Nightfall (IC)

[RacingeR]

Elora Griffin & Yuu Kurogami
April 3^rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Nakano, Streets - Alleyways

Just one look at the crack-covered sky and the insane green moon made Elora understand that she was not in Kansas anymore. No, this was…

A green moon so absolutely alien that if a normal human had looked upon it, they’d have gone insane. A sky so shattered in a way so essential and wrong that you simply were unable to understand it, barely able to sense that the metaphysical connotations of this were more than worrying. And looking around you…

It was the same street you had been before. Only so utterly warped and distorted as to be unrecognizable. The buildings were twisted into spires that extended towards the broken skies. The green light cast bizarre shadows everywhere, which trembled into maelstroms of pure midnight.

This was Tokyo, but at the same time this wasn’t Tokyo. This was a city, but it was also a wasted land, one so utterly devoid of life and growth that it could only be called an embodiment of death itself.

This was what you saw. This was where you were. The other side of the moon. The other side of the earth. The other side of the coin.

A world as eldritch as you now were.

A world that was without a doubt fraught with pure danger.

For a moment, you were so overwhelmed with what you saw, that you were rendered speechless. That most of the nearby buildings had turned into Tim Burton’s gothic wet dream definitely wasn’t helping matters.

You had no other option but to temporarily dismiss this absurdity to take care of your companions.

“I’m… fine…” Rika was the first to answer, squeezing your hand with all her strength, while she used her other arm to stubbornly push herself up, struggling against the dizziness, and borrowing your strength momentarily to stabilize herself. She was trembling and covered in absurd amounts of sweat, but it was the same Rika as always, trying to stand up just to spite that feeling of weakness that so invaded her.

Sitting up was as much as she could manage. The heat wasn’t helping things any for you. The warped street was like an oven, and sweat clung to you and your clothing in a sheen, head to toe.

“God… now this, this is some anime bullshit…” Ryou said, lying face up on the sidewalk. “Hell, my ribs healed up…”

“Shouldn’t that be something to rejoice about?” Sakura groaned as she stood up on wobbly legs. Just like Yuu, she seemed to have taken the transformation much better than anyone else. And she seemed to have been visited by the same miraculous restorative services that came with said transformation.

“Nah, now I can’t impress girls by telling them I got my ribs busted fighting some sort of zombie on steroids.” Ryou replied.

“Should’ve known… gah, just end me now.” Sakura put one hand to her forehead, massaging it, only to retract her hand with disgust, covered with her blood.

“I’m… I’m alright…” Kiyoko said, opening her eyes slowly and looking around. “Akane?”

“Here. I’m okay, nee-san.” Akane answered weakly.

“Thank god…” Kiyoko said, forcing herself up, and crawling his way to her little sister with the force of pure will and big sister energy, cradling Akane on her arms.

“I’m fine too. So is Ayako!” Nanami reported, the brunette at her side nodded her head.

“Where’s Erika?” The latter asked, looking around, and quickly locating the blonde.

“Ewww…” Erika was standing near the urine-soaked, vomit-stained mess that was Osamu, looking at him with a mix of disgust and pity. The Treasurer had taken this whole… thing much worse than anyone else apart from Yuu, Sakura, and oddly enough, Erika. He was basically a trembling lump in the street, refusing to answer external stimuli.

“Seriously… what are we going to do about him?” The blonde asked, swiping the blood off her eyes with one hand.

“No, in the first place… what the hell is with this whole damn… thing?” She asked, to nobody in particular.

[RacingeR]

Masayoshi Kotetsu
April 3^rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Shinjuku, Streets – Yamagumi Bar (Outside)

Wright-san had to make a visible effort to calm herself down.

“Call me Karin.” She said, still in a rough and commanding voice. “Anyone who saves my life can call me by my first name.” Despite her words, there wasn’t a trace of politeness on her voice.

Perhaps it was just how she was, or…

“Let’s try this again. Masayoshi Kotetsu, right? Look at the objectives.” She said.

Look at the objectives, what did she me-

The thought of ‘objectives’ trigger a bunch of phrases that show up in your mind, uninvited.

Players are forbidden from fighting each other.

First Phase
Objective A: Slay thirty Fallen
Objective B: Reach Shinjuku Station

Time Limit: Six hours - 2 AM April 4th

Oh.

And currently it was… 8 PM.

“And just saying, you won’t like what’ll happen if we pass the time-limit.” Karin continued.

“Now you get why we need to haul-ass, quick-like?” Despite her words, and her evident hurry, the woman made no effort to stand up. Almost as if…

“You can’t walk, can’t ya?” Katsuo said, looking at her from his position in the asphalt, lying on his side and wiping the blood off his face. He seemed to have taken the experience a bit better than you did. Then again, he was more accustomed to pain than you were.

Karin’s answer was a half-shrug that all but confirmed the guess.

[Mormarth]

Masayoshi Kotetsu
April 3rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Shinjuku, Streets – Yamagumi Bar (Outside)

Ah, an attempt to talk politely without actually being polite.

It's like being at work.

I took the time to consult the 'objectives' while answering her.

"Yes, that is my name, Karin-san," I said, eyes tracing over information that was both 'shown' and 'heard' while being neither.

I grimaced disgustedly, "So, we're to kill things and make our way to the station, yes? Judging from your haste, I'm supposing we're to do both."

I pinched at my nose, scrapping some blood off of my face as I did so, wondering if I could find a sink around here.

Some terms in there bothered me, like seeing some fine print in a contract.

Lifeline, Lineage, Godfather.

Spiritual Power.

Still, it seems we've no time, so I may as well go along with her demands so as to get on her good side.

"Right then, can't walk, have to get moving."

It was not said in a judgmental tone, but merely a matter-of-fact one, for all that she was recovering, even now. It seems that even this person wouldn't be able to get shot up a bunch and walk it off.

For all that it may be more expedient to press on by ourselves, as a cold, hard, voice advised in the back of my mind, it was unwise, she was a source of information, and more.

Besides, I'd already invested some of my time and effort, I may as well get a return.

I wasn't going to let this debtor lay around uselessly.

Was that cold? Probably.

I pushed myself all the way to my feet, shaking out my limbs as I did so, eyeing the blood on my shirt with distaste.

Aches and pains still needled at me, not unknown, but decidedly unwelcome, I wasn't a street tough like the good Katsuo-san, but even as a financier, one does not keep the company that this one does without a certain...

