Astronomika - Shooting Down Falling Stars (IC)

[Airen]

Liana Skye
Location: Pinefall High - Music Room
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

"Careful, Vier. Lia's gonna be going after the whole school at this rate."

Strumming lightly at the guitar in her hands, the dark-haired student simply grins at this particular line, a mischievous spark lighting up in eyes that the smaller girl might not be able to see, and-

"Of course I plan on getting everyone a nickname eventually-! We're going to be living around each other for a year after all, there's no need to be super uptight around each other~"

-she doesn't deny it.

Not at all, rather, she seems to accept that the future Pru had predicted is one that will almost certainly come to pass-! Of course, making too much noise over the course of a meeting is rude, so she falls a bit quieter as the others speak up, saying nothing, simply going through the motions of her chords on the borrowed guitar as one idea after another emerges, and...

"--- Why don't we make it a late night encore at the campfire?"

"Man, late night bonfire, songs and roasting food on an open fire? Sign me in!"

"Sounds like it'd be fun!"

She had happened to kick-start a lot of this growing musical act after all, so it'd be a little bit disingenuous of her to say anything else about it-! Of course, a part of her had certainly been curious about the town she'd be living in over the next year, so a bit of nighttime walking had been her original plan, but...

She could probably put it off till tomorrow night.

It shouldn't hurt anything, but...

"Um, I was kinda planning on doing some exploring around the school after the concert... looking around that boarded up section of the dorms. But I guess if everyone wants to stay at the beach, I'll think about it too. Can't promise anything though."

"That... Sounds a bit dangerous though... Boarded off places tend to be boarded off for a reason Pru."

The return of Skye's slightly more stern voice, and with it, a sigh, then...

"Floors or ceilings could be rotted out and collapse... Could get yourself hurt... Well, not like kids stop just because you tell them to, so... If you do decide to do something dangerous like that, I'll go with you so you're not alone. Just tell me. Ok?"

Slightly admonishing, but also relenting a bit, or perhaps just embracing reality...?

Whatever it is, she's said what she seems to feel she had to say, like they were practiced words she would have used for other kids in a different time and a different place, and...

"As for practice... We should probably start. Like Hisa said, our time is a bit limited-!"

Goes back to being her somewhat less stern self-!

[Mormarth]

Elaine Winters
Location: Pinefall High - Campus Grounds
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

I scoffed, feigning offense, "I look good in anything, my butt looks good in jeans. It's just one part of the complete package, of course a pig like you would just focus down to one thing."

Then I barked out a laugh, feeling a certain weight off of my back that I'd been holding for some time.

It wasn't consciously, and it didn't hurt to carry it, but it felt good to have it off, to have my old friend reassure me like that. Maybe I'm a sucker like that.

I started whistling an old tune as we ambled along towards the pool where the fellow had his office, I hadn't been there since I'd spoken with Ubon about the situation with Pyry, which I never really got the complete story on.

Maybe I never would, if it even happened.

Who knew, at this point?

One thing at a time.

Location > Pinefall High Pool

[Verg Avesta]

Elaine Winters
Location: Pinefall High Pool - Basement
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

In the end, the much-talked about janitor, Jake Briggs, was found exactly where he normally would have been.

In other words his "office"... though it hardly was one. Just one look at the basement room revealed that it had probably at some point in the past belonged to the coach of the swim team of the school - the one that was responsible for all those trophies in the glass case in the first floor. Even now, old posters had been plastered everywhere, though they had been joined by ones much more in Jake's taste. Posters of Nirvana and old B-grade horror movies, mostly, though there was one pin-up calender too... a pin-up calendar of modern fighter jets from around the world.

Jake himself, though, could be found lazily lounging at his desk, book open in one hand and a can of Coca-Cola in the other hand, slowly sipping away while he was reading. The cover of the book was a bit strange, depicting some sort of chase in a corridor, with one man running far behind and the other much closer. The latter also had a pair of blacked-out, creepy eyes which were practically staring at the reader. A title of "The Hollow Man" was right above the picture itself. Deeply engrossed in the book, the janitor didn't even seem to hear both Elaine and Kean enter the room... not before Kean cleared his throat rather loudly.

"Ah, whuh, whoa!" Jake stammered for a moment, dropping the book and nearly his drink. "J-Jesus dudes, you almost gave me a heart-attack. Gosh, knock next time, would you?"

Kean snorted and rolled his eyes.

"We did knock," the Irish teen answered. "You just didn't answer."

The janitor blinked owlishly at the duo, before breaking into a momentary grin and laughing it off now that his initial scare had dissipated.

"O-oh, right, sorry 'bout that... guess I was too engrossed in this book. These old detective novels really are something, you know? It's all about using your wits to solve mysteries and stuff. Nothing like movies these days," Jake said cheerfully, setting aside the book in question and turning his attention to the duo. "So, how can I help you dudes? You guys want me to fire up the PA system at the pool? Or did someone lose their room keys?"

A momentary shadow passed by Jake's face and his smile faltered for a bit.

"... Please don't tell me someone broke something."

---

Colt Davin
Location: Pinefall High - Campus
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

Not even two minutes later, the two men were in position.

As said, Mr. Oceandrop had remained at a respectable distance - which in this case meant at the top of the small slope that led down to the parking lot of Pinefall High. The principal had assumed an expression and a look which practically screamed "an overly enthusiastic teacher wishin their student good luck at the social gathering", what with the smile plastered on his face and the wave of his hand that he kept repeating. In that part, the situation was all good, all green, all a-okay right now.

The harder part was... what lied ahead.

Or rather, who was waiting ahead.

A certain brunette girl, dressed casually yet stylishly, handbag ready and certain... stiffness... in her posture. A certain brunette girl who was waiting next to Colt's precious motorcycle and who, even to where Colt was, practically radiated the aura of a certainly unique kind of danger. The type of danger that made Hwan Bin, who had been clearly heading towards the road, had decided to stay as far away as he could from the girl, climbing over the wall instead of taking the route through the gates which would have brought him within the girl's field of vision.

Yes, Sakura Tsukioka was not watching towards the school.

She was watching towards the gates, back towards Colt, having not clearly noticed his approach yet.

Stiffly waiting and... mumbling to herself?

Having gotten closer, Colt started hearing clearer and clearer what the girl was going on about all alone, and, well...

... It wasn't anything good at least.

