teetering like an unsteady top. Just three pounds by itself would have been nothing. Even twelve pounds at one point would have been manageable, but this weight on his whole body -- was different.

Strenuous. But, he eventually steadied himself and did some basic stretches.
  After almost falling over twice, he seemed to be getting the hang of it.
  Yagami, Hiro || < Yuuto. Shinji. Ren. Anri. Hitomi. Adam. Quinn. Alk. Kenneth. Adam. Eijiro. Taito. Akiyama. Alice. >

All people who were "lost."

All because of circumstances of varying intensity. While he didn't know everything about what was going on, he knew this much.

They had lost a lot.
  Erin Eckart: "I'm glad you're here. Now, fill me in on everything. We've got a lot of work to do."
  Cyrus stood next to Hiro, silent.
  Cruz gives Alk an ample amount of time to adjust with his newly obtained density. He was almost expecting the boy to fall over and struggle to get back up, but he's pleasantly surprised now. Just a little bit.

"Now, for your demon problem. We'll have to attend to it with the utmost haste." With his original plan to put Alk through the most rigorous and body-destroying drills designed by the human mind put on hold, Cruz leads Alk out of the gym and towards the highest room in the manor. A demon-possessed person was no laughing matter, after all. "Father will know what to do."
  Sakakibara, Yayoi reintroduces the group, now including Cyrus, Li Tai, and Xapham Summit to the idea of a demon running amok. Now that Cyrus is here, that reduces the number by one.


   The gruesome details of Anri's death hadn't made it to Yayoi yet.

Dread Eater remains unaware of the true nature of their plight.

There's many more demons in the city.
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "We have reason to believe it's connected to the southern garbage disposal plant's recent shut down. We should attend to this at once. Tracking down demons is difficult."
  Sakakibara, Yayoi shoots Summit a glance. Miyako and Erin do the same, but nothing comes of this.

"But it's a good enough place to start reconnaisance as any."
  Alk Fortune does pretty well for himself, slowly shuffling along, until they reached the first set of stairs. Stairs, that somehow, he managed to ascend. Only occasionally spilling onto all fours. By the second, he was climbing it like a vertical rock. And by the third, he'd fallen down, several times.

What should have been, at worst a twenty minute walk, was being extended much farther. But no matter how many times he fell down, or how badly his limbs burned, Alk Fortune got back up. Even when compromised, metal was still hard and tough. Willpower, the desire that fuels it, is still there.

        He didn't need to be unbreakable.
      He just had to return from the negative.
  Cyrus stepped forward, abruptly.

"Do we know how many we'll need?"
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "No. I was wondering the same thing."
  Miyako: "We don't know if the demon in the garbage plant--if its still there, is another product of the Demon Summoning Game or not."
  Miyako: "Li Tai mentioned that Rudy Flynn was going to feed him to a Shade, in order to make a demon. If that's the truth, then it means they're really going all in on their research concerning the WORLDNEXTDOOR."
  Cyrus: "Or, it's already become the garbage plant itself."
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "Are you concerned that the demon in the garbage plant--"
  Li Tai crosses his arms. He's interested in dealing with this as well, though he's definitely more preoccupied with a few more details.

"Rude Flynn has an abundance of Espers." He adds in.
  Li Tai says this with a straight face.
"I killed three of them."
  Sakakibara, Yayoi looks at Cyrus.

She's not annoyed at the idea because it's stupid, she's annoyed because that sounds horrifying. Then, she continues. "Are you concerned that the demon in the garbage plant might have been the product of an experiment on Rudy Flynn's beha-"

Oh, wow.
  Miyako looks at Li Tai. She doesn't know what to say.
  Yagami, Hiro looks at Li Tai. He knows what to say, but he won't.
  Li Tai: "I don't mean to interrupt either of you. But. I'm in a bit of a situation because of my escape. I don't know if you remember reports of my battle in front of Rude Flynn, since I'm sure it made the news--- unless the Military Police put a stop to that."
  Cyrus looks at Li Tai. He knows what to say, and he'll say it.