Integrity, for lack of a more appropriate term.

My body was already complaining at me for my rise to my feet, but I had no time for its complaints, for as important as it was for me to rise and get moving, it was simultaneously a galvanizing measure.

Katsuo-san was quite proud, after all, if a weedy desk worker such as myself was rising to the task while he lay in the dirt, well, it would rankle most heavily.

I already heard him pushing his legs under himself, grumbling all the while.

"Katsuo-san," I said, as a way to prove his strength, "Would you be gallant and carry Karin-san along?"

His arms would be occupied by this, and while unable to walk, she may have use of her arms, but even so...

I frowned, swallowing my distaste, "Karin-san, given your... equipment, I take it that it would be wise to have a method of self-defense, yes?"

I looked at her firearms uncomfortably, not wanting to outright ask.

"We can discuss these 'Fallen', and some of those other things, 'Lifeline', 'Godfather', and such while we walk, yes?"

I knew the way to the station, I'd been there so often I could practically do it with my eyes closed.

[Vritra]

Yuu Kurogami
April 3rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Nakano, Streets – Alleyways

Catching choking breaths as my body shudders I stand and open my eyes.

The sky was broken, a discoloured moon was now intruding with the grace of a burglar and everything felt wrong. Perhaps this new world view would have broken me once upon a time, but now…

No longer human huh…

It is something I simply understand without any ability to refute. Well didn’t they always call us demons? Guess I beat everyone else to the punch huh?

“No need to push yourself Kaede, I’m fine so just worry about yourself for now.” My voice is distant as I continue to stare into that new sky. Nakano Distortion Initialized huh? Unless someone got cute and decided to name some strange otherworldly stuff the same as our little city, It stands to reason that things are only going to…

Something or other, warped, twisted, interesting, funny, disappointing, a thousand little ideas about what my lie in my future assault me but in the end, I swallow them and shift my focus to getting my breathing under control. No use letting my imagination get carried assumption and rampant speculation without any context or understanding never produced anything worthwhile.

Shifting my body, I test my strength and attempt to stand.

“Time to see if anyone else is alive I suppose.”

It is an odd sense of detachment, or perhaps liberation normally my mind would run away with itself or succumb to some primal instinct but, I guess today isn’t a normal day. Shuffling over to check Kaede over I call out; my voice is unsteady but determined.

“Head count time, did all the little puppies and kittens drop dead or is everyone still alive?”

Oh…

In this strange moment her name escapes me but our brazen little birdy pulled a magic trick before collapsing didn’t, she? Well, guess I’ll start with her.

?

One, two, three, however many we had buzzing around us. Hearing one voice after another pipe up I let out a little laugh and pull Kaede’s arm over my shoulder to brace her before I start dragging the both of us over to the others.

…

Well if there’s one thing to come out of this its…

That it’s given me such a W O N D E R F U L view ~~~~, oh là là a dinner to go with the show don’t mine if I do.

“Good morning party people you seem not dead.”

[palad1n]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Minato, Tokyo Tower – Sei Kyonatsu’s Ramen Stop

Shiratori Kaguya knew nothing but pain the moment the sky shattered.

In that moment of absolute agony, a hell of pain that is so much worse for a girl so sheltered, nothing else matters. Not Reign, not her company, not even Laura or Minato matters. What matters is the pain that is ravaging her body, and how she wished for it to stop. Tears fell from her eyes like a cascade, showing no sign of stopping as Kaguya felt herself changing to become something inhuman.

If she has the strength to scream, she would.

But the pain is so overpowering that she couldn't even do that.

When the process is over, Kaguya was left a wreck, silently sobbing and trembling from the experience. How she wished that this is just a nightmare, that she would wake up on the comfort of her bed and room and forget any of this ever happened...

Alas, the moment she could see something akin to her own profile in her mind Kaguya knew that this is reality.

Still, if there is any comfort to this nightmare, it's the fact that she is not alone; the moment a pair of arms pulled her closer and she could felt the honey-like scent of her best friend, Kaguya thanked the gods above that Laura is here with her. She took comfort in that fact and hugged the arms back - knowing that the blonde also needs as much as comfort as herself - and they stayed like that for a while, two high school girls who are way over their head in heading to the unknown.

She wondered if she would have made the same choice had she knew this would happen.

But after the pain recedes thanks to Sherry and she could start to focus on hearing the people around her, Kaguya summoned whatever courage she has left and ask the woman closest to her position.

"Sherry-san... What is going on...?"

Because now that she's really doing this, the least that she could so is to understand what is going on.

[Erlkonig]

Amano Kaede
April 3^rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Bunkyo, Sakurai Apartments – Outside

There wasn't a good way to describe what had happened. She'd almost gotten herself and her best friend killed until an ojii-san doing a real live cosplay of Slenderman saved them, then said Slenderman-like had punched them both out and something had popped out of her head. Now she could see numbers in the air, she had the leftovers of a mother of all migraines ringing across her brain, and the concrete floor had pressed up against her for so long that she couldn't feel her left tit.

In other words, shit was completely fucked.

"I know, right...?" Kaede groaned, struggling to get to her feet as she replied to Edward's exclamation. She looked at him, saw the state of his body, and smiled in relief. "Whatever the hell just happened, at least it looks like we're both alright."

Her eyes then snapped to the numbers and letters hanging around her vision, and she frowned. "Well, sort of alright. Okay Ed, get your marbles together, I'm going to ask you a weird question. Please don't think I'm insane?"

She grasped at the -God, this can't be happening- status sheet hanging on her mind's eye and brought it to the forefront, so she could read it over. She couldn't help it, she giggled to herself. What kind of Isekai trash bullshit was this? What the hell was a Spiritual Rank? And what the fuck were these stats that made absolutely no sense?

Existence? Spirit? Was it that hard to just call it 'Magic' or something?

"So, yeah, I'm basically looking at a whole bunch of crazy stats. It has my name, a bunch of parameters -kind of sexist actually, my lowest stat is Strength- and... It also says that you're my Lifeline?" She gave Ed a lingering, shady look through softly lidded eyes. "You didn't sign me up for anything weird, did you?"

"What? No!" Edward blinked. "Also, what...?"

Her detective trailed off, eyes glazing over as he developed a thousand-yard stare. She was tempted to slap him or shove her tits on his face for trailing off like that, but hell, she was distracted as well. Some of what was going on in this sheet was really weird.