"Come on, chin up, Sakura. It's not like it's the end of the world. In fact, you should have expected it! So yeah, don't worry, me! I'll just... I'll just... Oh, I know! I'll ask for a proper leave on Winter Break! Take all those savings and head out to Vegas! A-after all, if a girl doesn't get attention in Vegas, then she gets it nowhere! Y-yeah, I could go to one of those speed-dating places, try my l-luck there... or maybe just lounge at the poolside at the hotel... I-I'm sure I'd turn some heads there! O-o-or maybe, m-maybe I can convince Missus to give me a little holiday bonus, buy that fancy evening dress, and take part in some party down there, m-m-mingle with the rich and famous and try my luck," the brunette kept mumbling, clearly thinking she was alone. "O-or maybe I'll ask to hire some new people at the mansion... make sure they're all hunks their prime, and t-then build slowly from there, being their reliable s-senior who they can turn to in all their problem. And that respect and trust slowly builds up and t-turns into... y-yeah, that sounds like a good plan too. T-though, wait, that would mean those guys would be a-a-around Milady too, so..."

Suddenly, Sakura grasped her head, as if she had made a horrible realization.

"Gaaah, they won't be looking at me at all if Milady is there!" she groaned. "It'll just be a repeat of what happened with the gardener...! Though instead of the handsome young butler, it'll be Milady who's in danger...!"

She was shaking her head violently, as if mashing it around in desperation.

"M-m-maybe once Milady graduates from college, I-I can breathe a bit easier and ask for a year or two off! I-I-I could go to Paris! Or Hawaii! M-Maybe go backpacking in Asia, see the sights!" Sakura mumbled, sounding almost delirious at this point. "O-o-of course, I could go back to Japan... ha... haha... hahahaha... maybe give Mom a call... ahahahaha... I'm sure she'd arrange an omiai, with either guys fom Iga or Koga... ahahahahahahahahahahaha... though before that she'd probably berate me for three hours about still not having grankids..."

Suddenly Sakura's hands twisted forward, almost like she was imagining strangling something... or someone.

"--- Of course there are no granchildren yet, Mom, your daughter's up to her eyeballs raising another type of kid entirely!!! You try to have a social life at this age while also making sure your charge grows up properly, gaaaAAAAAAAH!!!!!" Sakura half-screamed. "If I have to hear again about how you were already a mother of three by now, I swear I'm gonna go Siege of Hara Castle on your wrinkled ass, you haaaaAAAAAAAGGG!!!"

From the looks of it... all sorts of emotional baggage was being unloaded here. Most likely Colt's own blunder had only acted as a catalyst for this all, but still... maybe approaching now, at least without due care, wasn't the wisest idea....?

Still, Sakura heaved a pitifully heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping... and sniffed.

"... I can't believe I was stood up by a younger guy..."

[Verg Avesta]

Prushka, Hisa Momoi, Vier Wolff, Liana Skye & Lucille Faraday
Location: Pinefall High - Music Room
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

"And keep calling me 'Squirt' as long as you can, Pyry. 'Cus when I hit seventeen next year I'm gonna look like Mercedes West, but you'll still be a big blonde Gigantor."

Pyry stopped for a moment, staring at Prushka with somehow inquisitive eyes... almost like he was trying to imagine such a bizarre future where, in just one year or less, the tiny girl would grow into the proportions of the movie star they had a classmate. And, apparently, the mental image he imagined was so effective... he bursted out into an uproaring laughter only few seconds laughter, holding his stomach and practically bending over in amusement.

"P-P-Prushka the Bombshell.... aha, ahahahahaha~!" Pyry guffawed, having hard time controlling himself. "N-now that's s-something I wanna see, Squirt, just for the sake of it, aahahahaha, oh god, that mental image is just... oh wow, ahaha, aahahaha~!"

--- The boy seemed to have way too much fun with this!

"Cool! How are Portugal's beaches, then? I'm mostly familiar with California's, but I've always wanted to swim in the Atlantic once or twice. Supposedly the feelings in the water are subtly different... And sorry, but I don't really listen to the radio, so I haven't heard any of your hits."

Inacio, who was clearly trying suppress a small smirk form his own face, gave the tiny girl a nod.

"W-well, that's quite alright. They're really not anything to write home about, so it's not as if you've missed anything important," he replied. "As for the beaches, well... they're different there than over here, at least. The sea is much warmer and looks much brighter, in a way."

"Um, I was kinda planning on doing some exploring around the school after the concert... looking around that boarded up section of the dorms. But I guess if everyone wants to stay at the beach, I'll think about it too. Can't promise anything though."

“I wouldn’t mind bonding over booze and food around a bonfire. But in the end, I just follow my heart, wherever it brings me.”

"That... Sounds a bit dangerous though... Boarded off places tend to be boarded off for a reason Pru. Floors or ceilings could be rotted out and collapse... Could get yourself hurt... Well, not like kids stop just because you tell them to, so... If you do decide to do something dangerous like that, I'll go with you so you're not alone. Just tell me. Ok?"

This got the two boys, Pyry and Inacio, to exchange glances. The former had gotten his bout of laughter under control, especially now that Prushka had brought up the plan of going spelunking in the abandoned, closed-off parts of the school. After all, the sections must have been closed-off for a reason, and while they were certainly interesting, there were also dangers involved... dangers that didn't only involve the faculty finding out about them all breaking the curfew and rules.

So, it was perhaps a bit surprising that, after Pyry whispered something to Inacio, the Lusitanian raised his voice once more to address everyone.

"Hmm... why I agree with Skye here that it might be dangerous to go alone, why don't we combine fun with safety? We could always make such an excursion part of our night-time thing," Inacio suggested. "That is, we could go at it as a group, maybe see if some other students would be interested. Safety in numbers, after all. Though, going as one big group wouldn't be that fun, especially if we want to make it..."

He lifted his index finger, and a slightly devious look appeared to the musician's face.

"... a test of courage."

For some reason, that term made it feel like the atmosphere of the room had changed up just for a moment.

"In other words, we divide up into groups of two or three, and enter those sections one by one... maybe set some sort of goal other than just visiting every room in that part of the building... and those who can accomplish that goal get... well, I suppose we can arrange some sort of prize, no?" Inacio asked, his smile widening into a slightly excited grin. "What do you think, everyone? I, for one, feel like a test of courage would be a perfect way to cap off the night while still keeping with the theme of getting to know each other!"

He spread his hands, looking at every person gathered in the room with a raised eyebrow, waiting for their answers.

Pyry, meanwhile, leaned a bit closer to Hisa so he could whisper to her without others overhearing.

"... Would give us a good excuse for sticking together while making sure the Squirt stays out of trouble too," he quietly said and winked. "We can keep an eye out on her while I can keep my promise, right?"

And as if to continue his earlier speech, Inacio then added:

"Oh, and yes, let's divide into the group so we can get started with this training. Let's see... if we go with the original plan, and presuming Jake and Kean agree to help us..." the Lusitanian ran his eyes over the group. "Why don't Prushka, Skye, Jake and Faraday form one group with Kean, while Pyry, me, Vier and Momoi form another with Elaine. Does that work for everyone? If so, gather up in your own groups, and let's get to it!"