"Damn."
  Erin Eckart: "There was a fire. Was that you?"
  Li Tai: "It was us. They were strong opponents, and I couldn't afford to hold back if I wanted to make it out of there alive."
  Li Tai: "Unfortunately, I'm sure they'll be trying to track down Fafnir and I when they've become more sure in their victory. He was important to them."
  Cyrus blinked, and brought a hand to his chin.

Distant screams, echoing down the city, loud enough that he could've heard it from the apart--

"Oh, jesus."

He glanced at Hiro, "How long have I been out of the game for?"
  Erin Eckart: "Good job, Li Tai. You shone too brightly for Rudy Flynn to stop you."
  Erin Eckart blinks. "Fafnir?"
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: ". . ."
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "Fafnir?"
  Li Tai looks at Erin, and Yayoi. Then at Miyako. All three of them reacted in the same way.
"Yeah. Fafnir."
  Bakuto can't say he's surprised that Rudy Flynn's packing Espers too. The fruit of their experiments and their work with TRISTA, most likely.

Bakuto cups his chin and lets the conversation go on, keeping his musings to himself. Him and Taito's investigation on the company will have to wait even longer now; instead of being done the instant they finished training.
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "Like the dragon?"
  Erin Eckart: "Like the dragon?"
  Li Tai: "Yes."
  Erin Eckart: ". . .Hm."
  Miyako: ". . ."
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: ". . ."
  Li Tai: "Bring some ice cream if you want him to come here. Is there a problem with this?"
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "Well this is no good."
  Erin Eckart: "Ice cream?"
  Li Tai: "He loves himself some ice cream."
  Yagami, Hiro looks at Cyrus. He offers a modest shrug. His sense of time was just as fucked as Cyrus's. "I don't think we had a formal funeral because no one could get in contact with Quinn."
  Miyako: "You haven't heard of the Volsunga? Or the Nibelungenlied"
  Fafnir | MAX Combo: 289
  Cyrus || Quinn.

"Fuck."
  Li Tai: "Only vaguely."
  Yagami, Hiro: "You didn't go see her?"
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "Uh."
  Cyrus: "I --"
  Cyrus: "Don't worry about that."
  Li Tai: "I ask again. Is there a problem? Do you not want our help, now that you know his identity?"
  Yagami, Hiro: "What about Alk?"
  Erin Eckart is thinking about procuring ice cream for the kids now.

She's paying half-attention. "Sigurd was killed by Fafnir." She dismisses their concerns with this.
  Miyako: "N-. .No?"
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "Fafnir was the dragon that was killed by Sigurd. It's the other way around."
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "Are you sure this is the same one? You didn't bring it here did you?"
  Li Tai crosses his arms. "He walked off somewhere on the way. I haven't asked him if he's the very same Fafnir."
  Cyrus: "I said, don't fucking worry."
  Miyako bites her finger. This is of deep and substantial concern.

If it comes down to it, she's willing to admit that she would be remiss if they lost Li Tai in exchange for Hirayama Taito.

But that spirit, Sigurd - it's such a shame that he's entered into a contract with a boy like that.

There's no telling if Sigurd is the same as --

No that's not true.
  Miyako: "It's them."
  Yagami, Hiro shrugged.

He wasn't the one who was worrying.

He turns his eyes to the ongoing conflict.
   There's no more doubt in Miyako's mind anymore.

Just like with a riddle, the answer, when it was correct, seemed self-evident. The truth was the same here, it was them.

And even if it wasn't? They knew each other. She didn't have to ask. She could feel it.
  Cyrus glared at Hiro for a few seconds longer before doing the same.

"It's who?"
  Sakakibara, Yayoi leans back in her seat. It doesn't lean with her though, so she's not allowed to recline for very long.

