Titanomachy Rebirth (IC)

[palad1n]

Kaguya & Neru Sune
Location: Zeus High School – Rooftop
Time: Noon

“But you know, it’s not quite night terrors, but…” Ludmilla finally said after being lost in thought for a bit. “It’s been around two years and then some that I’ve been in this school, and it doesn’t happen all that frequently, but I’ve been having some very weird dreams ever since I came here. Can’t recall them with too much detail, but they were… very esoteric anyway, a lot of the times. Well also a bunch of simpler nightmares, but you get me.”

Strange dreams, hm...

Now that Ludmilla mentioned it, she had been having some strange dreams as well, hasn't she...? Ones that's different from her usual dreams and nightmares. Kaguya isn't sure what to think with this new information.

Normally, she would dismiss it as dreams being dreams - most people rarely remember them in the first place, so forgetting them isn't anything special on its own - but this makes it three people. Strange dreams out of the norm for her and Ludmilla, night terrors for Naru, Mary's comment that he's haunted... Could there be something deeper going on? Or is she making a big deal out of nothing?

How very interesting...

Lost in thought, she tried to remember what kind of strange dreams she'd been having exactly--

Until the PA System cracked to life.

It was so loud and sudden that she almost jumped out in surprise. Almost. And then the PA System started dissing Zhong so colorfully, vividly and passionately that she actually stopped going down the stairs just to fully listen. And just when Kaguya thought the verbal onslaught was over, a familiar voice took over and started rapping and dissing Zhong at the same time.

Kaguya couldn't suppress her giggle, and soon enough decides that holding back her amusement on what is possibly the greatest thing she had ever heard in her life is an insult to the two brave souls who did the deed. So she laughs to the point of tears, uncaring that her image might be ruined for anyone who stumbles upon her right now, because let it be known that Kaguya hates bullies, and this impassioned speech and rap... is a great palette cleanser after the faculty seemingly let Zhong and her gang run free despite everything they've done.

'You just shot up in my rankings once again, Jordan J Jones. You never cease to surprise me.' Kaguya thought as she wiped her tears away with her fingers. 'And if I ever find your companion, I'll offer him a date, no strings attached, as a thank-you for being such a brave soul.'

“My, if it isn’t Ludmilla and Kaguya! Our two famous school idols! What were you girls doing in the rooftop? Was it a yuri date? I bet’cha it was! Wow, think of all the heartbreak you’re going to inflict on all the guys in the school! And a lot of the girls, too! No, wait a moment… Don’t tell me… a threesome?!? S-so scandalous… no, what kind of superman managed to bag both of the top beauties at the same time? Is your surname Hanma per chance? Are you a Saiyan?”

And of course, someone has to ruin the mood. Kaguya lets out a quiet sigh as she looked at the noisy girl.

It's not like Kaguya dislikes or hates Chihiro per se, but the girl is definitely annoying, and she hasn't forgotten the incidents the girl caused; the only silver lining is that Bryanna didn't catch the exact details of those incidents, because God help her if the newspaper girl ever put those on print...

“Actually, his surname is not Hanma, whatever dumb reference you’re making. His surname is Tuna.”

"What kind of family has Tuna as their surname?" Kaguya raised an eyebrow at her friend before turning her attention back to the only boy in the group, because she refuses to believe that someone is so unfortunate as to have 'tuna' as their surname. "Come to think of it, you never did introduce yourself properly. Maybe now is the time?" She smiles as she gestures with her chin to Ludmilla. "Won't be the first time she gets a name wrong."

[RacingeR]

Masaki Tomomi
Location: Zeus High School – Floor 2 (Class 208)
Time: Noon

“Oh, we had indeed arranged something. He stormed off, hm? Well, he wasn’t in the staff office when I popped up over there, so we might’ve just missed each other.” Mr. Dawson looked quite troubled. “Well, he’s quite punctual, but he can be troublesome when schedules don’t work out… Alas.”

He shrugged, and he seemed like he was about to add something regarding your comment about Mr. Hunt’s words about being early, but he was savagely interrupted by the PA system crackling to life all of a sudden.

And unleashing, much to everyone’s surprise, a torrent of insults. Followed immediately afterwards by an improvised rap also loaded by insults. All directed towards the person of a certain Zhongli Liu and her squad of bullies.

You all were left briefly stunned by the sudden event.

After a moment, you looked at your teacher’s face, which had darkened into strict seriousness…

No, he also looked like he was trying his best to not laugh his ass off, and was making an admirable effort to keep his face straight.

“Seems I’ll be needed elsewhere, before that particular situation devolves further.” He shook his head, unable to banish a certain air of amusement around him. “I know you must be in search of Ms. Hathaway, but I’m sure she’s fine. You should avoid the stairs for a time.”

He leaned down, and gently patted your shoulder. “Thank you for your information, Ms. Masaki. Take care, girls.”

He then went off, himself going down the stairs to take care of his duty, or rather, probably prevent the hospitalization of the duo that had just spoken over the PA system.

You looked at your friends. Gennadiya said nothing, but her face was almost as amusing to watch as the rap had been to hear, as she tried her best to not laugh, a herculean effort indeed.

Rachel, meanwhile, looked between greatly amused, scandalized, and somewhat exasperated.

“Well, that’s going to get ugly.” She shook her head. “That bitch isn’t going to take this one lying down. Those were… that weird guy Arturio and the ace runner of the Olympians, Jones, right? That was pretty inspired but, they’re going to get roughed up really bad for this.”

She shook her head, and shrugged, reaccommodating the cat on her embrace to better hold it. The poor animal looked quite spooked still, almost scared out of its wits. Your friend had looked ready to rib you back for your teasing regarding her pets, but too much had happened in a short time, and she had forgotten to fire back.

“Whatever. Let’s get going.” She said, soldiering on, completely disregarding Mr. Dawson’s advice regarding stairs. Whatever others may say, she was worried about her friend and she intended to personally ascertain her safety before moving on.

You had just climbed the stairs to the third floor when the second quake came at last.

It was like an overwhelming tidal wave. At one moment everything felt like it was normalizing. At the next, the world had gone quite mad.

You shook as if inside a washing machine working at the maximum of its capabilities. The world seemed to spin and creak around you, and yet it was merely a trick of the eyes as everything vibrated in unison. By all rights, you should have been tossed about, and yet you found yourself rooted to the spot, unable to move at all.

It was not just the ground what shook. The air also shook, and the sensation of pressure that crashed upon you was infinitely worse than any physical shock you had ever experienced. It was as if every centimeter of your body was being squeezed from multiple directions at once. You were being crushed.

You looked at your friends, and saw your horror and confusion reflected on their eyes, and yet none of you could move at all.

And finally, the world came apart at the seams, undone by the madness that had encroached upon. First came the darkness, then the overwhelming teal light, accompanied by the rabid howl of crumbling reality, a background chorus of despair.

Then, the mercy of unconsciousness.

[Tangerang]

Myo
Location: Zeus High School – Beginning of the End
Time: Noon

Myo could smell the sleeping gas filling the hallways as she sped towards her destination. There's no doubt that this was Shirai's handiwork, Myo mused to her own minor surprise. She didn't really expect such a... merciful method. However, she also doubted that Shirai would have grown soft, so she must have simply determined that this was the most efficient method to take. All around them, bodies hit the ground as the people breathed in the gas. None of them would remember anything when they finally woke up. Some of them might not end up waking up at all, instead drifting off into their eternal slumber.

The next moment, they were outdoors, having left the building behind them. There was no way the sleeping gas would work in these conditions, but Shirai handled it, knocking people out with sleeping darts. Myo didn't bother more, simply believing that Shirai would handle her duty.

As they turned the corner, they encountered a trio of guards on patrol, as well as a couple of students wandering nearby. Shirai automatically moved her blowdart to her mouth, but Myo motioned her off. At this distance, the sleeping potion would take too long to take effect and they would be able to raise the alarm. There was only one course of action to take. Her body naturally took a stance.