[Spinach]

Colt Davin
Location: Pinefall High - Campus
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

There are some things a man just isn’t meant to hear. Judging by the nature of what Sakura Tsukioka was mumbling to herself… it was clear that Colt had made a mistake by hearing them.

Yes. He had made a mistake. Those words were never meant for his ears, because they should never have had cause to be said. His mistake was getting caught up in old stories of war, talking about his classmates, getting lost in coffee more expensive than he knew coffee could be. Colt was never meant to hear any of those words, because he should have just arrived on time.

At no point had he underestimated the gravity of his failure. When he had said he’d rather take on the tiger from Mr. Oceandrop’s story than be late to this date, he had meant it.

Yet still, faced with the reality in front of him, Colt couldn’t help but a sharp pang in his chest.

The boy gulped.

He glanced over his shoulder, at the waving Mr. Oceandrop. It was a shame that he only just got to know him… he felt like the “fun uncle” of the establishment, even if as the principal he should try to fit an entirely different mold. Colt gave the man a salute, then turned back to Sakura.

"... I can't believe I was stood up by a younger guy..."

The weight of the world gathered at his feet, trying to slow his steps. A swamp of guilt swallowed the boy’s legs in an attempt to stop him. For his own good, for his own protection, it tried to keep him away. Just run, screamed the world.

Just lie, screamed the demon on his right.

Just die, moaned the angel on his left.

But one voice was louder than any other.

Do something, she looks like she’s about to cry.

His conscience.

A loud footstep resounded behind Sakura, announcing Colt’s arrival. The sound of his foot meeting the pavement heralded his arrival with no subtlety. With a footstep so heavy that it could only be intentional, and it was, Colt stood behind the girl.

“I may be a big enough idiot to show up late, but I’d never stand you up, Sakura.” The boy stood strong and straight like old hickory. Though unlike Old Hickory, he was not strict. Merely bold. But in this moment he was unbending. “There’s a reason I’m late, but as an excuse it’s not nearly good enough to be worth forgiving me for.”

Colt couldn’t see her face. He could only imagine what it looked like, and his imagination could only feed him the worst possible scenarios and pictures. But he wouldn’t stop. He would say what had to be said.

“I’m sorry for being late.”

[Bloble]

Prushka
Location: Pinefall High - Music Room
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

"P-P-Prushka the Bombshell.... aha, ahahahahaha~!" Pyry guffawed, having hard time controlling himself. "N-now that's s-something I wanna see, Squirt, just for the sake of it, aahahahaha, oh god, that mental image is just... oh wow, ahaha, aahahaha~!"

"W-well you will! And I'll be the one laughing, 'cus it's gonna happen one of these days! ...one of these days."

It'll definitely happen, right?

...ah, geeze, I'm getting too into it. Haven't properly gotten a chance to yell at someone for ages... and of course it'd be Pyry. Nobody else would be so brazen and terrible right out in the open. Maybe that's what makes it okay. Maybe that's why this flash of irritation disappears the moment it's expressed, and I'm not actually angry, and what's left is a strange feeling of... what would this be? Relief? Catharsis? Or maybe it's just a nice sort of finality, as if our banter here is simply a drop in a pond...

"Hah," I sigh and shake away the strange feelings. "Alright, Gigantor. Truce. Gotta save the yelling for the microphone."

"... a test of courage."

A test of courage.

A test of courage! A meaningless excursion! An activity that happens in films to force closeness between groups of strangers, or set up romantic two-person scenes, or serve a helping of either light or heavy horror depending on the genre! It's the most flexible kind of activity during which anything can happen! And of course, it absolutely, certainly...

"Sounds fun! Going out after curfew, disobeying the stupid rules of adults, exploring places and trying things you're not supposed to - that's what high school should be all about!"

Honestly, even if I'm stuck with someone, it's not as if I won't be able to investigate. And this means multiple people are wandering around looking for clues, so there might be even more discovered.

Although...

"...what if it's..."

No. C'mon. It's the school. There's no way, right?

But there is. There definitely is a way.

"...dangerous? I don't want anyone hurt because I wanted to go looking. But if it's a group thing, people might be pressured to go..."

Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut. Just excused myself later and investigated quietly on my own.

But... I couldn't. After all...

"If that's what it takes to keep you two from risking yourselves, I'll promise. I won't sneak out to do dangerous stuff if you guys won't. And if you two need to head out at night to do stuff that you suspect might get troublesome, give me a call. I'll be there to watch your backs."

I'm keeping it, even if the Prushka who made that promise is already dead and gone.

So... keep yours too, okay?

[Mormarth]

Elaine Winters
Location: Pinefall High - Basement
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

"Hm, broken? Nope, not that I've heard of, though you can probably just give it some time. The week is young."

I smiled teasingly, looking around the smallish office, taking in details before letting my eyes settle on the book he was reading.

"Oh yeah! Love those old things, all their little twists and turns and putting all the pieces together to form a picture with some good old fashioned detective work."

I nodded, pleased by the sight.

"Speaking of, I did actually have a bit of a question to ask you, some little detectiving of my own, but first thing's first:"

I fiddled with my wallet in my pocket, containing my one bit of evidence.

"Actually, we're here to ask for a bit of a favor," I said, clasping my hands together, "Inacio, Pyry and a bunch of others have all gotten together and decided to form a band for tonight's beach party, course, we're a little short on hands and I got asked to go track down some top men to handle this situation."

I knife-hand pointed at Jake, "You made the short list for a bassist, boss. So mind doing us young fools a solid?"

[Kuroyuki]

Vier Wolff
Location: Pinefall High - Music Room
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies


A bonfire at night… While I would’ve appreciated this last time, I don’t know if I should waste time on it. The only reason why I’m not outright vetoing it is the fact that it would come across as weird if I’m supporting the additional music but suddenly vetoing another additional event to make tonight memorable.

"Careful, Vier. Lia's gonna be going after the whole school at this rate."

"Of course I plan on getting everyone a nickname eventually-! We're going to be living around each other for a year after all, there's no need to be super uptight around each other~"

Looks like I made the right choice because Liana Skye was happy with my decision to give her own nickname… Which happened to be catching on if Prushka was also using it. However, I’m probably going to need to come up with a better nickname because I can’t say I care for V.

“A nickname for everyone huh… Got all thirty nicknames ready to go or are you making them up as you go?”

"Um, I was kinda planning on doing some exploring around the school after the concert... looking around that boarded up section of the dorms. But I guess if everyone wants to stay at the beach, I'll think about it too. Can't promise anything though."

“I wouldn’t mind bonding over booze and food around a bonfire. But in the end, I just follow my heart, wherever it brings me.”

