[Day: Wednesday, April 13th. Time: 2:50 p.m.] [Weather: Cool, humid, cloudy.] [After a failed assassination attempt, someone burns your supply depot... er, you gather at the lockers the following day.] [Session Start!] * Haruko wanders down the hallway. Her eyes are bloodshot, but she seems fairly focused. * Satoshi is at his locker. He's actively scanning the halls for people instead of just waiting for them to show up. When he sees Haruko, he waves her over. ( Satoshi walks down the hallway and flexes his bulging muscles? ) (I'm MANLY!) * Haruko walks over to Satoshi. "Hi." Her tone isn't quite flat, but it's not her usual peppy either. Hey, Haruko. How're you doing? * Haruko smiles slightly. "Well, I kept myself to riding Kyon's bike last night. That's something." * Kaede walks down the hall. Normally, he'd have a pretty neutral expression on his face, but especially today, he looks incredibly tired. He stares somewhat listlessly down the hall as he walks towards the lockers. * Satoshi smiles back a little. "Yeah. Good for you." He spots Kaede and waves to him. * Kaede doesn't seem to notice Satoshi's wave. * Haruko looks over to Kaede. "Afternoon Kaede." She looks at him somewhat expectantly. * Kaede glances at Haruko. "Afternoon. Oh, this is yours." He digs through his pockets and hands back her phone. Hey, Kaede. * Haruko takes the phone. "Thanks." * Kaede turns his eyes towards Satoshi. "Afternoon." He lets out a sigh and starts on the opening process for his locker. Taki said that she was planning on staying home today. * Haruko looks over to Satoshi. "She want visitors?" She wanted to get some rest. But by now, she might be rested enough. I can call and see how she's feeling. Unless you'd prefer not to disturb her. I was planning on checking in this evening. It's up to you... Personally, though, I feel we could all do with a break... Not disagreeing with you at all on that. * Haruko nods. "We can avoid business today. And yeah, I guess call." * Satoshi nods, then pulls out his phone and dials Taki's number. * Kaede eyes Haruko. "Business?" * Haruko folds her arms and sighs. "There a better word for it?" * Haruko's tone isn't rhetorical or sarcastic. It's more resigned. I just... don't like to think of this as business... "this mess we've gotten ourselves into" seems more appropriate. "Hey, Taki. It's Satoshi. Are you feeling well enough for some company, or would you rather get some more rest?" * Haruko smiles slightly. "That's a little long though." "This mess" then. * Haruko purses her lips for a moment and then nods. "Alright." "We're managing." * Kaede glances at Haruko. "I'm somewhat glad Katie isn't here actually..." * Haruko looks to Kaede. "There something you want to talk about?" * Kaede shakes his head. "Yes and no." He takes a long sigh. "I think she's scared of me..." "When would be a good time for us to come?" * Haruko nods. "Have you worked out more how you're going to deal with her?" "As well as we *can* be." (Okay, Katie probably told someone - likely Kaede, since he has classes with her - that she needs to think (again), and she ditched you all early.) "Are you sure you're okay with this? We can wait if you're not feeling up to it." (So she got to her locker first - as she can - and got out of there.) (Okay, we'll say Kaede spread the word. That okay with you Rowyn? Otherwise we'd probably have asked) * Kaede glances at Haruko. "More?" He then shakes his head. "I think... so far it may be going alright... it's affecting her... even if she doesn't want to admit it." (Yes, that's fine.) * Kaede shakes his head. "I never expected the talk with Chikako to go that... badly though. She doesn't want to speak to anyone now. She was afraid to talk to me even..." * Haruko nods and sighs. "Well, I'll be talking to her soon enough." * Kaede sighs and drops his head slightly. "She knows about Yushiro." Yeah, I knew that. * Kaede shakes his head. "These actions we're doing... they affect normal people. We can choose to be blind to it, or we can choose to acknowledge it..." "Absolutely. I was planning on it." "So, see you in about half an hour or so?" * Kaede slumps against the wall, looking absolutely worn out. * Haruko nods. "It does." * Kaede glances at Haruko. "I'm not sure what to think now. I don't think Katie knows what to think either..." "Okay. See you then." * Satoshi hangs up. The trouble is, she'll