Spoiler:

Her body blurred as her muscles exploded into action. The distance between her and the guards shrunk in the blink of an eye, and in the next instant, her sword hissed through the air as the first guard's head flew from his head. He probably never even knew what happened. The second guard eyes just started to widen, his brain not having finished processing the situation before him. And Myo would not give him the oppurtunity to finish that thought. Inside of one heartbeat, she had already moved onto her second victim. Her second sword sycthed upwards, ripping apart the man's body in one fell swoop. The final guard began seemed to be about to yell something as his hands moved towards something, but there was no way Myo would allow him to complete whatever action he was attempting. Within her next breath, her swords closed in on her final victim; several slashes tearing him to pieces of meat.

Spoiler:

Out of the corner of her eye, Myo could see Shirai disposing of the few unlucky students. Without wasting another moment of time, they resumed making their way towards their target. And soon enough, the detached building was in sight. At that very moment, two men walked out.

The first was the vice-principal Roy Lakes and the second was... Kayin Adebayo, the African Demon, Myo noted with suprise. Now this was a bit of complication. Had he been hired as special security? This was a man who made the 'list' after all; there was no way he was a pushover.

“Can you believe it?! Fucking rats in the basement! And I had to go deal with that because some asshole fucking kid thought throwing a buncha rats would be funny! Me! Dealing with a goddamn kid’s prank! Can you believe this shit?”

“Hah, that must be rough. I can hardly imagine someone like you having to deal with all that. But now…”

“Yeah, now it is over. We’re fully committed. It’ll happen soon.”

“You think Darion alone will be enough to carry on the ritual? That first quake wasn’t in the plan, wasn’t it?”

“These are Father’s instructions. I think he has things well in control, otherwise he’d already have called for help. He’s got enough back-up in there, in any case.”

“What about security? Have you kept an eye on all threats?”

“Yes. We have eliminated all enemies in Zeus’ approach. We’ve completely repelled the Sixteen as well, so I doubt those fanatics will give us much trouble. All external observers are either dead or have been forced to flee. We’ve kept an eye on those four. The white-haired girls won’t be an issue. The other two, Father has said to leave them be. The other possible security risks have been accounted for as well.”

“What about a Kindred Shade? Have you considered that?"

“We’ve analyzed all students from Asia and Africa. We don’t have that many from the latter, but the first ones are a bit troublesome. You know how many connections they have with Yakuza and Triads. We know the father of the Komiya twins had some dealings with them, but we doubt they’re compromised. The blood father of the Masaki siblings also had something to do with them, but they’ve been cut off from him entirely since long ago.”

“We do have some suspicions on one student, but it doesn’t seem like the Kindred intend to do anything, or we’d have noticed by now. They probably don’t know we’re kicking off today.”

“When I was told about this, I thought you mad. Even now I have a hard time believing this is real. Ah well. Let’s be about it, Roy. I’ll take my position at the gate.”

“Got it. I’ll keep an eye on the main building, then. In any case…”

Myo didn't really understand half of the conversation between the two men, and for the matter she didn't really care. The important thing was that the two of them seemed to have left the area, which meant that the entrance to her target was clear. Based on what Shirai had said, the target specifically was in his office on the third floor of this building; with the area cleared the two of them wouldn't have a better oppurtunity than this. Giving Shirai a signal, the two of them silently stormed into the building.

[RacingeR]

Myo
Location: Zeus High School – Beginning of the End
Time: Noon

You plunged straight into the mouth of the wolf, Shirai in tow.

Not too long ago you had taken the chance during night to scout this building. Security during the night had been heavy here, so you had only been able to inspect the basic layout, but that was enough. You knew what route to take.

The teachers were almost all outside, busy in various tasks, mostly taking control of the situation after the small quake had hit. Others were in the staff office (or had been until another incident had ousted them from there), or elsewhere.

Still, there were yet two teachers unrelated to this in the first floor of the building, near the entrance. They never knew what hit them as you passed through like the wind and beheaded them.

The security guard on the other side of the room was a bit quicker in reflexes. He managed to at least take his gun out and start aiming when you reached him, and with a contemptuous slash of your sword, separated his right arm from the body. The limb fell aside in a spray of gore, the gun hitting the floor and sliding away. Many hours later, a certain Bryanna Halls would pick up the gun to fight against enemies a lot more different than yours.

You plunged your second sword into the guard’s face, and let him fall to the floor, barely stopping in your steps as you pushed onwards.

----

Outside, Kayin’s eyes peered at the building he had just abandoned. For a moment, he was tempted to go back and have his own fun with the two intruders.

However, he finally shrugged minutely and turned around. He had his orders, and he suspected Sir Darion was having too much fun playing his game. No need to intrude unnecessarily, not when he soon would have plenty to be occupied with.

Holding the gate until the ritual was completed, against the assault that would soon start, was something that even the world’s most dangerous man couldn’t do so easily.

----

There was nobody. No more security, no more teachers or students. As you ran through the first floor, it was that very lack of resistance that caused yet another chill to run through your back.

Yet, it was too late, you were already committed. You paused a moment, to make sure Shirai had kept pace with you, and then you bounced up the stairs, reaching the second floor.

The stairs to the third floor were in the opposite side of this hallway. You merely had to advance there, less than a minute from your current position at your top speed. From there to the principal’s office, it’d merely take you a few minutes. You were almost there.

You ran towards the stairs, still no enemy in sight, alert and yet already planning your next movements. And then-

And then pain.

Something rammed against your ribcage. Something you hadn’t seen coming, that you hadn’t been able to detect. The sheer strength of the impact ripped you off the floor, lifting you and throwing you painfully against a wall, your bones creaking with the crash, blood escaping your mouth with a pained cough.

Myo has taken 20 damage

Small cracks on your ribs. Internals shaken but undamaged. Contusion on the left side of your body due to a close encounter of the wall kind. Damage heavy but not critical and not debilitating. You accounted for your wounds in the blink of an eye.

Your head snapped up, your eyes scoping the hallway to see who had attacked you, who had somehow managed to get the drop you… and who had even the leeway to hold back when attacking you. You’d been so sure that there’d been nobody here, but then you saw him.

“… That attack was meant to break your ribs. Seems that my alma mater’s technology has progressed greatly since my days. Was it your armor? Or the body mods? No matter…”

Encountered Zhao Kwan

Sir Parsons’ white-haired bodyguard stepped out of a doorway, looming ominously as he cracked his knuckles. “You shall not be allowed to interrupt Father.”

You almost blanched. Logic had nothing to do with this one. Experience, training, and instinct. Everything together blared at you just how impossibly dangerous this man was. This thing here was not human. It was a monster in the shape of a human.

He turned his head to look at the side, and two more persons made act of presence.

Encountered Eden Security Guard x2

They were dressed oddly. White and blue modern body armor covered their frames, from the boots all the way to their neck. A white helmet somewhat resembling that of a biker’s covered their heads, the visor down and hiding their faces.

They descended from the stairs to the third floor, and advanced to situate themselves behind the bodyguard, blocking your way up.

“Is it these two, boss?” One of them asked.

“Indeed. They’re from Orochi, so be careful. Do not underestimate them just because they are little girls.” Your aggressor replied.

“Same place as boss, huh?” The other one tilted his head slightly. “They don’t look the part, but those weapons are the real deal.”

“… I will soon be needed outside. Take care of them. Do not let them interrupt Father’s work.” The white-haired youth replied, putting his hands on his pockets, and turning around. “Do what you will with them, but don’t kill them. Father’s orders.”

“Understood!” The both of them saluted, and then that monster stepped into the doorway, fading from your sight.

But with one danger gone, the other grew more evident. Both guards unsheathed strange looking artifacts, that resembled long metallic batons, at least until, with a flick of their wrists, the metal jutting out of the handle started to crackle with electricity.

“I was always curious, you know?” One of them said, as they both advanced towards you. “Which of our branches is stronger? You Orochi assassins, or us Susano’o warriors? Let’s see if you guys are as impressive as your record, shall we?”

They laughed. And standing between you and them…

“Dammit, Myo! I’m not good at this kind of shit!”

Shirai was a coward. That was a truth underscored by your experience. That was what she’d been raised to be. As far as assassins went, she was raised to be an infiltrator, a backstabber, not someone that engages in direct combat. In many ways, cowardice and cautiousness were desirable qualities in her kind. She was supposed to be a rat.