"That... Sounds a bit dangerous though... Boarded off places tend to be boarded off for a reason Pru. Floors or ceilings could be rotted out and collapse... Could get yourself hurt... Well, not like kids stop just because you tell them to, so... If you do decide to do something dangerous like that, I'll go with you so you're not alone. Just tell me. Ok?"

"Hmm... why I agree with Skye here that it might be dangerous to go alone, why don't we combine fun with safety? We could always make such an excursion part of our night-time thing," That is, we could go at it as a group, maybe see if some other students would be interested. Safety in numbers, after all. Though, going as one big group wouldn't be that fun, especially if we want to make it…

... a test of courage."

Prushka might have made it easy for me to leave the bonfire or bail out earlier. As long as no one else outright tries to keep us at the bonfire, I should be able to leave whenever it feels proper. I’ll keep my answer as noncommittal as possible. Maybe I could even imply that I didn't want to take part in the Test of Courage due to being afraid of ghosts...

"Sounds fun! Going out after curfew, disobeying the stupid rules of adults, exploring places and trying things you're not supposed to - that's what high school should be all about!"

Or not… I’ll stick to sounding unsure. After all, I should keep myself flexible in my planning. It would be detrimental if I say I'm going to do something already and then have to take back my promises. If I can keep myself noncommittal then I can at least stop myself from breaking promises or lying to people.

“I think I’ll see how things go as well. I might leave a bit early if we do the bonfire or test of courage just to explore the area a little bit or stay if someone wants me there. However, there is also the second floor of the main school if you wanted to make it longer or even lessen the waiting time between tests by having two go on at the same time.”

I give a shrug to accentuate my uncertain choice at this time. Maybe if they decide to also scout out the main building's closed sections, I would definitely join the Test of Courage groups. With all of that said, I finally managed to finish tuning my bass to the parameters that I wanted.

"Oh, should we start practicing? Or is it better to wait for Elaine to come back?"

“Yeah...we should practice. We don’t have forever.”

"As for practice... We should probably start. Like Hisa said, our time is a bit limited-!"

“Oh, and yes, let's divide into the group so we can get started with this training. Let's see... if we go with the original plan, and presuming Jake and Kean agree to help us… Why don't Prushka, Skye, Jake and Faraday form one group with Kean, while Pyry, me, Vier and Momoi form another with Elaine. Does that work for everyone? If so, gather up in your own groups, and let's get to it!”

Elaine was with us instead of Kean this time… Other than that, we managed to successfully recreate the first band without issues.

"It'll be a little weird without both drummers, but hopefully we can make it work. Let's get to practicing."

Just in case... I feel like I should still memorize the other band's song. I won't be good at it, but at the very least it'll be better than if they don't end up with a bassist. Because the second they start playing without one, everyone is going to notice that something feels very off about the song...

[Airen]

Liana Skye
Location: Pinefall High - Music Room
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

“A nickname for everyone huh… Got all thirty nicknames ready to go or are you making them up as you go?”

"To be honest? Making them up as I go!"

She laughs.

There's absolutely no shame in it.

"Some of em are weaker than others, but I'll refine em a bit as the year goes on, so don't worry V! If you think V is lame, I'll come up with something else-!"

She punctuates that decree with a strum of the borrowed guitar, it's a clear note, something that she seems mostly satisfied with as she shifts slightly in place, fingers dancing to the tune of a sudden song that only she can hear... Or perhaps, getting as much shadow practice as she can in before the real thing, letting the fingers warm back up to how they were once upon a time in Italy, where life had been -comparatively- more simple-!

"Vivi is already Vivienne though, so that one is pretty much taken."

"Hmm... why I agree with Skye here that it might be dangerous to go alone, why don't we combine fun with safety? We could always make such an excursion part of our night-time thing," That is, we could go at it as a group, maybe see if some other students would be interested. Safety in numbers, after all. Though, going as one big group wouldn't be that fun, especially if we want to make it…

... a test of courage."

And now-!

Now!

Another strum of a guitar, as someone who is clearly some form of older sister (from another time and place perhaps, but certainly someone used to the role) goes silent at the suggestion, entire body going still as her eyes narrow for a moment in deep thought, as if weighing the pros and cons of classic teenage 'bonding through rule breaking' behavior with the unfortunate possibility that someone might fall into a hole in the floor because of shoddy construction (or something worse perhaps) but ultimately...

Yes ultimately...

"Well, exploring could certainly be fun I guess, so going in groups is a good compromise."

She accepts the fact that even if she resists the idea, the others are still gonna go do it, because of that blindingly clear reality, the thing that makes the most sense is for her to go along just in case things get bad-!

It's a bit of self convenient logic though, because to be honest...

---A part of her simply wanted to go exploring as well (as someone closer to an adult, she was able to conveniently ignore a bit of the the inherent hypocriticism in this desire) and this was as good an excuse as any, albeit, one that had some reservations about...

"I can't back down from a Test of Courage anyway."

She scoffs at the idea.

"Bring it on, non-existent school ghosts and other hypothetical spooky things."

And firmly punches one hand into the palm of the other as if to punctuate this fact, before going back to the final tuning of her borrowed guitar....

Schools normally had those sorts of stories right?

Ghosts in the bathrooms? Stuff like that? Things that were normally just the shadows of the animals outside, or like rats chewing at the wiring...

"..."

Yeah.

Probably.

[Verg Avesta]

Colt Davin
Location: Pinefall High - Campus
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

“I’m sorry for being late.”

The figure of Sakura practically froze upon Colt's words.

There was a slight sniffle.

Followed by a light hiccup.

Sakura raised her arm and rubbed her face on he sleeve, keeping her back sternly turned towards Colt.

Honestly, the air was laden with a silence so thick following the boy's words that it could have been cut with a rusty butter knife. Especially the way that the brunette's shoulders seemed to be holding lot of tension at the moment. Most likely the girl was trying to puzzle out just how much the boy had heard, and how much face she could save after having such a meltdown while someone else was within the earshot. It was natural, after all. It had been... quite the thing to accidentally hear, and not exactly something that could be unheard.

But how the girl was planning on saving face... that was an whole other thing.

"H-hmm...?" Sakura hummed, still refusing to look back at Colt. "S-sorry you say..."

With stiff movements, Sakura lifted her handbag a little and popped it open. After that her hand reached out inside it and rummaged for something. For some reason, Colt could hear a muffled sound of sharp metal clinking against another metallic object as Sakura started lifting something from the depths of the handbag. A sound that, quite curiously, made cold sweat run down his back.

Still... The movement of Sakura's hands came to a halt.

Slowly, she turned her head, until she was looking at Colt from over her shoulder.

It was pretty to hard to see in the direct afternoon sunlight... but her eyes looked red.

"... You've got lot of nerve..." Sakura mumbled. "... Especially after I said 4 O'clock sharp..."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"... So? What's the reason? Hmm?"