have to make up her mind. I thought it could be put off, but it isn't that easy. * Kaede sighs. "He may have been bluffing, but he's still a threat even so..." * Satoshi puts his phone away. "Who?" * Haruko starts at that and there's definite hope in her voice. "The marks aren't permanent?" According to Akemi. He doesn't have enough power to maintain it away. He must have withdrew it at the last second. Whether he was lying to Akemi or not, I don't know, but...I trust her. * Haruko nods. "What else did she say about him?" * Kaede shakes his head. "He's mainly in it because of his sister. I think you met her. Shika." Shika's his sister? * Haruko frowns and nods. "Natsuko is her friend. But it seemed like there was more to it." Who's best friends with Natsuko Kourakuen. * Kaede shakes his head. "More than that. They've been that way since elementary school apparently. They're like blood sisters or something." * Satoshi blinks. "Huh..." * Haruko snorts. "Shika was willing to sell him out. Her brother didn't seem to approve." * Kaede tilts his head and looks at Haruko surprised. "Who? [Kaede's phone rings.] * Kaede holds up a finger. "One second." He picks up his phone. "Takeuchi here." * Kaede blinks slightly and sounds honestly surprised. "Katie?" He glances around at the others then returns back to the phone. "What's up?" * Satoshi raises an eyebrow. * Kaede keeps looking around. "Everyone except Taki actually." He frowns a little. "She's coming too, huh?" * Haruko waits and looks curious. * Satoshi looks slightly confused, because he thought they, or at least he, were going to see Taki. * Kaede sighs and fiddles with his glasses. "You're really pushing this fast, aren't you?" * Haruko frowns. There's always a choice, Katie Andrews... * Haruko frowns more and nods to herself. * Kaede sighs. "But... as much as you may disbelieve it, I understand why you feel you have to go towards this one... Okay..." Plans can change... I... don't know if I can handle it though... if she's there... But... arrgh, this is so hard. I never expected it to be so hard. * Haruko looks quizzically at Kaede. * Kaede calms down finally and tries anew. "Who do you most want with you, Katie Andrews?" * Satoshi looks very confused now. But what else is new? * Kaede is silent for a moment. * Haruko looks over to Satoshi and comments quietly. "We should work out a phone protocol. Hmm... I could probably rig up a party line." * Satoshi shakes his head. "Nah. Might be intruding a bit. Although this isn't exactly an entirely private conversation." Satoshi could come. Well we wouldn't use it all the time. But it could be useful when we're planning stuff. ::she gestures to Kaede after he mentions Satoshi's name:: * Satoshi looks at Kaede. "When and where?" And most importantly, what? * Haruko grins slightly at that. * Kaede turns to Satoshi and cups his hand over the mouthpiece, though it's mostly for show. "Just let me finish first..." And... * Kaede sighs deeply. "Do you really...want me there, Katie Andrews?" * Satoshi nods but looks slightly dubious. Us two are the ones who were least involved... but she did manage to see me... Yeah, the trouble is when things are being planned, it's hard to coordinate both a phone and a regular conversation. So party line might help. * Kaede closes his eyes slightly and sighs. "You and I had the same worry, actually, Katie Andrews." * Haruko blinks and looks to Kaede. She frowns again. "If this is Shika and her brother, I won't come. I promised I wouldn't seek the brother out. That was part of the deal." But all I can do is try... * Kaede nods to Haruko. "It is." * Satoshi checks his watch. "I promised Taki I'd go over there soon. So if this is something Katie wants to do now, I can't go." * Kaede then eyes Satoshi. "We have to. That is to say, *you* have to." * Satoshi eyes Kaede levelly. "Maybe." * Haruko looks satisfied with the nod and then frowns at that. "Well, I'll go see her." She smiles with a bit of pride at Satoshi's response. "Satoshi does get to make his own decisions after all." * Kaede keeps a steady look at Satoshi. "I'm serious. Five o' clock." First tell me what it is. * Kaede looks at Haruko. "Yes. But if he doesn't go..." He sighs. "He may doom us all. He has to go because, out of all of us, he's the least biased of us all." * Satoshi rolls his eyes at the "doom us all" statement. We get to