And yet, despite her obvious fear, and although she was trembling like a rabbit in the presence of two predators, Shirai still stood her ground between you and them, clutching her blowgun in one hand and her combat knife in the other.

“Fuck… guess I did get a wee bit soft, after all.” She smiled wryly.

Ultimately, perhaps she simply couldn’t stand the thought of abandoning this last and final ‘sister’ of hers.

As you stood up, still hurt, and as both sides readied themselves for combat…

The ground shook like mad, as the second and greatest of the earthquake waves hit. The air howled around the four of you, as the world started to become undone at the seams.

It began at last, although you were not aware of it.

The end of the world you had known.

Crack. Crack. Crackrackrackcrack.

Outside, crack after creak grew on the dome of the sky as it darkened progressively, the sun itself slowly darkening, rays of searing dark light falling over a suddenly rickety world. The ground howled in torment.

And yet, all hesitation was gone entirely. There was no more room for planning or sneakiness. You were finally here, ready to do what you had been raised to do. From here on, it would be a straightforward brawl.

With the skies falling apart above you.

With the world ending around you.

You wielded your swords to begin your final fight in this world.


Orochi vs Eden
Turn 1

[hero]

Masaki Taichi
Location: Zeus High School – 5^th Floor (Swordsmanship Team Training Room)
Time: Noon


"Right."

Throughout the years, I have learned to be skeptical of several things, including other people's claims. Just as I do not firmly believe in ghosts, in destiny or any occult stuff for that matter, I find myself not quite satisfied with Elizabella's answer. A hunch? Hmm, she might or might not be lying, but to me it sounds like she's keeping something else from me. Well, if that's the case, she can have it her way. I might have been compelled to ask her how she foresaw the outcome of the match, driven by sheer curiosity, but now that feeling is gone and I am no longer interested in pressing the matter any further.

"Well, I guess that should be it for today."

It's not the first time I am left in charge of the club activities. Tanner and Pres have other duties to attend to, so it does not come as a surprise that they sometimes leave the room earlier than usual. When that happens, I am usually chosen to become the new appointed leader. Normally, I am pretty strict with following exercises and routines to the very end, however, in the time we have left there doesn't seem to be much room for any other meaningful activity. With the twins already stretching and Lovasz's tea ceremony reaching endgame, it's probably high time to call it a day.

But then, all of a sudden.

"...!"

We are all taken by surprise, as the ground below our feet shakes, a weak yet very much present earthquake making itself known to the Zeus' populace. It only lasts a couple of seconds, but that's enough to break the semblance of peace that this clubroom has created for me. After confirming and double-checking that no one has suffered any injuries that would require attention, I shift my focus to the next step in my really simple plan. Because, just as I do not believe in superstition, I am not going to sit back and convince myself that there won't be a repetition of what just happened. My sister is also in the building and I am not taking any chances.

"We're going. Not safe here."

And I am taking Lovasz and the twins with me. They, too, are under my care, for the time being.

[Vritra]

Ishmael Freeman
Location: Zeus High School – Floor 6 (Infirmary)
Time: Noon

Something Resembling a man was standing there and words poured forth from his mouth like a ceaseless torrent. Washing over me like a waterfall, engulfing me like the sea, suffocating me like smoke until I can’t even think my own thoughts.

Regret fills me, profound regret. I should have just tried to shut my ears and strangle that feeling. Giving into nostalgia has always been a mistake.

It would start with a quake, is what he said. It was always a quake that signaled the beginning of the end. A tremor that would shake the sky and the earth. It would ‘shake the world around the people’.

I,

Huh, I remember a lot less than I thought I would…

Eugh the fact that I’m not intoxicated with glee is revolting.

Still...

The quake signals the beginning of the end and it will shake the very world around you.

Yeeeeeah, how convenient, give only vague details and use natural phenomena as an excuse and validation. You and every other hack.

Yeah… Just a run of the mill quake, even if they’re not common doesn’t mean their impossible the earth is too squishy for anywhere to be free of them, you taught me that.

yes…

Nothing is, wrong…

Nothing is-

“Aaaah, no bright lights please my eyes are delicate.” Wincing I shift my focus to my assaulter.

“Ah, seems like he’s with us. Mr. Freeman, how do you feel?”

“Horrible, like someone just tried blind me after someone else tried to crack my poor fragile skull. Thanks, though I’ll be fine …I’m used to worse as I’m sure you know.” It might have taken till everyone else was accounted for but pretty ladies tending to me still counts!

“Can we skip a few steps and just proceed to the burial? I still got stuff to do today.” Myrthe grumbled.

“No please don’t kill me off yet we still haven’t figured out who will dress in all black and stand apart from the funeral with an umbrella despite there being no rain. Casting is very important for getting the right vibe of ominous and lingering secrets you know.” Guess Myr’s fine, mmm and looks like the twins and that other girl are fine, at least I think that other girls fine… Hopefully she just looks half dead and isn’t actually half dead, that would be a problem.

Its fine, everything is fine. Breath in, breath out, the world isn’t ending.

Everything…

Is…

“The quake signals the beginning of the end and it will shake the very world around you…” the words quietly crawl out of my mouth, like the phantom sensations that continuously crawl their way up my spine.

Fine…

Everything is so fine I sweep Mila’s fears away with a smile. “Here let me help, knowing the kids of this school I bet a whole crowd of people have managed to get themselves hurt in the commotion. Best to start getting everything pulled out to beat the rush.” Picking myself up I head over to the cabinets. Everything is fine, so what’s the harm in grabbing a few things, I’m certainly not wrong about the sugar high levels of energy so many people at this school have or their dedication to new and inventive ways to find harm. Everything is fine, but it would be rude to let Mila have to deal with all the crazies who are sure to swamp her all by herself. “Which drawer was the disinfectant again?” Grab the necessities, bundle them up into a nice mobile carrying package. Why not two? That other girl will probably want to help as well.

Pressing down with my leg I trace the familiar shape of the backup plan hidden in my boot. Everything is fine so I won’t finally need it but things like that, teddy bears and puffy clouds never hurt.

Everything, is…

Red, fed, never dead.

Fine…

Ah, how clumsy of me, my hands are shaking.

[Airen]

Rika Griffin
Location: Zeus High School – Courtyard (Tree Garden)
Time: Noon

---Nonsensical.

That's her ultimate opinion of the mess she's found herself a vague part of, a mess of horny morons and bloodthirsty idiots. She hadn't expected thing to have gone in quite this direction by the time she had caught up to Cecily, normally when this nonsense went down it was a simple matter of chasing the girl down and putting things right, hoping perhaps that the unspoken rule of don't mess with Jane would finally become a part of the school's collective consciousness, and yet no one ever seemed to learn a damn thing...

It's not difficult.

She's not a violent person by nature, the gang members did it for the fun of it from what she could tell, but she just beat up assholes because they were assholes. She didn't have much interest in fighting beyond that, beyond being able to serve as a protective force for friends and family in this bizarre-ass school, a manifestation of righteous fury that could serve as a deterrence of sorts.

But it never seems to stick.

"..."

There's so much she wants to say, but at the same time it also feels relatively pointless. She'd feel a bit more sympathy for Cecily if the girl hadn't been in the middle of tormenting Jane herself before this had all went down, and she'd feel a bit sorrier for the boys if most of their histories didn't scream that their attempt at 'protecting' Jane had been done in bad faith (a sentiment that Cecily confirms) so....

---Only one thing to do really.

There were two people her group needed to protect here, Jane and Marie, everything else was relatively unimportant in comparison, so-

"Come on sis, we're leaving. Getting into a fight here is a bit too risky."

One hand falling onto Elora's shoulder, the white-haired girl frowns at the scene in front of her.

"I've memorized all your faces. Any of you come near Jane again and you'll regret it."

She says it simply.

There's no joke in it.

Her voice is dead serious, the sort of ice-cold that hints at a vaguely suppressed rage.

"Any of you. That goes double for you Cecily. Beating up a wounded girl -no matter how bitchy- ain't my style, so you'll get to walk away today."