---

Elaine Winters
Location: Pinefall High - Basement
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

"Actually, we're here to ask for a bit of a favor. Inacio, Pyry and a bunch of others have all gotten together and decided to form a band for tonight's beach party, course, we're a little short on hands and I got asked to go track down some top men to handle this situation. You made the short list for a bassist, boss. So mind doing us young fools a solid?"

That made the janitor's eyebrows rise lazily.

"Huh... you guys need a bassist, huh? I mean... sure, I can play a little," he said, gesturing towards the old blue bass guitar that hung on the wall. "And I did hear you dudes were planning on having a party at the beach tonight..."

The young man hummed for a moment, rubbing his chin while he lazily leaned against the table. At the same time, his eyes were glued to the bass guitar that had clearly seen better days... but also had clearly been used many times in the past. Just one look at it made it clear that the owner hadn't just bought it for fun - the wear and tear told of some rather rambunctious gigs that had been played with it. More than that, it was a headless Steinberger straight from the 80's, and the blue surface had been painted with black and white flame patterns.

This janitor... he might have been full of all sorts of little suprises.

Still, after a moment of thinking, he chuckled and turned his attention back at the duo.

"W-well, dudes, I dunno... I mean, I don't mind helping you guys out, but are you sure you guys want me there?" he asked, a somewhat strange smile on his face. "Shouldn't this be a party for you dudes? Having an old-timer like me hang around might make things awkward..."

The reason for a smile like that became apparent with this words.

He clearly just didn't want to introduce on youngsters having fun.

"Eh, well, still... like I said, I can do it. But only if you dudes are alright with it," Jake said and shrugged. "Anyways, what sorta other questions did you have?"

[Mormarth]

Elaine Winters
Location: Pinefall High - Basement
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

I blinked for a moment, before a smile similar to the one adorning Jake's own face crept up on mine.

"Nah man, don't worry about it, it's good to have some perspective on all of this high school drama, and, to be totally honest here. I don't know about these other guys," I began, jerking a thumb over my shoulder, "But I'll sure appreciate havin' an guy like you there, you, ah, kinda remind me of someone I know. You two'd probably get along great."

Speaking of, I fished around in my pocket, retrieving the wallet I'd been fiddling with.

"He's actually who I wanted to talk to you about! I got word that this idiot'd been hanging around up here, so I've been sniffing around for people who might've seen him, thought I caught mention he'd been at the diner in town when I stopped in there yesterday."

I offered the photo.

"So, seen this brother of mine? Scruffy-looking, into Dad Rock, loves terrible puns?"

[Spinach]

Colt Davin
Location: Pinefall High - Campus
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

A painful start to a first date. So painful that Colt wanted to wince and clutch his chest, where the pain was building up. But doing that would only make things worse.

"H-hmm...? S-sorry you say..."

He tried not to let his imagination run wild when he heard the familiar sound of metal meeting metal. That sweet clink was punctuated by the girl slowly turning to look at him. It might have just been his imagination, or it might have just been the light playing tricks on him. Those few hours in the afternoon before sunset, the sun tends to play tricks with the colors. But he was sure he saw some red in those eyes.

Colt Davin, Mr. Oceandrop, shame on the both of you. Especially you, Colton! Actually, only you, Colton!

A mysterious someone inside Colt’s head shouted words full of anger at him in an accusatory tone.

"... You've got lot of nerve... Especially after I said 4 O'clock sharp... So? What's the reason? Hmm?"

His hand almost rose to the back of his head on reflex. It was something he did when he was nervous or worried, something that just happened. He would scratch the back of his head. But for once he was being completely conscious of his words and actions.

“The reason…” Colt breathed out those words, and then slowly peeled his eyes away from Sakura’s, gesturing for her to follow his gaze. Those auburn eyes fell upon the figure of Mr. Oceandrop, who was playing support nearby. “Is him.”

It was fortunate that the truth wasn’t as incriminating as it should have been. It made it much easier to tell it, after all. But it also didn’t guarantee forgiveness. At least, Colt didn’t expect it to.

“Mr. Oceandrop held me up. I…” To go with Mr. Oceandrop’s story, twist it a bit to make himself look better? Or just tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, in all its entirety.

That’s right. Nothing good ever comes out of little white lies. Every one you tell pops up on your tongue as a little, painful bump. Then you have to spend your entire life never opening your mouth, lest people see your liar tongue.

“Was in his office. To discuss the reason I wasn’t in class today, and the stuff this morning…” Thinking about how that conversation went, Colt couldn’t help but try to inject some humor into reality. With a suggestive chuckle, Colt continued, “then for some reason, Mr. Oceandrop told me some crazy war story that felt like it’d never end. I told him I had to go, and he insisted on walking me out. And now I’m here, as late as can be, and he’s there, waving goodbye.”

The boy turned back to the girl.

“Like I said, not an excuse good enough to just swipe it all under the rug.” He closed his eyes for a moment and exhaled. Idiot who runs late for a first date he may be, Colt knew better than to pile endless apologies onto somebody. “So if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I could try to make it up to you?”

He paused, then tilted his head. Rubbing his chin, he tried to think of what he could do.

“Like… treating you to dinner? Sharing what I learned of the mysterious billionaire philanthropist Mr. Oceandrop’s elusive past? Or by getting you to the beach before the sun gets any lower?”

[Cheetose]

Hisa Momoi
Location: Pinefall High - Music Room
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

I listened with my eyebrows raised as the plan suddenly went from a completely safe and peaceful party around the bonfire to a test of courage in the locked off parts of the school.

Then as Prushka spoke up about her excitement, and Vier suggested investigating the second floor as well, my eyebrows went so high up they were threatening to disappear from my head and fly away.

I thought Prushka remembered. But she is actually this enthusiastic about this idea? Sending people in groups to unknown places when she knows fully well how dangerous things can be?

Not to mention how Pyry is already on board with babysitting her, which just once again completely derails my plans…

I can’t even act like the responsible person here. The people who’ve no recollection of the past events would just think that I’m trying to ruin everyone’s fun, and with how Prushka is, she’d likely just go along with them.

Feeling my headache growing, I rubbed my temple, while trying to think about a good enough solution for this mess.

“While I don’t think that simultaneously breaking in to every place that was specifically said to be forbidden to enter is a good idea…” I spoke up finally, ”How about this?”

There was a plan forming in my mind, one that could give people their fun while keeping them safe, and also let me get what I wanted done…

“We could have a wider variety of locations. I had a few in mind...But I could ask Jake to help properly set things up later.”

It was important that things would go according to plan, in the end.

“Then, we could have the suggested small groups of 2, maybe 3. We’d all start at the same time, and every group would get a random location where they would have to hide something. After that, everyone would return to the starting point, and then receive another random location - but this time, they would have to find the thing that one of the other groups hid there.”