Apparently, she had a third eye now. Reflexively she touched her forehead, but quickly sighed in relief when she didn't find anything. A buzz tickled her head, however, whispering that simply focusing enough would allow it to open. She quickly repressed a shudder.

The thing about her lifespan being a gajillion solar years also weirded her out. Was the thing saying that she wasn't going to age anymore? It was nice to imagine she wouldn't have to bother about buying metric tons of body cream, but if that extended lifespan didn't come with some youth tacked on then in a few centuries she was sure her breasts would be dragging across the floor.

Shit, there was a nasty image.

Kaede suddenly burst into laughter. Tears tinged the corners of her eyes, and not from laughter or joy. "What the fucking hell is going on? Why is this happening to us?" She couldn't help the hysteric disbelief that bubbled into her chest. "Ever since Y-Yuuta went into a coma nothing has made any fucking sense! And now this!?"

She shook her head, violently, and slapped herself. "Fuck!" That really hurt, so it definitely wasn't a dream. She really had gone through all that, she'd almost been shot, she'd broken a man's bones and seen Ed get kicked out of a fucking window.

But then again, what was she getting all stressed over about? She was right- Ever since Yuuta's coma, nothing had made sense. Life itself lacked any meaning, other than waiting for her little bro to come back. Oh she went through the motions, worked her job as usual, smiled for the fans- But it was all an escape, a way to cope with her pain.

She hadn't bawled her eyes out on her knees then, and she wasn't going to do so now.

Instead, she got angry.

"You know what? I don't even care what just happened." As she looked at her status sheet, Kaede sneered. "It doesn't change anything. That guy tried to kill you, Ed. He wanted you gone, and there's only one thing I can think of that would make him want that. Whatever you and Mitsuki were sniffing at, you hit the nail of the head."

Kaede brought her hands together, popping her knuckles- Or tried to, at least. Her hands were really too dainty and flexible for it. "That guy knew something about what happened to Yuuta. And we're going to find out exactly what he was trying to keep secret."

"We?" Asked Edward, at some point having looked over his own sheet. Kaede frowned.

"Yes, Ed, we. You don't think I'm just going to stay in my flat after what just happened, right?" She gave him a soft but dangerous smile, inviting him to say no. Baiting him into speaking up against her so she could tear him a new one. "Or are you just going to leave widdle ol' Kaede alone and helpless?"

She made a mock sigh at that, but sobered up. However fun teasing Ed was, it wouldn't get them anywhere. "We need to move, Ed." She looked around. She'd found it odd to begin with, but it was strange that there was nobody on the streets, not even a peep from the people in the apartments. "Whatever's going on, we need to look for other people."

And find out what the hell is going on, she left unsaid.

Before they did get a move on, though, Kaede wanted to test something.

Stepping back a bit, she looked down at the gun that Mr. Slendy had dropped on her feet. Ed's would-be assassin had been carrying it, but Slendy had politely retrieved it for her. Maybe he was a fan?

She couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the spindly, almost two-meter tall man masturbating to the squeals of a cartoon dressed like a magical girl. At least he wasn't an old, fat middle-aged man.

Putting the thought to rest, Kaede stretched out her hand towards the gun and remembered what the mystery gunman had done. Through some mysterious force, he'd yanked Ed's gun and brought it towards himself. At the time Kaede would've had no idea how the dude could have performed a magic trick that awesome, but looking at her stat sheet she suddenly had an idea of what he'd done.

Concentrating, she tried to bring forth that 'Spiritual Aura' that her status sheet mentioned. Narrowing her eyes, she envisioned an elongated, ghostly arm reaching out from her body and grasping the gun on the floor, to bring it to her side.

If this works, I swear I'll livestream myself while wearing a wet T-shirt. Kaede pleaded. Come on Buddha, I know you like them tiddies.

[Airen]

Elora Griffin
April 3rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Nakano, Streets - Alleyways

What the hell is with all of this?

It was certainly the question of the moment, if not the next hour, or the rest of eternity...

Certainly, if one were to look past the suddenly Tim Burton explosion in the surrounding area, this place could probably be recognized as Tokyo... It was a barren, broken version of Tokyo mind you, something that hurt to look at because it was both unrecognizably twisted and uncomfortably familiar, but it was Tokyo all the same, and that...

That...

Brought up all sorts of questions with only vague answers.

She had been informed of a few things inside of the dream, and while she would ordinarily dismiss a dream as a dream, the current circumstances, as well as the fact that she could see her little 'deal' with N being reflected on her 'character sheet' as it were, well...

This wasn't a joke.

You'd be amazed at how many times her brain had had to work it over in the past few minutes, as if the lingering portions of her old sane human self were doing their best to disregard the fact that she apparently had superpowers, a third eye, a contract with a God, and a somewhat mocking message counting down to what was assuredly going to be some twisted and messed up 'game,' and, well...

It was hard to think of an answer to Erika's question that didn't make her sound crazy...

Thus...

"Well... A dream of mine told me that this was some sort of twisted game... But hell if I really know what that means..."

She just sort of says it, passively, without going into further detail because...

Just being in this place gave her a terrible feeling, it was almost like she could see the grim reaper waving at her in the distance... The skin-crawling feeling was an omen, a confirmation that this place definitely isn't safe, and...

With one person still down for the count, that meant they didn't really have time to mess around... It was just a feeling, but it was a strong feeling, one that told her that she would want everyone up on their feet before whatever was trying to finish initializing managed to do so, to that end...

"As for Osamu, we'll just have to carry him if he can't walk."

Of course, even she thinks it's sorta gross to carry someone drenched in sweat, urine and vomit, but that sort of thing was easily put aside when it came to ensuring that everyone made it out of here, or at least...

That no one was left behind when they inevitably had to move...

Experimenting with her own -shaking- body at the moment, Elora waits to see if Rika will join her in standing, before making her way over to Osamu on legs that gradually -only gradually- regain some of their former strength and stability...

"Heya."

...The voice she uses when addressing him is warm, as comforting as she can manage... Saying something like "ewww" out loud was just going to make him feel worse, maybe even like a burden, thus she disregards his current state -for the most part- and simply speaks to him kindly, one hand gently rubbing up and down his back -glowing a light gold as she focuses on it- doing her best to call him down in the same way a parent would do for a sick child...

"You okay? It's okay to stay down if you need too, we'll take care of you."