The unspoken message is clear.

---Next time you pull this shit, you'll pay.

"I'll be calling the faculty too, so I suggest no one else goes any further either."

She grunts, gesturing at the downed tennis club members with her head.

"Someone needs to get these guys to a hospital."

Line in the sand.

She won't get involved any further than this unless pressed, because she has more important things to consider than simple revenge...

Namely the safety of a kid, and a girl who clearly couldn't handle all of this violence.

So saying...

She gestures for her crew to leave, although her eyes...

Remain trained on the situation in front of her, after all...

She didn't like the look in that Kaz guys eyes.

[RacingeR]

Masaki Taichi
Location: Zeus High School – 5^th Floor (Swordsmanship Team Training Room)
Time: Noon

“Yes, Senpai!” The twins answer your command in an instant, quickly cleaning their faces and hair with a towel before following after you.

“Hey, wait-!” Izabella started saying something, but you ignored her as you exited the room. Whatever she had to say could wait until you went to safety, and more importantly, until you could make sure your sister was safe as well. So, she had no other option but to follow after you and the twins.

However, it seemed that you wouldn’t be able to move about as easily as you wished to.

The students had come pouring out of their various workshops and training rooms, and were now crowding the main hallway densely. Many of them often took their lunches on their clubs or teams, and some of the more dedicated like your team took the chance to train and practice. As a result, a good chunk of the student body had been in this floor and in the cafeteria.

The PA system crackled to life, delivering insults and an improvised rap directed towards one of the major bullies in the school, but you barely even notice.

Too many people blocking the way to the stairs. And to make things worse, someone had pitched a tantrum or something near the stairs and was partially blocking the way, slowing transit through the floor to a crawl.

You waited for a moment, before getting impatient and shoving people out of your way as you forced your advance. Some were less than pleased at your manners, but you had no time to listen to them either. Why couldn’t these dumb Americans understand the priorities here?

You could see the source of the commotion now, a blonde student accosting a taller girl and a girl you recognized as part of the student council. But at this point the student throng was so compressed you couldn’t do anything about it, even with the many teachers already working to bring order into the crowd.

Seemed like you’d have to wait.

“I have a really bad feeling about this.” Izabella declared, whined, really. You glanced at her. She looked pale and terrified and very confused. Well, if she had never experienced an earthquake in her life, it was understandable, but you were Japanese and you were long accustomed to that, so- wait, why was she carrying her practice sword instead of leaving it on the training room?

Then, you saw her go as white as her hair. Before you could ask what her problem was-!

Lorelei Weber
Location: Zeus High School – 5th Floor (Stairwell)
Time: Noon

“Jones… the star runningback? Is that so?” Tammara muttered. “If I knew he was that funny I might’ve let him go out with me when he asked, maybe could’ve had him as some sort of jester. Ah well, guess I’ll just foot his hospital bills for now…”

You left her behind, walking past her along with Jozefa, now heading to the stairs. Your friend looked sheepish when you brought up her scores. They were indeed quite abysmal after all.

“Ah, but I was asked to help bringing those boxes up for the crafts club…” She shrank slightly under your glare and nodded meekly. You made a note to mention this to Rosalin later. If you were going to help Jozefa with her studies, something had to be done about this situation.

“Wait a minute!” Suddenly, Tammara interrupted, very rudely, you conversation. She ran around until positioning herself in front of you, well, in front of the stairwell, rather. At this point, along with the earlier scene, she was generating one hell of a traffic jam, not that she seemed to care. And nobody seemed to want to complain: the teachers were too busy putting the floor in order, and the students evidently didn’t want to attract the ire of this living embodiment of a pain in the ass.

“Where do you think you’re running off to, huh?! I had important business with that teacher! And you got in the way and now who the hell will answer for that mess in the club, huh?” She said, crossing her arms.

“Um, what made the teacher go away was the stuff with the PA system, not us.” Jozefa piped up, managing to bring on enough courage to answer her. Jozefa seemed to sometimes lack survival instincts when it came to dangerous people and their requests, but judging by how she seemed to fear Tammara, she at least knew what kind of person she was.

“Whatever. If I say it is your fault, it is your fault.” The blonde replied, ignoring Jozefa’s logic entirely on the basis that it didn’t suit her ends.

“Fine. I can go later and tidy up the Tennis Team’s lockers. Would that be enough?” Your friend shrugged and asked. Hey, there…

“Eh. Uh… no, no need to go that far…” Tammara looked deflated for a moment, and shook her head. Then turned towards you. “Anyway! I-!”

Was it just you or this girl didn’t seem to be capable of being her usual mean self to Jozefa?

But you never got to learn what she had to say next.


Lorelei Weber & Masaki Taichi
Location: Zeus High School – 5th Floor
Time: Noon

The second wave of the quake catches you unawares, and it is all you can do to remain standing when it hits.

It is nigh-instantaneous. In one moment, it had been sunny and stable. The next, the skies grew dark and the ground below you trembled and howled as if the devils of hell were coming out of it.

You heard the screams of your fellow students, before they suddenly became muted. It was as if you were trapped in the center of a whirlwind, for the air itself trembled with the same intensity as the ground, becoming a claw that trapped you under its pressure into forced stillness.

It was the agony of reality. The scream of the world as it was sundered, a portion of it ripped away irreversibly and thrown outside the boundaries of sanity towards a hellish madness.

You lost the notion of time as the skies, and then your surroundings became pitch black. Soon, you could see nothing at all, nothing but a sudden blinding teal light.

And with that powerful light, came unconsciousness.

[Erlkonig]

Masaki Tomomi
Location: Zeus High School – Floor 2 (Class 208)
Time: Noon

Though she did find a smirk blooming its way to her lips over the scathing remarks ferried across the speakers, Tomomi's icy gaze found its way to the teacher who was struggling not to laugh.

"You shouldn't be so amused, Sensei." Tomomi grumbled, the diminutive girl putting her foot down as she stomped forwards with crossed arms. "In the first place, don't you think those boys are getting in trouble because you've let Zhong's ilk off too easy? I understand school policy strongly favors individualism and meritocracy, but a line needs to be drawn somewhere in the sand and I don't think lawless anarchy is the principal's culminating vision for his students."

The accusatory words and glare were as fearless as they were lacking in tact, and though lithe it still carried all of Tomomi's weight in its judgment.

'This wouldn't be happening if you had done your job.' That was the recrimination reflected in her orbs.

All that took for evil men to triumph was for men to do nothing. The teachers' often too lax measures towards Zhong had utterly failed to rehabilitate her or any members of her gang, and so their unjust rule of violence endured across the campus, burgeoning to unbelievable size like a rotten cancer. Thus, it was no surprise to Tomomi that Zhong had grown arrogant enough to start something sinister, and people finally had enough of her ways. She couldn't help but be a little envious of those boys' courage- She didn't have it in her heart to trouble her brother by speaking in such a manner.

Every now and then, she wondered if it was worth it to pay the price for maintaining her composure. What would happen if she were true to herself, instead of putting up the false persona of a perfect and dainty girl.

A foolish, delusional notion. Ice that melted without a fitting vessel was just water without substance. A puddle could do nothing but be trampled on by others' feet.

Musing on it would do her no favors, so before her stomach could squeeze itself any tighter, Tomomi tilted her head back as she processed the words that Rachel had been uttering while she was off in her self-depreciating carousel.

"Yes, they were definitely Arturio and Jones, an odd combination. I don't think they're alone in their campaign, however." Tomomi reasoned, resting her jaw on a cupped hand. "They couldn't have entered the broadcasting room without a key, and those are only given to faculty members, possibly the student council president as well. What a reckless plan, though. They did not even bother with using a voice changer, Tirrel will found out who they are in minutes if she doesn't already know."

She couldn't help the slight headache and turn of the gut that came whenever she thought of that particular scum of the earth. How could someone as gifted as Rachel and herself embrace the nature of the beast? Did she see something that they could not? If it weren't so uncharacteristic of her, she'd have loved to give the bloody genius a piece of her mind.