I scratched my back, feeling slightly awkward now that I’ve shared my idea.

I didn’t know much about stuff like this, let alone have an idea about what people would enjoy and claim to be fun.

“Say, whoever can hide their item so well that the other group can’t find it would get a reward or something.” I added as I eyed the various people in the room.

[Verg Avesta]

Elaine Winters
Location: Pinefall High - Basement
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

"So, seen this brother of mine? Scruffy-looking, into Dad Rock, loves terrible puns?"

Jake took the photo that Elaine was offering, straightening his back a bit on his cheer and peering closely at the photo, trying to make out the features of the man featured in it. He pursed his lips ever so slightly, and a low hum escaped from his mouth as he rubbed his chin. One could practically see the gears in his head turning as he was pouring through his memories, trying to find someone that would match the looks of the person he was seeing now. The silence stretched longer and longer, and at one point the janitor even took a moment to glance at Elaine... almost like he was comparing the man in the photo to her.

Then.

Suddenly.

A light of realization lit up in Jake's eyes and he snapped his fingers.

"Wait... yeah, I think I know this dude," he suddenly said. "I mean, it's been a while -a month or two at least - but we chatted down at A.D's after randomly meeting. He was new to the town, told me he was in for some family business or something. So we hit it off pretty well and got to chatting... Isn't the dude a reporter or something? He wanted to know about this death last year that happened at Ramshack. A bit of a spooky business that, something about the guy squatting there having been drained of blood. Then... uhh... I think he was also asking after some woman? Told me that she would be something of a night-owl, only moving late in the day. No other clues than that though - so the only one that came to mind was Josie McLampet, so I pointed him into her direction."

That was... both informative, and not that much. From the looks of it, Elaine's work was finally starting to pay off, though. While so far it had been just glimpses and hearsay, at least now there was someone who had actually, properly, talked with her brother.

--- Though what this information meant, and what her brother was up to, was anyone's guess.

"Anyways... shall we get going then, dudes?" Jake asked as he rose from his chair and went to grab his bass. "We're burning daylight, and I'd like to practice at least a bit if I'm going to play. Don't wanna sound too rusty, if you know what I mean."

Again, Kean rolled his eyes, but he started making a move towards the door, clearly happy that they'd get on the move again.

However, while Jake picked up the bass guitar, he glanced at Elaine one more time.

"Still... that dude was your brother? Strange," Jake said with a slightly amused chuckle. "Said his name was John Bonham. Y'know, like Led Zeppelin's drummer? That was a weird coincidence..."

---

Colt Davin
Location: Pinefall High - Campus
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

“Like I said, not an excuse good enough to just swipe it all under the rug. So if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I could try to make it up to you? Like… treating you to dinner? Sharing what I learned of the mysterious billionaire philanthropist Mr. Oceandrop’s elusive past? Or by getting you to the beach before the sun gets any lower?”

Sakura's silence was cold - much colder than the wind and even colder than the ocean at the beach.

Her eyes kept glaring at Colt, only momentarily taking the chance to glance at Mr. Oceandrop, whose arm must have gotten sprained from all that benign waving by now. It wasn't until Sakura had taken a look at the older man, and thus confirmed that Colt had spoken the truth that the principal finally stopped, nodded at them both from the distance, and then started walking away... clearly whistling a merry tune as he went. Most likely he hadn't heard anything from as far away as he was, and was thinking that everything had gone exactly to plan.

If only it had---!

Still, with the man now gone, Sakura's eyes were back at Colt, and they were practically drilling a hole through him. The stare of the older girl was quite something to behold, and many types of emotion were playing on her face. On one hand she looked like she wanted to strangle him, on the other hand she looked like she wanted to slap his face off. And yet, she didn't do neither. Judging by how her breathing was calming down, and how she wasn't sniffling quite as often, the girl was gathering her bearings as much as she was crushing Colt under her glare.

And when she was finally calm and collected enough...

... Sakura heaved out a heavy sigh, and her shoulders relaxed.

"--- You know, I'm at the age where this sort of stuff kinda stings. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, Colt... I'm not miserable because you specifically stood me up. It's more about the principle. That, and, well... I don't exactly have a good track record with stuff like this. Comes with the job. So... yeah. Having you be late like that actually stung," Sakura said, her voice sounding quite chilly. "I mean, it's not like your reason isn't understandable... anyone would find it hard to cut off the principal like that. And I'm not blaming you for it. Just... that doesn't make what happened any better."

That sounded rather final... and at the same time, rather cold.

But, surprisingly enough...

--- At the very same time, Sakura turned around to face Colt properly, and a hint of a smile started blossoming on her face.

"But... at the same time, you're here now. And you look like a sorry sack of cats with a face like that. And I appreciate that you showed up even if you were late... and most of all, that you were honest," Sakura said, and her smile turned into a slightly humorous smirk. "I mean, you could have spun all sorts of excuses to make things better, but from what I can see, you're being honest - and I appreciate that. Honesty, I mean. In my line of work, you start to see just how rare and precious it is."

She chuckled quietly under her breath, and at the same time, let go of whatever she had grabbed from inside her bag, the item falling back to its depths with another metallic clink. Snapping the handbag shut, Sakura stretched heartily under the afternoon sun, letting out a satisfied groan as if a great big weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. And perhaps it had been. Just like that, the older girl had brushed aside her feelings from before, and adopted an expression that was almost... refreshed?

"Aa~ah! What I need right now is to grill some food, drink a few beers and just take it easy at the sand~! This maid's been through enough today. Time to switch gears, wouldn't you say?" Sakura asked, putting her hands on her hips and looking at Colt. "Besides, you... you still have your date try-out to finish up. Heck, we haven't even gotten started! And like you said, the sun's getting lower with each passing minute."

With a slight giggle, Sakura took a step forward and poked Colt in the chest with her finger.

"So why don't we get going? You can start working on earning that forgiveness by getting us to the beach," the brunette said with an impish grin. "You're not off the hook yet, and even if this isn't a proper date, I'm expecting you to show me a good time. Especially after all this."

That sounded both like a joke... and also like a threat!

[Mormarth]

Elaine Winters
Location: Pinefall High - Basement
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

I snorted a bit, scratching at the back of my head, "Sheesh, could at least try a little bit on that one... That brother of mine, he's got all sorts of problems, compulsive lying bein' one of them. Did you know he once actually tried to fool some cops with a 'Federal Body Inspector' card?"

I shook my head, "Lucky the deputy had a sense of humor and let him off with a warning," I paused for a moment, "Course, he got her number later, so it could've been that, too."

Still, though. Finally some useful information about all of this, a death at the Ramshack by exsanguination looking for a woman, night-owl. Josie McLampet.

Hm. Well, it's not coordinates to his exact location, but I'll take it.