Humans are social creatures ultimately, if he was trembling then...

He might just need someone to stay with him -in a way he could process in his current state- until he pulled himself out of it.

[Tobias]

Taka Nishi
April 3^rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Shinjuku, Streets

Is it to late to fold my cards...?


Taka had spent his time in the streets and in the muck. Not every wager he had made had panned out. Sometimes to win had been to lose. Pick up a little to much cash and get followed into the street, end up trying to keep your head covered with your arms and cover your genitals with your legs, hope none of the kicks or bats hit something to important. Taking a beating was something he was familiar with. But the feeling of having your very organs shift inside your body, the feeling of your consciousness shifting, hell, the feeling of your very soul itself wrenching, changing, becoming...else...

It was a violation so complete and so all consuming that even his legendary silver tongue and quick wit had no means to convey, even in the inside of his own rapidly fracturing mind.

Put bluntly, there would be many times in the future that the Gambler would honestly say he must have gone insane in that moment. Not in a temporary fashion, no.

As the other side penetrated into the deepest parts of who he was and changed him into something not human, there was no doubt that he had become quite mad, as they say.

This brought a pained smile to his face as his mother's voice dragged him into something resembling consciousness. Well, smile was being entirely to kind, his teeth peeled back in a ghastly rictus that could only be compared to the smile of someone who can't even be granted a begged for death.

It took more then one nausea inducing attempt, but eventually he was able to stagger to his feet. the warped sights around him would have been quite fear inducing if his overstimulated brain could even process such things anymore. However...with returning clarity, he began to feel something intermixed with the pain and the insanity coursing through his soul.

Power.

He felt...unstoppable. The man who had only ever relied on his quick wits and his sister's plans suddenly felt like the most base and cocky thug, entirely without need of any higher functions or logic when his fist and his body were sufficient to defeat any foe. It didn't last. the rumbling of the ground was sufficient to bring his suddenly rising confidence crashing down. With sudden insight, he suddenly beheld himself in a different light. Was he the overwhelming avenger....or the new kid. The scrub sitting at the table with a fat stack of chips, filled with o'er weening pride while the sharks and the predators gathered, licking their chops.

Yeah...I may have power, but I don't even know the rules of this new game.

Didn't mean he couldn't strengthen his hand though.

The crew of rookies and scrubs that had pinched him and his mother had there number reduced by one. Unable handle the transition, one of them had undoubtedly died when his head exploded. That guy had been the lucky one. For the remainder, they hadn't seemed to be able to transform in the way that he himself had. Taka was actually unsure anybody had changed quite the way he had. His mother, cunning and sly though she was, did not seem to be radiating the power of Awakening he felt coursing through his aching veins.

Of course, helping himself to a weapon was the first step. Lying next to the bloody corpse was a small but serviceable semi-automatic pistol. Using firearms had never been among his skill set. However... the...for lack of a better word character sheet that lay in the back of his consciousness informed him rather dispassionately that he was well suited to such a weapon. With a calmness belying the madness within, Taka wiped off the handle of his newfound equipment, flicking gore and the innermost contents of what had once been a man's skull rather idly off the grip.

Around him, as survivors of the transition began stirring himself, Taka held out his gun towards the earth shaking footsteps.

...It should have seemed pathetic. A grain of sand attempting to hold back the tide. A man and a lump of iron could not stop a nightmare.

But the firearm...began to change in his hand. No mere gun would prove sufficient to meet the horrors that awaited. This also, the Gambler knew, thanks to his awakening. But a gun in the hand of one who had changed....that was something to fear and respect. Dull silver, not the valiant burnished color of knightly armor began to surround the metal. No, this was more like slime covered ice. The hoar frost that brought fear to the wary and death to the uncareful began to surround the weapon.

With his aura covered weapon in hand, the glasses wearing boy presented as an altogether disturbing spectacle, still wearing a grin filled with pain and madness that even his own legendary pokerface couldn't erase.

"On your feet." Taka commanded to the group of people who had once been his captors, but now presented as those of little note in the new world. "The rules say I shouldn't kill you. But I got no reason to save you unless you can pull your weight. You can run away and die, or bow your heads right now."

..."Anyone who wants to live through the next 30 minutes works for me now."

wise up!

Poker face: The second skill of The Gambler. This might be called the talent of deception. Someone with a skilled poker face can present themselves as if they are in an unbeatable position or alternatively, lure an opponent into a trap through overconfidence. An exceptional talent for misdirection and manipulation.

[RacingeR]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Minato, Tokyo Tower – Sei Kyonatsu’s Ramen Stop

Seeing the whole world warped into a gothic nightmare illuminated by nothing but a greenish moon didn’t help the feeling of having stepped into some sort of surreal dream. The twisted version of this other Tokyo, the cracks in the sky… it was confusing, and painfully so.

The reality of what you were was slamming into you with every movement, and every vision of nightmare you saw. Instinctively, you understood that as a normal human, looking at the horrifying moon would have hurt you, and while right now it still felt wrong and eldritch… it at least felt like something you could perceive without going insane.

And as your pain and nausea subsided, as you forced them down to concentrate on what was happening around you, you could feel the strength in your body and mind, the power that was coursing through your veins. Definitely, you weren’t human anymore, you had power that others didn’t have, your body had become something on a whole different level.

But at least for now, just for this moment, you were still a schoolgirl, scared and in pain, still unable to stand up. With some help from Laura, you managed to sit up in the pavement, although your legs were still trembling a bit too much to stand up.

“What’s going on?” Laura practically demanded. “What happened to Rei?!”

Sherry planted one of her hands on her face. From this angle, you couldn’t see the other two girls that had been dragged into this mess, only the back of the other members of the Round Table who seemed to be looking towards them. You could hear Rinko’s increasingly desperate and scared voice which seemed to have descended to a point between hysteria and incoherence.

“Hey, boss!” Sherry called. “What do we do about them?”

“Oh, bother. This is going to be a pain…” Reign mumbled something in British English afterwards that you couldn’t understand, but it was probably not something good girls should know.

Then, the being stepped towards you and Laura with an uncharacteristically sheepish look, finger idly pulling at one of her hair curls with what you recognized as nervousness. Evidently, for as much as she had enjoyed terrifying and intimidating you four, she didn’t enjoy this situation at all.

“Alright… Sherry, help Laura-chan stand. I’ll take Kaguya-chan.” She ordered while stopping at your side.