"In the end, it's not our business is it?" Tomomi sniffed derisively. "Woe be that us frail and dainty creatures became involved in such glorious machismo. Leave the fisticuffs to muscular idiots with too much energy to waste and sweat to shed in the name of justice. If need be, we can cheer from the sidelines with all our might. Gender roles can be quite convenient every now and then, don't you think?"

Chivalry was romantic in the end, but far too gruesome. As if Tomomi would ever willingly cavort in the mud like that.

'You're so cool, Tomomi...' A ghost from long past sneered. The dark silhouette's eyes glowed as it raised a bucket full of ice-rimmed water. 'A real ice princess. You won't even flinch from this, right!?'

She shivered until a gasp parted her lips.

"Perhaps we should split up to look for Shelia." The girl declared. "Earthquakes always strike more than once, so..."

When she said that.

-No, that scenario was mistaken. In fact, Tomomi never spoke at all. When she tried to do so, her mouth remained sown shut.

She tried to bend her finger, visualizing the electric tingle that crossed her tendons whenever the digit flexed. It was as if the orders sent to her limb vanished into the ether. But it wasn't just the limb, more than that it seemed as if her entire soul had been ripped out of her...

-That was when the world started shaking. Not just the stairs below her or the windows or the walls and all the concrete and steel betwixt and between the building. The very air distorted around her flesh both stripped and possessed of all her senses, fluctuating wildly between no stimuli and all of it at once as she was bombarded with overwhelming crushing pain, the world itself battering with its heaviest hammer. She wasn't even given the right to scream or protest.

But she could think, and in that moment Tomomi thought both nothing and everything at the same time. For even time and space began to lose meaning as the teal light manifested upon reality.

Was she going to die? She supposed that was fine, as there was nothing she could do. She'd once read that there was an infinitesimally small chance that life on Earth would vanish spontaneously. Perhaps God had finally taken the hard but inevitable decision to cast this world to the dogs and let it fester into carrion. Would she be taken to the gates of St. Peter, or would she face the Yama at the Sanzu River? Or perhaps this was all some silly dream, and she'd wake up to her brother scolding her for stupidly falling asleep in class.

She thought to cry at last, to let some inch of her true feelings come to the surface at the time of reckoning, but not even the slightest droplet formed.

All I ever wanted was to be a normal girl. All I ever sought was to experience a normal life. Couldn't things have stayed simple...?

But things had never been simple or normal, had they...?

As reality unfolded, so did her mind's eye. In the gap between what was and what would become, Tomomi transcended the moment and was able to experience her memory from start to finish, her timeline unfolding from her breast and stretched towards infinity.

She saw a world devoid of color, blanketed in white snow. Felt her fingertips freeze and rot from frostbite, until her brother's embrace washed the cold away. But Taichi's desperate attempts to shelter could not forestall to encroachment of the crystalline ice, or the leering glow of the resentful monsters that glared at her from across time.

The man she once called 'Papa'. The girl she once loved to call 'friend'. The school she believed to be 'normal'. The world she dared to think of as 'hers'.

It was all her fault. If she hadn't been born abnormal, then her father wouldn't have seen her as a tool for power. If she hadn't been born curious and hungry for knowledge, her reserved nature would not have captured the envious jealousy that destroyed her friendship. She wouldn't have been sent to a school where she now realized had been modeled exactly for people like her, as she realized the absurdity of gangsters and olympic athletes running around with minimal oversight in a school that shut itself off from the rest of the world.

The answer to everything, so obvious in hindsight, brought with its absolute clarity a cathartic relief and an equally sinking despair.

Ah... That's right... Someone like me...

I was never meant to be a part of this world.

Just like that.

The ice cracked with the screech of shattering glass, breaking into crystals that flowered all over and tore her memory apart and pulled it everywhere and nowhere at once-

Spiriting her away to the Garden where she belonged.

[Zagrin]

Aster Hunter
Location: Zeus High School – Courtyard (Tree Garden)
Time: Noon

Aster watched impassively as everything had played out: Rika dodging his makeshift projectile, the arrival of two new pieces to the board that was the Tree Garden Arena and the barbs that Cecily was now trading with one of said arrivals.

Well at least it seemed that he wasn’t all talk, unlike his pathetic excuse of a brother. Yes, Aster could tell that perhaps this one would be able to provide the entertainment that he was seeking. It helped that it seemed that he’d be willing to step up to the challenge, based on his responses to Cecily. Revenge for the treatment of his brother perhaps? Or perhaps an attempt to bring back a modicum of respect to the Tennis Team after it had been so thoroughly trounced. Either way, the tension in the air was palpable and it wouldn’t take much to set it all off.

True, there was the scenario that he would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers considering the general animosity that his association with the gang garnered, but the White Knights actions had dashed that possibility from Aster’s mind. Rather than respond in kind to his actions, Rika had only opted to evade and continue to focus on retrieving her charge. It was clear that once she had achieved her goal, she and the others would no longer have a reason to remain.

Indeed, their confrontation would have to wait for another day…or that’s what he thought, until Rika chose to address them all.

"I've memorized all your faces. Any of you come near Jane again and you'll regret it."

It was a threat…no, a warning, that would strike fear into the heart of any everyday bully, chilling them to the bone from utter terror. So then why was it that Aster Hunter was now smirking?

"Any of you. That goes double for you Cecily. Beating up a wounded girl -no matter how bitchy- ain't my style, so you'll get to walk away today."

Is that so?

Aster’s eyes seemed to light up at those words, the boredom in them having been washed away by that declaration and replaced with those of a predator that had just caught the scent of blood as he picked up on the implied threat.

Yes, this rage, this anger, this is what he had sought when he had intervened earlier. Now not only had he found it, but he had also been issued a challenge in the same breath. A challenge that he would gladly answer.

Her next words fell on deaf ears as Aster wordlessly strided towards another one of the downed Tennis Club members and crouched by him. He then grasped the young man by the throat before effortlessly lifting him up and repeating the same movements as with his last human missile, gaining momentum and launching the unfortunate souls as another one of his makeshift projectiles. However this time he had done it with more of a purpose, Rika having given him clarity as to what he needed to do to achieve his goals and it seemed as though he cared little for the consequences his actions may have wrought as…

He had sent the boy hurtling straight at Jane!

“Let’s begin.”

Though his tone seemed to hint at no malice, he nonetheless delivered an underlying threat. Rika’s actions had shown him how much she valued this friend of hers, now he would hold her to her words and if she did not…well it would be up to her how far he would need to go to elicit the response he so desired.

[Tobias]

Kaguya & Neru Sune
Location: Zeus High School – Rooftop
Time: Noon

“Geh…ahem hmm…”

Fortunately Neru was able to turn his reflexive verbalization of frustration into a relatively innocuous cough before anyone noticed. Kusunagi…!

One of Neru’s top five People to Avoid. He had seen the aftermath of some of her, for lack of a better word, shenanigans before. It was fortunate they didn’t have any classes together. neru knew the type, once they got curious about something they never left it alone.

Neru knew himself to be of the level of “a possible curiosity” to her so had gone way out of his way to present himself as boring as possible whenever there was the possibility of coming under her attention if they crossed path.

When you engaged in certain practices, such as Neru did, it paid dividends to avoid the eye of the type of person who never let something they thought interesting go.

Neru immediately noticed two things about her he was not sure his companions had. First and foremost, despite has clumsy and chance she had presented herself with that little collision, that catch with her glasses had been impressive. neru knew from his own glasses that when they sprang off like that, it usually happened to fast to respond too. That suggested either Kusunagi was either significantly faster and had higher reflexes then he would have expected, or…

…And this seemed more likely…

She hadn’t been surprised in the first place. For example, had she been nearby, eavesdropping, and then engineered a “chance meeting” in order to investigate.

The second thing he noticed, that he had never before, perhaps due to how hard he had worked to avoid her…?

…We resemble each other.

To quite a disturbing extent. Their shared Japanese heritage aside, Neru and Kusunagi shared hair color, facial structure, even skeletal frames and body type. Could be siblings aside, they could have passed for fraternal twins.

He almost wondered if his father could have been unfaithful at some point.