So, two ways forward, talk to Jo down at the station, and track down this Josie McLampet character.

The hunt is on.

"But, yep, may as well shake off some of the rust for myself as well, been a hot minute. Need to make sure pretty-boy here doesn't up-stage me too much."

I grinned back at Kean.

[Spinach]

Colt Davin
Location: Pinefall High - Campus
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

Beer? Another underage drinker at Pinefall… not that Colt was judging. He had indulged “last” week as well. But the thought gave the boy cause to pause and think for a moment. Sakura sure had reiterated that “younger guy” point a handful of times. There was even that “I’m at the age where…” tidbit.

So when the girl, or rather, the woman poked him in the chest with that giggle that felt like a breath of fresh air, Colt paid extra special attention to her.

Every bit of rationality his brain could muster held him back from asking it. Likely, he never would. This mystery would haunt him to the grave. Just how old is Sakura, truly?

The world may never know.

More specifically, Colt may never know. Because Colt will never ask.

"So why don't we get going? You can start working on earning that forgiveness by getting us to the beach. You're not off the hook yet, and even if this isn't a proper date, I'm expecting you to show me a good time. Especially after all this."

“I’d rather not be off the hook,” from his pocket Colt pulled out a keyring and gave it a twirl around his index finger. “Getting off the hook would mean I'd be going to the beach alone, now wouldn’t it?”

Colt beckoned the girl over to the bike.

“Heh heh heh, once you’re on road, when the wind picks up your hair and the rest of the world and its bull gets drowned out by the roar of the engine and the wind whipping in your ears… you might just forget the beach entirely and want to spend the night joyriding.” Colt put the key in the ignition, then turned back to the girl. He glanced down, at the scarf around his neck that Mr. Oceandrop had loaned him, then back to the girl. “It might be a bit cold for that though, here.”

Taking a step back from the bike, Colt began to unravel the scarf from around his neck.

One more point for Mr. Oceandrop.

“You ever been on a bike?” Taking the scarf, Colt lifted it above and past the girl’s head, lowered it onto her shoulders without waiting for or accepting any refusal or acceptance. “The beach is close, so it won’t be too bad, but bundle up with that. It can get chilly once we pick up speed.”

Saying so, Colt mounted his machine, scooted forward and patted the latter half of the seat behind himself, inviting her to sit once she was ready.

"Though, I can take it slow if it's your first ride."

[Verg Avesta]

Colt Davin
Location: Pinefall High - Campus
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

“You ever been on a bike? The beach is close, so it won’t be too bad, but bundle up with that. It can get chilly once we pick up speed. Though, I can take it slow if it's your first ride."

Sakura snorted and rolled her eyes, though she did seem somewhat thankful of the scarf she had gotten, even gracing Colt with a hint of a smile as a reward.

"Cool it, cowboy. Any more biker poetry out of that mouth and you'll start wearing 1-Percenter Patches... though, I suppose a beard would fit that face of yours. Make you look a bit more mature," she said with a teasing tone, patting the boy on the shoulder as she rounded the bike, looking at it all over. "Even if you have a steel horse to ride on and chivalrous moves, you're still a far cry from a knight... and you don't even have a six-string on your back. So even if you're planning on showing off, try to keep it when you're not driving. You and I are both 'wanted' very much alive, thank you."

Laughing a bit mischievously, the girl stopped once she had gone over the details of the bike, letting her hand rest on the back part seat. The look on her face got a bit strange... a bit mysterious even, as if for a moment she was thinking back to somewhere else than right here and now. Colt could practically see some memories from long time ago swimming in her eyes, and her silence was much telling. At least this time, it wasn't a cold silence aimed at him, but a more comfortable quiet of remembrance.

"... Hah. It isn't the first time, though it's been a while... Will be nice to let the wind through my hair again..." Sakura mumbled quietly. "Though I wonder... is Road's End going to smell the same? Or are the salty winds of Shounan, full of youth and vigor, only found across the ocean? Haha... it's quite different though. Gone is the 100-woman strong army of bikes, led by that impossible girl - instead it's just pine trees here... wonder what ever happened to her...?"

Suddenly, Sakura shook her head, shaking out of reverie. The memories were gone, and instead they were replaced by that familiar impish smile, and focus on what was now and here.

Without any hesitation or awkwardness, Sakura vaulted her leg over the bike and sat down, wrapping her arms around Colt's waist.

"Alright, hit the throttle!" the brunette said. "We have a beach to get to!"

[Ayakashi]

It was a lot of information to take in and analyze. The explanation that Hisakura had been giving Vivienne and Elise was well thought and had been simmering in thinking pot for a while, by the looks of it. It was a lot more than what Vivienne on her own at least had posited about the scenario they found themselves in. While Vivienne was someone that had done a lot of research, she only researched subjects that pertained to her 'jobs' typically, and so far, while she had met people who had a certain ability to manipulate time, the prospect of travelling through dimensions wasn't something she had approached yet. Time control at best could be exerted into a very small area, or affect very few individuals... if one were to go by the 'common sense' of the Turnside.

"There are... few people... if not any that should be able to properly control time... in terms of magic..." Vivienne said, index on her chin as to signal to everyone that she was reflecting upon the matter as well. "However... from what I have learned before... if there is a group that has... come closest to alternate dimensions... it is AMADEUS... do you know them?" Vivienne asked both Hisakura and Elise. "Also... I see... so Pyry was that thing... he... wasn't in control... was he? He nearly killed me... only managed to control himself... when I showed him a drawing... of back when we had a movie party... in Ubon's room..."

The quiet girl paused for a moment, recollecting the howling monster that had unleashed chaos upon Owl's Nest. It did indeed validate her theory of the 'monster' being someone who had a bond with Prushka before.

"But it may have been for naught... Pyry's vengeance that is... I think that... Prushka 'freed' our attacker... from what she told me... from what she gleamed from his feelings... he was chained... obligated to follow someone's bidding... It was like... the person that attacked Travis, Hwan... and me... There is... something... or someone controlling this from behind... What they want to achieve... we do not know... but this looping business... must be related to it all..."

Though it seemed as if Vivienne wanted to trail off and say more, it seems that she had realized something, or rather, something that had been going on for the entirety of the time she had been talking... had finally reached the point where she couldn't take it anymore.

"I will... fix myself... for a bit..."

The girl pulls out what looks like an elaborate venetian mask from her jacket, before donning it. It is flamboyantly decorated, with golden and silver engravings. Colorful feathers from exotic birds from around the globe serve to give it a more grandiose allure, fanning out not unlike a peacock's tail.

"Ah yes, call upon someone who can actually hold a conversation, what a smart girl she is. Apologies for this sudden intrusion. I may have no name, but you can consider me a forgery conveying a fleeting ideal... but deep down, it is still Vivienne speaking!"