“Huh? M-my lady, I can- This isn’t appropriate for-“ a surprised Taiki, who was standing at her side like a guard interrupted her, with his eyes wide open.

“Oh, can it, Taiki.” Reign sighed, and crouched at your side. “Here, come on.”

You already had known she possessed supernatural strength, but the ease with which she lifted you was terrifying, taking into account she was barely taller than you were. At first, the thought of being so close to this being was very unpleasant, but she handled you with surprising gentleness, taking you with both arms into a princess carry. You noticed that Taiki had taken her parasol and was dutifully holding it above his lady, cloaking her from the green light of the moon, while Sherry had helped Laura to her feet, lending the blonde student her shoulder so she could limp after you.

What you saw after a few steps was…

Rei was lying face up on the pavement, unmoving, but still breathing, as if asleep. Her eyes were open, staring vacantly at the sky, with no spark on them, no movement, nothing that indicated cognizance. A line of drool trickled down from her half-opened mouth, body relaxed in the ground with not even a twitch. She was… empty. Vacant. Gone. The only signs of life left on her were her breath, the drooling, and the sweat that was slowly pooling below her.

An involuntary shudder ran around your body, at the same time you heard Laura gasp. However, nobody seemed to have the spare time to pay you attention, now that you had seen the situation.

One of the cloaked persons, you guessed Six by the figure and height, was examining Rei, purple light being emitted from her hands and going into the girl’s head. Nearby, Cinque was doing her best to restrain Rinko, who had ceased screaming and now was crying while uselessly lashing veritable tentacles of emerald light against her captor, who defended herself with flashes of pink aura. Sette, Roman and the other three cloaked figures were standing, looking on.

After a few seconds, Six rose up, and Reign sent her an interrogating glance. The cloaked woman shook her head, causing her leader to frown.

“Ran, take a look.” She ordered. One of the hooded figures, the slighter of the trio, nodded and walked over to Rei, kneeling at her side.

She, as you guessed by the distinctly feminine voice, started to chant in a low voice, and you felt a burst of energy (magical energy, you understood instinctively) that flooded the ambience and caused another involuntary shudder to run through you, your hair too long to stand on end, but doing its best to do so.

The cloaked girl then put her hands on Rei’s temples, and the magical energy flooded from them and into the girl’s head. You waited a few moments, holding your breath, but nothing happened.

“Sorry, Miss, but there’s nothing I can do.” She stood up, speaking with a clear and smooth voice that nonetheless hid some rough edges to it, as well as a slightly foreign accent. “This is more of Four’s territory, and even then I doubt she could do anything about a botched Awakening.”

“Fine. Seems like there’s nothing that can be done about it, then.” Reign said, idly, eyeing those present, who had formed a circle around the scene.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOTHING YOU CAN DO?” Rinko screamed. However, she was ignored. “WHAT HAPPENED TO REI?! ANSWER ME DAMNIT!!” And despite all of her strength, she was unable to shake Cinque off.

Sette let out a soft sigh. “Then, all we can do is hope she can peacefully Reset…”

And with these words… out of the nether, he drew out an old-style revolver, and pointed it straight towards Rei’s head.

[palad1n]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Minato, Tokyo Tower – Sei Kyonatsu’s Ramen Stop

Shiratori Kaguya had experienced many things in the past few hours; She got lost in the city, met Rinko and Rei, witnessed a shooting and a corpse for the very first time, met the eldritch Reign and her entourage, saw magic, had her opinion on Reign softened in the ramen shop, gained information on her family that she never knew, saw the sky shattered, turned into something inhuman while experiencing overwhelming pain...

And now Rei lays there, seemingly in a state between life and death.

Just a few hours ago, the pink-haired girl cheerfully greeted her and Laura while softening Rinko's attitude towards them. She was then crying, terrified when everything went to hell.

And now Rei is empty. As if the girl that's been with them for the past few hours is gone, leaving only her body behind.

It felt like a bad joke, like a roller coaster of pain that continues on without an end in sight. It's simply too cruel. Kaguya could only stare at Rei's body, absentmindedly noting the gentleness in how Reign carried her and the nervousness that the eldritch being shown her; she is simply too focused on Rei, yet too tired and shocked to do anything but vacantly stare. She needs time to think, to understand what is happening...

Until Sette drew a revolver and aimed it at Rei.

Immediately, everything becomes clear. Tiredness was pushed to the back of her mind along with her fear and uncertainty as the sound of Rinko screaming her lungs out for her friend became increasingly loud and clear in her ears. The world seemingly came to a halt as realization hits Kaguya like a truck on the scene that is happening before her.

Rei is going to get killed.

One of her friends is going to die.

And she was only here because Kaguya accepted Reign's invitation back in the alley.

But Rei isn't dead yet. Unlike with Minato who had fallen into a coma with nothing that she could do about it, there is something that Shiratori Kaguya could do in this situation to save her friend. Even if her action would make Reign angry or drew ire from the rest of the Round Table Kaguya acted, launching herself from Reign's arms and putting herself between Sette and Rei, her arms spread wide in defense of the pink-haired girl.

"Please stop, Sette-san!" Kaguya pleaded, arms trembling as she faced the older man. "Rei... Rei-san might be like this, but that doesn't mean you can just k-kill her!" She stuttered, fully aware of the barrel of the gun that is pointed at her, but the sense of responsibility for dragging the girl into this - alongside her morals and kind nature - allows Kaguya to stand firm and looked at the man in the eyes. "Y-you haven't explained anything to us! And whatever the case, there must be a way to save her from... from whatever happened to her! There must be!"

"So please..." She whimpered, her voice hoarse from shouting for the very first time in her life. "Please don't kill my friend...!"

At the very least, her sense of "self" managed to remain intact throughout this hellish day.

[RacingeR]

Amano Kaede
April 3^rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Bunkyo, Sakurai Apartments – Outside

It seemed like you were going to be making your fans very happy in the future. The moment you willed it, a ghostly indigo hand surged from below your own arm, and extended itself flexibly, grasping the gun and snapping back, bringing it to your hands, then disappearing at the same moment. You didn’t notice it, but the moment you did so, your hair and eyes flashed briefly in the same color, the color of your aura.

Ed looked at you, eyes wide open, before extending his hand towards the broken window. A torrent of bright orange-red light, of the same color as molten metal, surged from said hand, reaching through the hole, seemingly searching for something inside. A second later, it returned, carrying the detective’s gun back to him.