"Well, this sucks."
  Li Tai: "I'm sorry if I don't seem to understand the gravity of the situation. But, I have to say this for Fafnir's sake."
  Li Tai: "He helped me survive, and come back here. Regardless of his past, there's something--- no, there's someone trapped within Rude Flynn we absolutely need to save. I want to join Dread Eater and help you in any way I can... but in return. You have to help us attack Rude Flynn and save the person closest to Fafnir's heart. Anything else--- even that concerning Sigurd and Taito--- is meaningless to me at the moment."
  Li Tai: "If you won't agree to that, I'll leave. It's not like I can ignore the demons here, but I won't be able to work closely with you if Fafnir isn't with me, as I've promised to help him."
  Yagami, Hiro thought about that. Attacking the place they had all been attacked. Zombies, bullets in the head of two people. . .

. . .

. . .
  Miyako takes a moment before responding. She has to, in order to appreciate Li Tai's resolve.

"It's okay. Li Tai. You couldn't have - no, at the moment, in the situation you were in, it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. I can't fault you for believing in someone who saved you. And besides. Stories are as they are, just stories."
  Miyako: "If they are the same. There's no telling the contents of their character, or how they might have changed."
  Erin Eckart: ". . ."
  Fujiyama, Tenshi would like to agree with this.


But, the battle she just witnessed ...
  Li Tai nods to Miyako.

But he's staring at Erin Eckart.
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "It's easy for you to say something like that. But, I've known that boy since he was small."
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "I don't want Taito to be hurt. I can't accept something like that so readily."
  Noburu, Yuuto | It is difficult to explain why Yuuto believed that Feral would appear if he was called. He had only met the spirit once, but in that time he had come to learn much about the spirit. Almost animalistic in nature, Feral was a spirit with incredible speed, agility, reflexes. His senses were also incredible as well considering he had found Yuuto the first time simply through his sense of smell (which could have contributed this time around as well considering Yuuto had been dowsed in garbage). Yuuto having O.S.'d with the spirit had at once shared those same senses. It would make sense that if Yuuto had screamed out there was a possibility that Feral could have heard him. But that meant nothing. It was simply an assumption. There was always the possibility that Feral would not hear his scream, or simply was not going to show up. So how was he able to put such faith in a spirit that had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared?

In the moment of that shout, the world freezes in time. In Yuuto's eyes all he can see is the bat that should have struck Riley does not. That being said, he knows why. In this frozen time where Junpei and Riley are held frozen, there is one thing that stands out and that is Junpei's expression. His calm exposure if only for a moment has broken down. He stands in shock of something that is unseeable to the normal human eye. It's at this moment that Junpei could catch from his peripheral view like he had been that Yuuto was smiling. It was not smug smile intended for Junpei though perhaps he would perceive it that way. Rather, it was the sincere smile of seeing a friend again (even if he actually couldn't). Though as he felt the touch of an invisible hand reach for his, the hand that had been trying to pull out the pin, it wasn't even a question anymore.

He closed his eyes for a moment, "It's good to see you back in Hell." The pin fell from his head, and with it he reopened his eyes to see the familiar face. The one who had gone to Hell and back with Noburu Yuuto. With his presence alone he had retipped the scales into balance. In what felt like a microsecond, Feral had completely changed the tide of this battle. He had saved Riley from Junpei's strike, he forced Junpei to retreat, and he helped restore Yuuto's esper abilities.

It was at this point that Yuuto stares along Feral at his brother. You can see on his face that Junpei was weighing his options heavily. Which answer would lead him to victory? What was the correct move? What was the cost-benefit of all this? It's at this point that Junpei pointed at Yuuto's dog tags and snatches them. Junpei now had both Noburu Yuuto's phone, the instrument in which he was able to call spirits and his dog tags, the fixation he needed for his Over Soul. This was checkmate. Even if Feral was here without a medium it would be impossible for Yuuto to fight. It was over.