make our own decisions, and we shouldn't guilt others into following us to what we shouldn't do in the first place. * Kaede shakes his head. "Whatever." He holds out the phone to Satoshi. "Katie wants to talk to you." Okay. * Satoshi takes it. "Hey, Katie." His voice sounds a bit flat. "Where, with whom, and why?" * Haruko frowns. "Not 'whatever'. Principles matter and they should be accorded respect when they're reasonable." "And why me?" "What, exactly, do you want *me* for?" * Haruko looks to Satoshi. "I'll want to speak to her for a moment when you're done." She then looks over to Kaede again. (But she doesn't want to talk to her now.) Principles matter to the extent that they affect the rest of us too... What does that mean? And I think whether she wants to talk to you or not is up to her. I mean that... * Kaede closes his eyes. "You're free to establish your principles all you want. But if I feel they may harm me in the end, don't expect me not to react..." And I would expect the same in kind. "I'm not sure how relevant that is, only if they're Arcana, point, point, and Yusuke and Akemi *do* know me." "So, what's the purpose of this? I mean, really, what is it? Is it some sort of negotiation?" (It's a backyard barbeque) (Chicken!) * Haruko frowns at Kaede's first comment but doesn't reply. She does reply to his later. "None of us are obliged to break our principles. And I'm not asking you to obey mine or Satoshi's, just respect them and respect our rights to say no." (BBQ Virgil?) "You *know* all I'd argue for is to leave us alone." * Kaede eyes Satoshi levelly as he speaks to Haruko. "No matter what you say, he's the one I'd trust most with this. He's the best choice." "And I don't think I'm going to be that helpful, unless you want me to just sit there and look tough." * Kaede eyes Satoshi but doesn't say anything, shaking his head slightly. * Haruko nods. "I don't know the circumstances, but I can accept that. It's still his choice. It will be far worse for us if we make a habit of compromising ourselves." "I thought that was fairly obvious. But people seem to want me to." "And if it'll make things *better* somehow, then I'll do it." "But I don't have to like it." "And I reserve the right to leave." * Haruko smiles at that. * Kaede nods slightly at Satoshi. "That's a principle I can accept." Good. So can you tell me what's going on, or is this a secret? * Satoshi sighs softly. "Yeah, I'll come." Katie wants one or two of us to come to talk to Shika and Yusuke. Akemi's coming too. * Haruko nods. "Yusuke? That's the brother, right? And I assume Akemi's told you guys about Shika." "Yeah, she did. You want to?" "Okay. See you later." Yes. And him. * Satoshi holds the phone out to Haruko. "Here." * Haruko takes the phone and puts it to her here. She speaks in her normal tone of voice. "Hi Katie." * Satoshi pulls out his phone and dials Taki. * Kaede turns to Satoshi. "So we're going?" * Satoshi nods at Kaede. Well, I am. * Satoshi waits for Taki to pick up. We need to talk, but that can wait. But for now I need to know what you think about the tactics you used yesterday. "Hey, Taki. It's me. Something's come up and I'll be over later this evening. I promise I'll be there then, though. I'm sorry." * Haruko nods. "Good. And are you going to be able to control your fear for this one? It's pretty soon and you haven't really had much recovery time." * Haruko 's tone is one of concern, not castigation. * Kaede frowns at Haruko's statement. "I think Haruko might still be coming. Get some more rest, and I'll see you tonight?" * Haruko thinks for a moment and nods. "Okay. Good luck. And we do need to talk soon, but it can wait 'til you've had more time." * Haruko also nods in response to Satoshi's comment. "No, it doesn't. I'll see you then." * Satoshi hangs up. * Kaede nods to Satoshi. "Are you ready?" Will do. Bye. ::Haruko then hangs the phone over to Kaede without hanging up:: (What time is it?) ( Like 3:30 ) * Kaede raises an eyebrow and takes the phone. "Yeah?" * Haruko turns to Satoshi. "She still want me to come?" Classy. Yeah. We'll see you there I guess. Anything else? * Haruko smiles. "Glad to hear it." Alright then. Take care, Katie. * Kaede clicks off the phone and sighs, pocketing it. We've got a few hours. Should we just meet there? We could... I wanted to talk with you a bit too before hand. Okay. Anything