“… Cool.” He said in English, a dismayed tone and nonplussed tone to it. He looked at his gun, lost in thought for a moment, or looking at his status sheet, either or. He hadn’t seemed very pleased when looking at it for the first time, and he looked even less pleased now. Meanwhile, you hadn’t missed the brief change in color on his hair and eyes.

“Alright, look, we’ll stick together here, because we still don’t know what’s going on, but we’ll be careful and we won’t take any unnecessary risks. Understood?” He said sternly, apparently having recovered some of his spirit after seeing what he could do. Now he sounded like the authority figure he was supposed to be.

He drew a deep breath, hands holding his gun tightly, and looked towards the broken wall at the other side of the street, where a building had halfway caved-in. The place where the would-be assassin had been kicked into. He looked very alert as he did so.

“We have a more urgent problem than finding people.” Ed said dryly, and took a few steps in that direction. “If he was the same kind of… whatever monstrosity we are now, he might be able to keep going after-“

Bunkyo Distortion initialized
Rules Established

Players are forbidden from fighting each other.

First Phase
Objective A: Survive for two hours

Time Limit: Six hours – 2 AM April 4th

“Gah, the hell?!” The detective jumped, startled by the announcement that rang on your heads. So much for the whole detective-figuring-this-shit-out airs he had tried to put on just now. Seemed he was as jumpy as you were.

“Survive for two hours? I don’t like how that sounds…”

[RacingeR]

Taka Nishi
April 3^rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Shinjuku, Streets

While you stood up and appropriated the gun, your mother moved on to help Shizumi up. You noticed that she had appropriated two guns, one for herself and another for the hostess, apparently. Given your rather miserable state, it was strange that your mother had bounced out of it so fast. Either that, or she was pushing herself out of pure motherly willpower.

Wouldn’t be the first time.

However, you simply didn’t have time to think about that. The approaching heavy footsteps robbed you of any time to analyze your current fucked up and downright incomprehensible situation. There was danger approaching, and you had to deal with that.

So first you had to get the mooks in line, and so you tried to do, intimidating the gang that had tried to pinch you into forming behind you and perishing.

“Like hell! Who the fuck put you in charge, prick?!” Shiromi Tetsuo shouted, standing up on wobbly legs out of pure willpower. While he was clearly intimidated by your gesture and clearly crazed expression, he was too stubborn to be pressed down by someone else. He was holding a gun in one hand, a Makarov you’d guess, which this particular yakuza gang seemed to favor, and his bat on the other. A dark, murky red aura surged from his body, as he met your eyes head on. His face was twisted with pain, but you said a borderline insane stubbornness within. For all his methods had been amateurish (or rather, very hurried if you had the time to analyze what must’ve happened), this was no small-time gang leader but a true yakuza prince.

“Here, Shizumi, hold this. You know how to use a gun, right?” You heard your mother whisper to the hostess, who nodded at her.

“Yes, boss.” She said, shuddering slightly as she stood up and accepted her gun. Pushing her longuish blue hair aside, she took her gun, and with noticeable effort, she followed your mother as she stepped to your side.

And then, Mei’s eyes and hair blazed a sudden scarlet as a whip the color of blood impacted in the pavement just in front of Tetsuo, cracking it apart and causing him to flinch and take a step back.

“Shut the fuck up.” Your mother said in a freezing cold tone, aura flaring around her. “We don’t have time to hear you whine about it. Look around yourself and then realize in what kind of situation you are!”

Tetsuo gulped, looking around and realizing only Takashi and him had stood up. Of the other three thugs… one had his head explode. Another had stopped breathing at some moment, dying in a much less gory way than his companion. The third… was lying on the heated pavement in an unnatural position. He was breathing, that was for sure. His eyes were open, yes. But they were empty, and whatever had been there was… gone, completely. All that was left behind was an empty husk.

“Uh… boss… I think they’ve got us here…” Takashi, armed with a Makarov of his own, shifted his weight nervously, sweat trickling down his face from his dyed blonde hair. He didn’t look very enthused about facing you right now.

The corpses had started to smell already, and you were sure that when the third guy had… whatever happen to him, he’d lost any sort of control on his body, mostly because there was nothing left to control. That just added to the unpleasant smell, and the disorientation of the familiar street transformed into some sort of gothic distorted nightmare, and the transformation you had all suffered along with the hellish head to complete a picture of complete madness, as if the world was spinning all around you.

Tetsuo looked at your face and shuddered, very disturbed now by your expression. Even your mother was looking at you worriedly. But now the gangster was noticing that he was outnumbered three to two, and sure, all of you were armed with guns, but-

Whatever train of thought he had was interrupted when the circumstances reasserted themselves even over this veil of madness. Or rather, they just increased the insanity even further, as if you hadn’t had enough horror for one day.

The heavy steps that had been approaching stopped. All five of you instinctively looked in the direction they had been coming from.

In time to see a massive hand, the size of your whole upper body, appear from around the corner of the street, grasping the wall of a transformed grocery store with enough strength to just shatter the material it was touching, cracks spreading through the walls as the glass of the building just exploded out with a loud noise, clinking down the street.

It was a hand covered in furious crimson skin, with carbon black pointy nails, attached to a gigantic arm of the same skin color, muscular to the extreme that veins were pulsing around it. Whatever the hell it was coming, it was not human. It was a monster, something you understood instinctively. A true, bonafide monster that would make even the meanest human you had ever faced look like a pathetic joke.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT!” Tetsuo shouted, paling. “Alright, whatever, I’m with you or whatever the fuck you want but get us out of here!”

[Erlkonig]

Amano Kaede
April 3^rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Bunkyo, Sakurai Apartments – Outside

Okay, Kaede thought, a warm rush tingling through her body as she watched the spectral hand drag the gun into her hands. So either we're super delusional, or that's a crazy awesome trick.

"Wait until I show the girls this trick next time we go to a mixer," Kaede joked, with a half-smile on her face that quickly dropped when she saw the grim look on Ed's face. Her lips twitched, but she forced an attempt at reassurance despite knowing better. "Look Ed, it's gonna be okay-"

And that was when the bomb dropped.

Bunkyo Distortion initialized
Rules Established

Players are forbidden from fighting each other.

First Phase
Objective A: Survive for two hours

Time Limit: Six hours – 2 AM April 4th

What the fuck?