Vivienne Bianchi's personality had made a sudden 180 degree. Not only was she now speaking in a rather flavorful way, pronouncing her words clearly as declarations rather than whispers, she even had the body language of someone who was acting on a theater's scene.

"But yes, a charming tea you have made, friend, most exquisite perfume and very palatable with those cookies! The perfect afternoon Tea!" "And you my dear Elise... indeed, she, Vivienne that is, has met with the ephemeral entity that names itself 'Muse'. A clearing in a dark forest, a murderous shadow that hounds the surroundings, the is warded off by that benevolent spirit... truly a scene wrought straight from fairytales!"

---

Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Hisa's Room
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

[Thalraxal]

Elise Pelltier
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Outside Hisa’s Room
Phase: School Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Partly Cloudy

"But it may have been for naught... Pyry's vengeance that is... I think that... Prushka 'freed' our attacker... from what she told me... from what she gleamed from his feelings... he was chained... obligated to follow someone's bidding...

Elise listened to Vivienne's description of what happened to her and Prushka.

Well that just adds another layer of tragedy to Pyry's fate on Sunday...

"Also... I see... so Pyry was that thing... he... wasn't in control... was he? He nearly killed me... only managed to control himself... when I showed him a drawing... of back when we had a movie party... in Ubon's room..."

“Yeah, that armoured thing... It might have been Pyry, but that wasn't Pyry in control. It nearly got me too. I took a hit from it, and tried to block it. Mangled my arm, and shattered most of my ribs...” admitted Elise sadly, “Did Prushka say how she managed to 'free' the attacker?”

"AMADEUS? I know a bit about them, but not much."

They try and fight the supernatural with science which sounds really cool on paper...

She thanked Sakura for the tea and listened to her intently as she presented Hisa's theory. She'd considered the mechanism by which they'd seemingly travelled through time, but she had to admit that her theories were mostly based in science fiction and not actual science. She stared that the drawing in the notebook that Sakura presented to them.

“Still, normally, these universes are just that, parallel to each other, not interacting in any ways. Our alternate selves live their lives and make their decisions without being plagued and biased by any knowledge outside of their own timeline. Except that...we came here, and presumably thanks to Muse, we became aware. We are probably in one of these alternates right now, but our conscious closed the gap between the two - hence why remember. Also the reason why we’re upset about certain changes, which are possibly not even actual deviations, really.”

Shifting into parallel realities? Great. I thought it was 'Clues', but now it's 'Parallels'...

“That could explain a lot of things...” Elise paused to take a sip of her tea, “It might even be possible to test your hypothesis actually. The mind, body and soul all retain their own sets of memories, although the conscious mind typically takes precedent over the other two. If our consciousness was transferred into a parallel universe... then the bodies we're inh-”

Elise paused and shuddered, If Hisa's theory's right then aren't we effectively possessing the bodies of our alternate selves? Am I an invader in my own skin? It's official. I hate this theory.

“-then the bodies of our 'alternates' should retain the memories of this parallel world, and not match up with the ones we remember,” continued Elise, “Especially in the case of Hisa and I, since our bodies in that timeline got reduced to radioactive ash. Unfortunately, it'd be almost impossible to access those memories without the proper tools, and who knows if there's anyone here with those abilities, but... I have an Unpleasant Acquaintance who might be able to check for me.”

Elise glanced at Vivienne, and considered her next words, I'd really rather not have to tell everyone about the squatter that lives inside my head...

Elise took a deep breath and continued, “...Already have technically. I talked to it last week and it... made note that the memories in my physical body seemed to differ from the ones I consciously remembered. Specifically, it could recall the memory Xylia on Day Zero, but not the memory of Elizaveta.”

“The other matter is... if Muse is our tether, and she's some sort of dream entity, then it'd make sense that it's our souls that are shifting, but... well, I definitely had something take a piece out of my soul on Sunday, and that piece is definitely back, or rather, was never gone at all.”

"And you my dear Elise... indeed, she, Vivienne that is, has met with the ephemeral entity that names itself 'Muse'. A clearing in a dark forest, a murderous shadow that hounds the surroundings, the is warded off by that benevolent spirit... truly a scene wrought straight from fairytales!"

The change in Vivienne was dramatic the moment she donned the mask.

This is definitely shaping up to be quite the tea party, thought Elise as she took another sip from her cup.

“A murderous shadow hounding you?” asked Elise, “I just had hostile mist in my dream.”

[Cheetose]

Hisa Momoi (Sakura)
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Hisa’s Room
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 07.09.1994 (WED)
Weather: Clear Skies

The sudden change in Vivienne’s personality, and the mask she put on seemed to startle Sakura. Moments after the new Vivienne started talking, she was already standing on top of the chair - which made her just slightly taller than the other girls - with her hands up in the air, seemingly ready to perform her nonexistent martial arts moves.

“T-that was...unexpected.”

Realizing that there was no danger, she seemed to have calmed down as she sat back into her seat.

“But to answer your question...We have a vague idea about the possibility of actual time travel. But nothing on this scale, and certainly not without equipment, and on other people. We do not doubt that it’s possible, but we want to assume that they are not involved in whatever is happening to us. It likely has more to do with the supernatural.”

Once again, she took the notebook into her lap, but this time, at least for now, she was just doodling seemingly meaningless things.

“The presence of observers, even higher forces moving us, the pawns from the shadows does sound quite possible, however. In a sense, Muse sounds like one of those forces as well. But there is not much point theorizing about things so unknown to us.”

As it was Elise’s time to talk, Sakura listened quietly - seemingly paying a lot more attention this time, considering how she even forgot to hum.

“Pyry was indeed not in control of his actions. We felt a different presence when we tried to enter his mind...it was a rather sad experience. I can only hope that he never actually had the time to realize what he’s done. But...at least he doesn’t even remember now.”

For the next part, she tilted her head slightly, looking a bit confused - almost as if Elise just said something rather weird.

“ ‘Soul’? That’s a rather difficult concept to grasp. But if your assumptions are true then that breaks our theory - if it’s our souls that are transferred, then your soul should be fractured the exact same way. Otherwise it’s not the souls that move around. Or there is something else in play, and our theory is wrong.”

Sakura, being part of Hisa, was well aware of the demon that was lurking inside Elise. At the same time, she also noticed how Elise tried to attempt to avoid the topic as much as possible - which would have meant that it likely wasn’t a factor that Vivienne was aware of.

As such, she decided to not make things embarrassing, and keep secrets a secret.

“We suggest we do not ponder too much over the likelihood of our theory, or think too hard about alternate theories. In the end...there’s only so much information we have at hand. Instead, we should discuss the things that lead up to sunday. Considering how we’ve barely interacted with each other...We would like to assume that we all have our fair share of leads on certain things.”