He was doing his best to figure out the quickest way to quickly extricate himself from the situation without arousing her interest when salvation of a sort intervened in the form of one of the order things he experienced in a school where oddities were a daily occurrence.

A diss track over the loud speakers.

The blue haired boy was vaguely familiar with JJJ and Zhong but had gone out of his way to avoid crossing their paths. They were so…noisy.

Their antics disturbed class more then once. To be fair, so had Neru, but the difference was, he did it against his will and would prefer to stop. Those other assholes did it because they got off on it. Still, he would call it a win if it distracted Chihiro.

Which it seemed like it might, until Kaguya, likely without any ill will, did exactly what he was hoping would not happen and brought him right back into the center of discussion. Even worse, on a point he had been working hard to move past.

Yes they had his name wrong, but so what? It’s not like a couple of school idols were going to have or want any interactions with him later, this was surely the acting out a momentary whim. He just wanted to get out of it without embarrassing himself and maybe with some nice memories and not another story about him making the rounds.

Boys like him did not correct girls like them.

“Uh, right, that was rude wasn’t it. Pleasure to meet you.” Well, all but one of you. “My name is Neru…Tuna. By the way, that broadcast had to come from the PA room right? Wouldn’t you have to think there is a horde of teachers and students heading there now? And likely a fight is about to break out? I wonder what that would look like!”

A ploy. A ploy to distract the detective, as it were. If he could get Chihiro and the others moving towards the action, he could fade back and disappear. Chihiro, even if she became curious later wouldn’t even know his actual name. And as for the other two, it was a bit of a shame, but it’s not they would ever interact with him again, right?

[RacingeR]

Johnny Justice & Cyrus Ferdinand
Location: Zeus High School – 4^th Floor (Crooklyn Hideout)
Time: Noon

“Yep, you can bet I’m happy now.” Joaquin whistled merrily. Unlike the gang girls, he didn’t seem at all intimidated by the teacher’s presence.

The old man smiled, well, rather smirked upon hearing Johnny’s words. He shook his head lightly, as if amused by the shenanigans of a particularly naughty pet, and fished two things out of his pocket.

A cigarette, a common run of the mill one, and a silver lighter. He held the smoke between his lips, and used the lighter to light it, before leaving the lighter on the pile. It looked valuable, for sure, that was real silver there… but he hadn’t put it on the pot just because it was monetarily valuable, that much could be easily told.

He then looked, not towards Johnny, but towards Ashley.

“I think you can already tell, but what Mr. Ferdinand here is saying is, that just being here already proves that he won when it counted. Because otherwise he’d be dead.” Chester said, reclining slightly on his seat to look at Ashley levelly on the eyes.

The girl’s expression didn’t change, merely returning the teacher’s stare without giving an inch, expression almost petulantly stubborn, and the old imp laughed. “Well, of course you know that. Let me guess, I bet Ms. Tirrel’s network came quite in handy, right? If some potential rivals… or members showed up, she’d want to do a check on their past…”

His smile turned cynical. “Well, for you they lost when it counted, right? Goes to show how big the difference in values is for people.”

“Can it, old man.” Camila growled suddenly, the warning clear in her tone and her dangerous eyes. Chester eyed her with interest, then held his hands up in a pacifying gesture.

“That’s more like it. See, Mr. Justice? No need to play games around me or to keep a silly façade. I’m afraid the time for such things has ended.” He said, and let his arms rest on the back of the chair.

“I don’t mind having a little side-bet with you two, or should I say three now?” He said. He prodder the lighter with his finger. “This will be my bet to equal what all of you put up here.”

“So, a favor, huh? But you know, the value of the favor depends greatly on the value of the person. A king’s favor is nowhere near the same as a peasant’s favor. That’s just how reality works. But…” He smiled. “I happen to have a great deal of faith in the potential of my students. Especially those who are as interesting as you two. I accept. Deal us in, Mr. Ferdinand.”


Eilian Aubrey
Location: Zeus High School – 5th Floor (Crafts Club)
Time: Noon

You started looking closely around the piece’s exterior, searching how to disassemble it. However, the task turned out to be peculiarly difficult.

There were two pieces to its exterior, but they were put together so tightly that the space between them was zero, almost as if they were fused. Not even your gloves could pry through it. And you couldn’t find the screws quite just yet.

Of course, you could try to get to the insides through the acrylic screen… if that was truly acrylic, something which you were starting to doubt already. This whole thing struck you as being made for durability… and being made in such a way it couldn’t be easily tampered with.

“At the sides, they’re hard to see but the screws are there.” Astor pointed out, having come much closer at some point. He frowned as he looked at the device, and you idly wondered what could have attracted his attention so, before re-focusing.

The screws were there after all, two of them. They were rather hard to find, they merged almost seamlessly with the casing, being of the same material to boot, but you could identify the slight depressions and the very small hole on the center of each screw.

Once again, they were tight enough that you could grab into them to unscrew, you’d need to apply a screwdriver or some other tool. But after a bit of prodding and trying with the thinnest one you had available, you realized that these things seemed to need a specific tool or key of some sort to open. Troubling, but maybe you could-

“You know, I think I’ve seen those symbols before, somewhere.” Astor said, motioning towards the artifact. “Yeah, I vaguely recall someone drawing similar stuff once…”

That did catch your attention, but before you could ask more, the world decided to walk its merry way to a handbasket, but some wheels on it, and then travel straight to hell using it as a carriage.

Summarized: there was a second quake. Then the air started quaking as well. You felt as if that fact had put you under great, crushing pressure from all directions, immobilizing you.

Then, the entire world had groaned, with a hellish and painful noise. The sky blackened. The time was wrong why was the time wrong the time is wrong wrong wrong. Your sight blackened.

There was an overwhelming flash of teal.

And then you fell unconscious.

[RacingeR]

Eleanor Lansing
Location: Zeus High School – 4th Floor (Hallways)
Time: Noon

“Yeah. I’m not enthused about helping someone like Rhodes, but I’m not about to let her be lynched like that.” Kaitlin sighed, and rubbed her forehead in irritation, her mind already working on the problem at hand.

Which was rather thorny. Saying you’d help was something easy to say, but the ‘how’ was a real issue. Direct action wouldn’t be of much help given how bloated the gang was, realistically speaking. It’d be one thing if you could find Chamellia, but she was annoyingly good at hiding, though it was questionable how that’d go with the sheer scale of Zhong’s search for her.

But before you could think on the topic any further…

The PA system crackled to life, issuing a torrent of insults and an even more disrespectful rap, all aimed to the person of the gang’s leader. And you realized someone had been faster on the draw than you’d been, as you watched the redheads pour down the stairs, forgetting about Rhodes entirely.

Kaitlin looked flabbergasted. It was unlikely that your strait-laced president had found the episode amusing, but the fact was that those two had made enemies with the gang for life. Or well, for school life. The teachers would intervene now, either way, and if they had any sense the duo would run for the hills before they could be identified by Zhong’s goons, but maybe-

“Well, they sure helped me out of that. Really owe those two one, now.” A playful voice spoke behind you, and you nearly jumped out of your skin. You hadn’t sensed anyone approach you at all. You had been too focused on the sudden ‘announcement’ and so had been your friend, because you noticed her stiffen as well.

“But anyway, ‘not free of sins’, huh? Don’t you think it is a little bit too harsh, Ms. Lansing?” You whirled around, and stared at Chamellia Rhodes in disguise. The girl waved at you briefly, and smiled, quite enjoying your reactions to her sudden appearance.

You couldn’t call her disguise good by itself. She’d collected her hair and hidden it under a brown wig, and said wig under one of those sporty visored caps, done something to make her height look a bit smaller than she was, and had worn baggy clothing. Her features, however, were still unmistakable… if you took a second look at her, which most wouldn’t. She had disguised in such a way as to blend with the crowd, and you had to say she had accomplished that.

Still didn’t quite explain how she’d managed to get the drop on both of you that easily, you were sure you’d at least have felt the approach, but no matter… now your target of protection had approached you out of her own will.

[arkturus]

Olivia Reeds
Location: Zeus High School – 4th Floor (Class 406)
Time: Noon

“Hmm, is that so?” Olivia mused.