“Survive for two hours? I don’t like how that sounds…” Ed's comment registered into her brain soon after she finished processing the message, a cold rush flowing down her spine. They'd just barely come out of a life or death experience, and now this funky game-like menu thing was telling them they had to survive... Whatever it was that would happen.

Her first response would've been to laugh it off, but given she'd just manifested a phantom ghost hand like she was one of those yandere alien girls from Elfen Lied, she'd have to be willfully stupid to assume it was all make believe. And while Kaede was hot, she didn't consider herself one of those stereotypical horror movie victims that were more boob than brains.

"Alright Ed, I think I have a plan." Kaede held up a finger, trying her best to keep her panic down and her mind running. "These whole powers thing? I think we can use it to our advantage. First of all..."

She wanted to explore the limits of this aura thing. The game had conveniently informed that she could use her spiritual aura not just to manipulate the environment but also to make shields and weapons. What she wanted to experiment was whether these shields and weapons were detachable, and whether she could manipulate them once they were, as well as how subject were they to laws such as gravity.

So, to test that, she walked towards the wall of a building and focused on using her aura to make a platform she could step on, no more than a disc large enough for her to stand on. Then she wanted to see if she could raise herself a foot or so into the air with it.

If this worked, it would let them get onto the rooftops without using a building, which was something Kaede was wary of. Of course, it was possible that there might be stairs to climb up on the outside, but she wanted to try this method first. If it failed, she could also try using her aura as a climbing harness, working as a rope to pull her up the wall and help her climb.

Once she was done with that experiment, she moved on to the other one.

Going through her jeans' pockets, Kaede found her phone and brought it up. First she checked if she had a signal, but even if she didn't, that might not be a problem depending on how her other power worked.

Quickly going through her pin and other security checks, Kaede looked at the phone and took a gulp of saliva. She wasn't sure if this would work, but better for her to test it now that they had a relative moment of peace.

She took a deep breath and focused on her voice. Being a voice actress, the act of attuning her voice came easier than she'd have thought, but in some ways her powers helped her do it. It was almost like flexing a muscle that wasn't there, as she'd been fairly certain she intimately knew the muscles on her neck. Not anymore, apparently.

When her voice emerged, it did so thrumming with power. "P̞u̶l̷l̵̬̟͔̭̹̼̟ ͓̦̰͈ͅu̥̗̬̻͟p̘ ̭͚̟̜̦͜t͖̫̖̟ẖ̦͠e͎̗̭͚ ̷̮͚c͉̻̳͉a̢͎̥ͅch̻̭̜͉ed͓ ̳͍m҉̙̻̜̱̗̹̠a̴͈̯̝͓͎͍̲p͍ ̘o͕͚͈͉͓f͕̙͕̗ ̖̭͚̜̗̪͟oų̮ͅŗ̹̣̰͚̟̣̘ ͙̟̪͍̮c̨̪̰͉u͏̦̠̣͙͉ŕ̻̞r̶̤͙͖̗͔̮e̫̙͞n̜͡t͙̗͢ ̵̫̣̬̲̗l̢̲̬͔ǫca͔̣̼̭̩ͅt͓̳̭i̠o̥̻̬n̨͓̭̗̲̜̤̟..҉͔̪͍̩̰̭"

Pull up the cached map of our current location. Her phone was a japanese model that utilized the Android OS, which meant she depended on Google Maps for location services. And she was fairly certain that given how often Google ran it in the background, there would still be online map data saved in her phone's stored cache. Even if she wasn't connected to the internet, she could still pull up a map of the Bunkyo district, especially as she often used it whenever she got off the Shinkansen.

But just having her position marked on the map wasn't all she was going to do, oh no.

With another inflection of her throat, Kaede raised her neck and emitted a low intensity, high amplitude, high pitch croon. Like a wolf howl or a siren's wail, it pulsed in every direction, sinking through the ground and building walls as it looked for sources to be utilized on.

A moment later, a large number of 'presences' floated into Kaede's mind. It procced on her and Ed's guns, on both their phones, and on countless other 'lights' that spread across Kaede's awareness like some kind of three-dimensional sonar, alerting her to the position of any and all machines in her vicinity.

For a few seconds, Kaede was stunned by the amount of information she was receiving. As much as she could try to stay calm, it was simply too freaking strange to know everything she was knowing right now. She could literally feel every single washing machine on every apartment building around the entire city block.

Fuck, was that a toilet she was looking at in her collected data? Was she going to have to ignore the fact that she'd be picking up every single shitter in the area when she used her power?

"Okay, this is awesome but also sort of insane." Kaede muttered to herself, eyes twitching as she regained her bearings. "Right, now to put this data to use." She looked down at her phone and got her thoughts in order.

What she had wanted from her wide-range scan wasn't really the opportunity to find a useful machine, but rather to obtain their positions. The fact that she could also vaguely pick up the nature of the machine in question was the additional factor that made her plan possible.

Whoever that man sent after them had been, if he wasn't operating alone then he was some kind of hitman, and he'd probably want to make a call to say he got the job done. Kaede was betting that he would have a cell phone as well, hidden somewhere in his person.

She looked at Ed, focused on the lights in his body, and felt for his phone. As a detective, of course he had to keep one on his person. She examined how similar it was to her own cell phone's signature.

Then, using those similarities, she triangulated any similar signature that she could feel amongst her surroundings. Most cell phones nowadays simply didn't sit at a table, 90% of the time they were carried by people.

By picking up the distance between her and Ed, she had a rule of thumb she could use with her power to measure distances.

With the map on her phone, she could mark those distances and even track them down, giving her a frame of reference.

And with the ability to detect phones, she could pick up the presence of every single person in the vicinity.

Combine all three, and she had effectively designed a navigation device as well as a human tracker.

Just try to get the drop on us now, you bastard.

[Tobias]

Taka Nishi
April 3^rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Shinjuku, Streets

Well shit. On the plus side, three thugs down meant the group of chucklefucks that Taka was still willing to bet were at least partially responsible for this bad acid trip no longer had the advantage of numbers. The best time to assert control was when people were scared. When they wanted to be given leadership and direction. In other words, right now. But it was easier when they didn’t have a heard group think going on that resisted well exactly the kind of herding Taka was attempting to do.

So, three dying made it easier. On the other hand, there were now three people whom Taka cared markedly less about dying in the immediate area.