"So I've been thinking for a while now, you seem like a smart guy. The way you have everything all planned out you seem like you're really capable. So how does a guy like you end up trying to abduct a kid, and then trying to beat up people when he doesn't get his way? I would think a guy like you wouldn't need to do something like this, ya know?"

During the beginning of this fight Junpei had told Yuuto that he shouldn't rant on. That if he had the time to speak he should be planning for the circumstances. Yet here he was asking questions of the one he was fighting. Why was that? In fact. . . Why is he so calm? His entire demeanor has changed since Feral's arrival. Even when Junpei had stolen Yuuto's dog tags there seemed only to be a slight amount of a surprise at its absence. Junpei can see it in his eyes, there's not any fear like there was before. The dread that he's sufferring is insufficient to what he had wanted to impose on his brother.

All that stood before Junpei was his doppelganger and his spirit looking towards him for some answers.
  Cyrus looked down at the floor.

It's like he's hearing it come from his own mouth. But something about what this guy said -- this boy whom Cyrus had only met once before the Demon Summoning Game -- felt more noble.

He possessed a nobility that he lacked.

They all did, actually.

It felt like salt onto the wound that Hiro had accidentally just cut open.
  Li Tai has no intentions to battle Sigurd or Taito. But he knows for fact he can't promise Fafnir will listen to him if he says this. Thus, he won't promise nothing will happen outside of his control.

...But. While he wants to assist all the people in this room, he can't abandon Fafnir or the promise he's made. This misfortune he will live with, as well.

The conditions for Li Tai to join Dread Eater have been set.
  Sakakibara, Yayoi: "Does he know? That Sigurd is here?"
   Recognizing Alk's determination, Cruz doesn't offer any assistance when it appears that the boy has fallen down. He stops in place to make sure that he can still keep going but continues walking when Alk does. This was only the beginning of the trials that he would have to endure until he was deemed to be in proper fighting condition, and judging from Alk's current state, there would be many of them.

But as a reward for his persistance, Alk reaches the summit of the Nakashima mansion. The auburn doors stand as a stark contrast to the azure coloration of the rest of the building and give way to a room that came right out of a traditional posh manor.

The interior was bathed in a rich dark oak, equipped with a roaring fireplace, pelts of various sizes attached to the walls (was that a crocodile up there?), and an entranceway leading to a balcony. The curtains were obscuring any lights from entering the room; giving off the vibe that there was nobody inside.

But yet there was a man resting  in the corner of the room. With his feet propped on a footrest and his body reclining in a chair, Most of his form was obscured by an ivory cloak but Alk can see enough of the man's concealed chest to tell that he's still breathing.

Cruz clears his throat.

The man shuffles in place, but eventually he steps out of bed. And by stepping; he rolls out of bed and falls on his ass. He gets up after a short delay - still yawning.

Despite his lackluster appearance, Alk can see that the man towers over Cruz who isn't exactly a small man. There's no shortage of muscle on his physique and even the action of stretching causes them to budge against his shirt.

But he doesn't feel intimidating like the boy's own father. If anything, he feels.. detached from his surroundings. Just like the rest of this mansion.
  Li Tai: "No."
  Sakakibara, Yayoi lowers her head.
  Erin Eckart unfolds her arms from beneath her bosom and in doing so, reveals an essential truth of herself to Li Tai and all others present here.

"It might be for the best if we keep things just like that for a while."
  Miyako: "I agree."
  Li Tai stays silent.
  Charlamagne lowers his bear-sized hand away from his mouth.

"Hile." He greets Alk and his son. "Need something?"
  Sakakibara, Yayoi thinks that this is the wrong course of action, and says as such.

"This sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."

But in her heart. . .
  Erin Eckart: "I see no reason for Hirayama-kun to get involved as of yet. We have enough hands here, don't we?"
  Erin Eckart: "Here, how about this? As a show of hands! How many people here are tired of Hirayama-kun always saving the day."