It was so obvious that they were dodging the question. As simple-minded as the pigtailed punk seemed to be he didn’t seem the vapid type get his kicks by throwing his weight around at weaklings. There was history she could get if she pressed but she was starting to get bored of playing the noble bystander. Why get involved further on what might be a childish teenage drama? There were better uses of her time, like getting some lunch.

Still it wouldn’t hurt to keep this avenue into the gang open for later. She would plant a seed for later.

“I guess I’ll leave you lovebirds to it. But if you ever need any help let me know ‘kay? I offer a consultation service of sorts.” Olivia grabs Krystine’s hand, pulls out a pen, and quickly scribbles her contact information on her palm. “First time’s free,” she says with a wink before exiting through the door.

[Katie]

Eleanor Lansing
Location: Zeus High School – 4th Floor (Hallways)
Time: Noon

Her ears. She’d like to forget the inane drivel that came out of the PA system. Maybe it’s the sheer absurdity of it that stopped her from sensing Chamellia’s presence. Or, more likely, that girl was simply too good at being a filthy rat. People at Zeus were capable of surprising you in a myriad of ways—her arrogance had just led her to be blind, for this moment, at least.

Eleanor glances at Kaitlin, wishing that the student council president wasn’t following her around. There were so many choice words one could use once they were outside of polite company. Instead, the blue-haired girl grits her teeth and scoffs

“What you do to dredge up those secrets from the depths can’t be clean,” Eleanor says sternly. Certainly, she looks down on Chamellia, but only because she is more like a tabloid reporter than someone interested in truly telling the truth. What she did to get those truths, it would be difficult to say anything considering her own means. “I’m not one to judge. Sometimes people must learn they belong in a society, even if it means force.”

“Really, what could you have possibility found out that those idiotic brats have organized a manhunt for you? Whose dignity are you looking to tear to shreds today?”

[RacingeR]

Alexandra Gray
Location: Zeus High School – 5th Floor (Martial Arts Team Training Room)
Time: Noon

The fight gets more intense as you press in.

Hiyori’s kicks had been her most dangerous aspect. Savate was a kickboxing style, and she had definitely put more emphasis on the ‘kick’ portion of it. It was only reasonable, given her build, but it meant her boxing wasn’t quite up to par in comparison.

It was still dangerous as hell. Her punches lacked the strength to do that much damage to you with body hits, but you knew a direct hit to the heat would be bad, and that complicated things for you.

And her fists were hard. You had always wondered what karate style she practiced exactly, but you’d been certain that she did a classical karate style. Now you were discovering, much to your chagrin, that she was as comfortable with full-contact karate as she was with classical. And she did hand-conditioning, too. You’d have to ask her at some point how she did that and managed to keep her hands looking all girlish, to boot.

That was a new data point that hadn’t come out in previous observations of her bouts (the full-contact, not the thing about the hands), and you revised your consideration of Hiyori up a few notches. Of course, you knew she was theoretically the second strongest member of the team, but you’d never seen anything quite that impressive out of her during competitions, so even with your talent she hadn’t seemed to quite have the shine a member of Zeus’ competition team should have.

The third ranking member, Jack, with his enormous physique, was more imposing, and the sheer advantage of his size and strength let him reign over most opponents. But then again, Hiyori regularly defeated him during training, and managed to keep up with Gwendoline. And your painfully awkward friend was the kind of martial arts prodigy manganime authors dreamed of.

You wheezed as a punch landed in your solar plexus, but you had managed to push your body back at the very last moment and reduce the impact just enough. Your right arms counterattacked in a whipping motion that got Hiyori just under the ribs, and the blonde grunted in a rather unfeminine way as she was driven back.

Still, you kept the pressure up, advancing to deliver another hit, only to have to pause and use your left to block an elbow strike aimed right at your head. The elbows had been another nasty surprise, but one you’d been more ready for.

You’d read about Hiyori’s mother, Elodie Fontaine, before. It wasn’t noted all that frequently in the many articles of information you had sifted through, as most focused on her status as some sort of businesswoman queen, but she held the highest possible rank in Savate. She also had practiced and had stated the intention of reviving Savate du Rue, or rather transforming it into something more sports-like. You didn’t really remember it all that well, but you did remember that mention.

So it hadn’t caught you quite by surprise that Hiyori also knew a bit of it. It was still another problem to you, simply because elbow strikes were that much heavier in comparison to punches.

No, the real problem was that you simply couldn’t afford a hit to the head. An uppercut was the most worrying possibility, and you’d been able to defend against the ones she had attempted, but your adversary was so annoyingly good at hitting the vitals that you were fairly sure a direct strike to your head would send you straight to the infirmary.

That meant that despite your intentions, you were simply unable to be as offensive as you’d wanted to be, due to the constant need to put up a guard. The close distance made much harder to dodge attacks, which put down one of your advantages.

However, it was still more advantageous to you. Her kicks had been her strongest technique, and she had squandered that advantage by not daring to go for an actual knockout technique before. And here you could use full advantage of your strength and physique, as well as simple attack speed. Your height was making a real difference, as your reach was just long enough that you could strike her from outside her own strike zone now that kicks were out of the way.

And yet…

You ducked under a jab and struck at her stomach. She lowered her elbow and struck your fist down, but you used the motion to come closer and attack with another whipping motion, striking her shoulder blade, but Hiyori simply took the strike and counterattacked with a right straight.

Your arms caught the strike, and then you tried to grab at her limb as it retreated, but she rotated it and managed to disentangle before you could secure a hold. She had fought with Gwendoline enough that while her own grappling and groundwork were still a weak point, she was experienced enough to deal with your approaches. You hadn’t meant for this to turn into a striking match, but she was proving to be a lot more slippery than expected, simply not cooperating with your attempts to bring the match into a terrain less comfortable for her.

Her left fist flashed into a hook towards your body, and you whirled, whipping your left are to parry aside the strike aimed towards your liver. Hiyori was frantic now. As the captain of the team, she simply couldn’t allow herself to be defeated by someone who had just entered the team itself.

And you realized that, as time passed, your odds went down. You were hitting her a lot more than she was hitting you, even if you too had failed to get a hit to her head, but she was more sturdy and more accustomed to the grueling physical exertion of a match. You’d have a very interesting collection of bruises tomorrow, but you’d also have an even harder time dealing with the exhaustion.

It was galling. You were improving a lot in this match, but you realized you were losing. Your focus, your real ‘ability’ was your imitation, and at least for now martial arts was merely a branch of your ability. Hiyori wasn’t really a prodigy at it either, her real ‘ability’ as far as it went was her knowledge of anatomy, but she had fully fused it into her martial arts and transformed that fully into her focus.

Experience was the deciding factor, and you weren’t going to defeat her as long as this match was still predicated upon striking. Changing that was your only real chance.

Perhaps she felt you flag, because Hiyori’s offensive suddenly intensified. You could see the rather simple tactic coming together. Attack you, seemingly all out, swamp you with strikes, and then simply jump out and open the range to comfortable kicking distance once again. And you couldn’t do much to stop that now, unless…

Your guard went up as you weathered the sudden storm of punches, as she went all in with the full-contact. Your adversary had ‘traded’ with you a few times already, receiving a hit herself so that she could hit you, and you intended to learn from that example.

One strike. Two strikes. Three. Four. Five. Six. And finally, an attack you could use. Your guard opened just a bit, and Hiyori drove the attack home. It was your turn now to get drilled in the stomach, but the attack went too deep, and she couldn’t retreat her right fist on time to avoid your arm, as you took a firm hold of her limb, holding it in place and stopping her movement cold.

Now, you finally had her. You had to capitalize on this-

The room suddenly swerved around you, and you felt your knees suddenly go weak.

A left hook, you realized detachedly. It had impacted on the side of your chin the moment your guard had gone down. It hadn’t been that good of a hit, it was not her dominant arm and she’d been off-position, but it had been enough to rattle your brain.

Your knees buckled, and you went down. But you weren’t giving up quite just yet. You grabbed with both your arms and focused all your strength into an iron grip, and successfully dragged Hiyori down with you to the ground.