you need from me, or should I get going? * Kaede shakes his head. "Not that I can think of... it can wait." * Haruko nods and gets walking to Kyon's bike. "I hope it goes well, and be careful." Thanks. * Kaede nods and then looks at Satoshi. "Where can we talk?" We could go to my place if you think that'd leave us enough time. * Kaede nods. "Or talk along the way." (How far walking distance is the place?) ( Very. ) That works, too. * Kaede nods and takes his stuff. "We'll have to head to get changed anyways. Let's walk together." Okay. * Satoshi slings his bag over his shoulder. [They walk together. Awww.] * Kaede walks fairly quietly until they get some distance from the school. Eventually, he finally speaks. "There is a reason I chose you first, you know..." Oh? Yes. Actually there's a few reasons... * Kaede sighs. "So I hope you're not upset. But we really do need you, Watanabe- san." I'll deal with it. And you need me because... I don't know what's going on? No. I really don't know everything that's going on, you know. * Kaede shakes his head. "I chose you because you're not involved and, right now, you're not emotional. When you say you don't necessarily want to kill Tenjirou.... * Kaede turns and looks directly at Satoshi. "You're about the only one who might actually mean it." I don't think Haruko wants to kill Tenjirou. But the emotional part... * Satoshi sighs. "I just hope that I can actually do some *good* by coming here." No. Haruko just wants to castrate him. 2d6-6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6-6) and gets 4. You think *that* will go over well with Yusuke and company? * Satoshi winces slightly. "Well, he wouldn't be *dead*, per se, but... yeah." But... even if you don't have anything to say, you'll be doing good just by being there. How much should I mention the circumstances that I met Yusuke under, if at all? I mean, it's kinda hard to explain a guy randomly showing up in your shower. ... Yes. That's kind of odd, I have to admit. I thought it might have been Jin. We'll talk about that in a moment... * Kaede glances at Satoshi. "Do you really not realize why I chose you to be there?" * Satoshi looks at him. "Why?" * Kaede taps his temple with his finger. "You've got to figure out how much of what Yusuke says is the truth or not. If he's an actor, we can't be sure of what he really means." Especially if he says that Katie's curse isn't really a curse. Ahhh, yeah. That's a really good point. Although the first time I saw him, I wasn't really getting much out of him besides what he was actually saying. Hmmm... honest? Yes, I did read him. Just to make *sure* he was Arcana, although the fact that he showed up in my shower out of nowhere was probably a strong indication. And yeah. His mind's weird. * Kaede frowns. "That's not good on two counts. Either he has resistance, or he knows and he's purposefully trying to mislead. Neither conclusion is good." Or he could just be completely nuts? Compared to ordinary Arcana? Point. Well, I'd say he's above-average nuts, even for an Arcana. That's a pretty far standard. He gets teleported randomly into someone's apartment and decides to use their shower? Well... * Kaede sighs. "There's a third reason I asked you to come..." What's that? Honestly? Yeah. Tell me. * Kaede sighs and looks up at the sky. "I think you're the only sane one of us left." That's scary. ( I can't really argue with that, either.) Yes, but if I'm going to go there, which I feel I have to... I mean there's Katie... and then there's Akemi.... * Kaede closes his eyes slightly. "I need some stability. Or else I'm going to break." So I'm the sane, stable one? (You didn't think Taki latched onto you for your dashing good looks, did you? ;p) Note this is just between you and me, Satoshi. If it shows, it shows. But... if people heard me talking like this... (Haruko's still the closest to reality on the normal side. ;P) (You know Satoshi's actually forgotten that he's ugly? Kinda. ;p) (He certainly doesn't dwell on it now like he used to. Far more important things to worry about.) They'd do what? ( Go crazy. Don't mind if I do! Damn.) (So much for stability!) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6) and gets 6. Who knows. All I know is...I don't want them to know. I won't say anything. (Too bad. I heard you!) (Ha.) (from across town!) (Impressive.) Good. [Session End]