Call it crass, but there was a very good reason terms like “canon fodder” and “tragic but ultimately acceptable losses” were invented. Still, there was at least one absolutely positive thing that occured. It almost seemed like maybe the goddess of luck had once again placed her soft lips upon his brow. 3 men had perished. 2 remained. To put that another way, there was exactly the amount needed to have everyone armed as well as have the crew on Taka’s side have the advantage of numbers. This was certainly a primary factor in tweedle-dum and tweedle-D giving over.

If you had asked Taka to say how many should die and how many should live if he couldn’t have the whole crew of yokels between him and the ogre thing, he would have said 3 die, 2 live, exactly what had occurred.

As always, luck was on his side.

It was of course also worth noting that he doubted the two morons would stay so subservient when the danger had passed, but whatever.

...Honestly, the gambler was thinking he should probably be ready to discard that particular pair soon anyway. For now though…

“Well look at that...Tetsuo was it? Your odds of living through this just went from none to slim. Wise decision. ”

“Ok ladies and gentleman, spread out, spread out! Lets have 5 feet between each of us. Back peddle slowly, don’t run. Shizumi, you walk facing that way!” Taka said, pointing down the street and away from the….red...oni...kinda…whatever it was.
“If something comes from that way, let us know. The rest of you, if you know how to shoot and are confident in your aim, shoot the knee on the right side, that's it’s left, to the right of us!” Taka said, demonstrating by firing a round from his pistol into the creature’s leg as it pulled itself more into view. “If you don’t know how to use a gun, just point it at the very middle of it and keep pulling the trigger.”

Taka decided the left leg was a better target because he didn’t want any of the people on his side having to aim across their body at the target. It was a small difference, but Taka had a feeling that what was about to happen, even the smallest improvement in his odds would be critical. The plan was a walking retreat. Hurt it enough to drive it off. Killing it would be great. It would solidify his leadership in such a manner even chickenhead would probably be justifiably awed.

But that was making a play for every chip on the table, and riskier than he needed to be. Right now he would be satisfied to hurt it enough he sent it running with its tail between his legs. Win the game one pot at a time, that's how you ran the table.

Of course, there was one major danger to his strategy. One primary flaw. Once the thing fully brought itself into view, it was obvious that its legs were proportional to the rest of it. With his makeshift party walking backwards, there was a very real potential for a rush. A larger enemy taking chip damage from several smaller targets? Charging right into the center, swinging around those giant arms? He had been breaking brick with his hands, crushing humans would be trivial. It was the obvious response to what the puny humans were doing.

….Which was what Taka had been counting on. He was no mere human. Not anymore. There was a saying about every gambler. Traditionally a metaphor but now...after the Change...Taka embodied it.

After all...who hasn’t heard...every good gambler has Ice in their veins.

Behind Taka’s glasses covered eyes, shimmering evilly in the red light, there was the hard cold chunk of ice. It was lodged in his brains, malevolent and filled with the chill of death. But it was his.

The cold served him. At least for now. Though he had never truly done it before...it called to him. And he called to it in turn. It was to that cold he called. He didn’t throw it at the monster. No matter how full of hatred and cold he was...no matter how much the death inside him called for death outside him...he wasn’t stupid. Neither was the ice.

Ice wascold. Ice was patient. And…

...Ice killed the bold, the eager, the unwary. Thus...the ice that slivered and encroached the street between him and the ogre. Alone, it wouldn’t be enough. He could step around it, step over it carefully. Hell, the things shear weight could crush right through the ice if it was stepping hard. But enraged? Off balance? Taking shots to its leg to make its gait awkward? That would be the kind thing that could trip him up, not metaphorically.


...And while Taka was content to drive it, if this ass hole ended up skipping across the ice, off his feet?

Well, what would happen next would be something worth seeing.

wise up!

Ice Aura: Activates an aura of ice that slows surrounding enemies’ AGI by two pluses. Costs 20 SP per turn active.

[RacingeR]

Masayoshi Kotetsu
April 3^rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Shinjuku, Streets – Yamagumi Bar (Outside)

Katsuo grunted as he stood up, with slightly less trouble than you. At this point it was more of a question of will than of strength or endurance. The both of you were able to pull your bodies into some semblance of working order, enough to walk at the very least. As time passed slowly, you could feel your body recovering.

Recovering to a state that was better than the previous one, in fact.

It was quite disconcerting. It was like suddenly gaining a bunch of strength, but not knowing how to use it. And you were faster. And more durable. And your reflexes were better. And you could think faster.

Which shouldn’t be physically possible.

Karin glanced at the both of you with something resembling sympathy before she put back on her drill-sergeant attitude. Probably remembering how it was like when she underwent this transformation.

Nodding at you, Katsuo walked up to the blonde, and lifted her easily. After some consultation with Karin, he put her on his back, with her legs wrapping on the sides of his neck. It was obvious that this position was causing a great deal of pain to her, having to exert force with her wounded limbs to stay stable, but it was the best position for her to shoot, and to be carried without getting on Katsuo’s way.

“Alright, I’ll teach you what I can.” She said, easing her tone a bit despite the intense pain she was trying to disguise. “But we won’t have much time to talk once shit starts going down.”

She looked at you, then lowered her glance towards Katsuo. “What kind of weapons do you want? As long as it is a handgun, I can provide it.”

[Mormarth]

Masayoshi Kotetsu
April 3rd – Evening
OTHER SIDE: Shinjuku, Streets – Yamagumi Bar (Outside)

Mmm, the air in this place, it's strangely invigorating. Not at all in the same manner as when I sampled some of the off-the-books product.

It was like the artist for some sort of manga had grinded off-screen and gained like 30 levels in drawing skill, everything had become deeper, somehow, more defined in a way I didn't quite know how to describe.

Cocaine was not quite as helpful.

My thoughts rushed, but without rampancy and useless diversions, I felt alert, but not panicked, I was quite calm, actually.

I glanced down at the ground, raising an eyebrow at the strange shapes my shadow had bent into, distorted by the moon and buildings around us, curling and stretching out like some great serpent.

Katsuo's own shadow, bulked by his passenger, was unchanged.

Hm.

I shook my head.

"Something simple, please, a pistol, perhaps? I'd rather not spoil the evening by shooting my own foot off."

I took a few steps closer, my shadow spilling onto the wall, the silhouette miming a fanning motion, like some sort of desperado in an American cowboy movie.

"We can go over the basics while we move, I should think. Probably not for the best to linger too long."