Both of you grunted this time as you fell, and the blonde managed to immediately get her arm out of your hold, but you were already recovering from the hit. You saw out of the corner of you eye that Gwendoline had been ready to call the match, but now was on the look-out, the match still up in the air.

Now you had to pounce on her. She was on the ground, too close to you, couldn’t get up fast enough. This was the chance you were waiting for-!

The second wave of the quake came in as if to laugh at you. It was sudden, and you were too tired and your brain too rattled, so by the time you realized, you were completely immobile.

It was the air, you noticed. The air was shaking with the same intensity as the earth, producing a crushing pressure from all directions, making it so even trying to move an inch was like struggling against the weight of a mountain.

For a moment, you thought that someone was shrieking, but you realized neither of your friends could move much more than you could, couldn’t even open their mouths. You were all frozen, in the whirlwind of a disaster.

The world. The world was producing this hellish noise, as it was sundered and maimed, a hole opened forcefully into its weave.

Your vision darkened. Or perhaps it was the world itself that was darkening. You saw the room you were at warping, distorting, changing before your very eyes, before your vision went completely black.

And then, there was the eye-searing flash of teal, like a thunderbolt from the heavens.

And then, nothing at all.

[Tangerang]

Myo
Location: Zeus High School – Beginning of the End
Time: Noon

BGM:The First Warning

The pair sped flowed into the building like shadows left by the setting sun. Without making any sound, they still rapidly penetrated deep into the structure's interior, following the basic layout that had been transmitted to them earlier. There were a few employees unlucky enough to be hanging around, but before they even know what was happening, Myo had already assisted their souls with leaving their bodies. By the time they collapsed to the floor, the two of them had moved on.

Infiltrate. Assassinate. Withdraw.

At this points, they had no choice but to rely on the basics that had been ingrained to their very bones.

The stairs to the third floor. Not very far from their target. Myo steeled herself.

(BGM stop)

And all of a sudden, a surprise impact. Myo was blown backwards, into the wall. Pain.

BEAT

In the spawn of a second, Myo suppressed those feelings and did a quick damage assessment.

BEAT

Solid damage, but combat capability unaffected. Shock to chest. Specifically ribs. Lungs sore. She took a moment to catch her breath.

BEAT

A thin beat pounded in her head. Her pulse intensified as the blood rushed through veins. A nostalgic feeling.

BEAT

She looked up to see who was responsible for the attack.

“… That attack was meant to break your ribs. Seems that my alma mater’s technology has progressed greatly since my days. Was it your armor? Or the body mods? No matter… You shall not be allowed to interrupt Father.”

The target's bodyguard. Not that unexpected a surprise. The purpose of a bodyguard was to protect the target, and the purpose of an assassin was to eliminate the target; conflict was natural between such parties.

BEAT

Two more people made their presence noted. Oddly dressed. Likely special or more elite guards.

“Is it these two, boss?”

“Indeed. They’re from Orochi, so be careful. Do not underestimate them just because they are little girls.”

“Same place as boss, huh? They don’t look the part, but those weapons are the real deal.”

“… I will soon be needed outside. Take care of them. Do not let them interrupt Father’s work. Do what you will with them, but don’t kill them. Father’s orders.”

“Understood!”

The primary bodyguard left, leaving only his two lackeys behind. Not that it mattered. Given the circumstances, all three would have to be eliminated anyway before they could assassinate the target.

BEAT

“I was always curious, you know? Which of our branches is stronger? You Orochi assassins, or us Susano’o warriors? Let’s see if you guys are as impressive as your record, shall we?”

“Dammit, Myo! I’m not good at this kind of shit! Fuck… guess I did get a wee bit soft, after all.”

The two lackeys taunted, and her partner Shirai seemed a bit flustered. Myo thought to herself impassively, as if she were some third party who was disinterestedly observing her own situation. The ground started shaking, the air itself seemed to shift upon itself, but Myo didn't pay those any particular mind. More importantly, the beating her subsised, and her pulse, while still heightened had restored to a more normal pace. She could also feel various chemicals flooding into her system, activated the impact she received earlier, stimulating her responses and reactions.

Even at the end of the world, all that mattered was accomplishing her objective and finishing the mission.

Well then.

It's time to open the curtains, and turn the lights on.

BGM: The Second Warning

"I am the Huntress, relentless and unyielding. My blades will cut down my prey without fail."

Despite speaking alone, her voice almost seemed to have an echo. Her statement contained the seeds of danger.

A warning. A threat.

The two 'warriors' laughing was still taking things too lightly. Too easy. A fatal weakness to be exploited.

Her eye shined red as the combat cybernetic augmentations implanted within activated. Her center of mass shifted every so slightly.

Even though she had merely been masquerading as a normal student, there were still several rumors about her. She was even aware that it became a hot topic to discuss who was the fastest student in all of Zeus High School, with her listed as one of the three favorites.

Despite the fact that she had been restraining herself. Holding back. If only those same students could witness what was about to happen next, then they would have been lefted speechless.

There would be no room for doubt.

When Myo next spoke, her voice was normal. Yet there was ice in her words.

"In case you were wondering, I was named for this. Consider it a gift and take it with you to the afterlife-"

By this point Myo had already vanished. No, she hadn't vanished, she was standing behind one of the two guards, swinging her blade through the air to clean the blood off it. It was almost as if she had teleported...



Wait. Blood? Who's blood was she cleaning off her blades? Her swords were still fairly clean just a moment ago, and now they're drenched in blood.

No...

But that was impossible. It was physically impossible for a human to move like that.

Speed beyond speed that the eye can't follow; Speed that the eye can't even see.

"-The designation given to me is 'Godspeed'."


*Critical Precision Roll to deal Critical Damage*

Wiseup

HP: 70 -20=50

Str: 15 + 3 (IW)+2(???) +4 (Crimson Scar & Cobalt Scar)= 24

Def: 5 + 2(???) + 4 (Orochi Uniform)=11

Agi: 20 + 1 (Godspeed) + 2 (???) +10 (Flying Sword) = 33

Eva: 15 + 5 (Godspeed) + 2 (???)= 22


Identify Weakpoint:

A natural talent which allows her to identify a body's vulnerabilities. Closely observing targets for any signs of weakness like scars, limps, habits, or even just uneven breaths can yield a goldmine of knowledge for her. This combined with countless hours of study on anatomy allows her to pinpoint the areas that will greatest possible harm to the body.

[Allows identification of weaknesses on humanoid enemies with ease upon encounter, discovering the more noticeable tells and weak points. Monstrous enemies require at least 2 rounds of combat onwards depending on the enemy type and how strange they are to identify their weaknesses and attackable points. The utterly bizarre may require 5 rounds of combat onwards or be unidentifiable for now. Gain a +2 STR bonus and +1 to precision rolls vs enemies whose weaknesses have been identified]


Flying Sword – Technique. By activating the chemical modifications of her body, Myo is able to push her raw speed past human boundaries, entering the realm of the inhuman. A move to cut so fast than one isn't even able to witness it. Gain +10 AGI during one action. Has a cooldown of 3 turns.

Orochi Uniform

Anonymous black uniform worn by the members of Orochi, Izanami Zaibatsu’s mercenary assassination branch.


Usually customized to the user’s tastes and comfort for better efficiency, as long as it provides no clues about the organization. Thin and light, it is a mix of Kevlar fibers and ceramic plates along with other unknown defenses, lightened and thinned to a point which current technology is unable to accomplish. Likely a product of minor alchemy, it is the cutting edge of light combat armor.


However, its defensive power is rather limited compared to what heavier armor would provide. The focus of the uniform for the Orochi field agents is on stealth capacities, and thus it is capable of isolating the user from most technological means of detection, although it doesn’t stop visual or auditive confirmation.


Used to house a miniature bomb to be activated in case the agent’s disposal was needed, but that feature was removed, as upon discovery, frequently the psychological state of the agent would quickly deteriorate, often requiring swift termination. Ultimately, all Orochi agents are disposable, and those who survive long enough become the ones who make the disposal.


Provides +4 DEF when worn, and prevents mundane technological means from detecting the user.

Crimson Scar&Cobalt Scar

A pair of swords bestowed upon Myo by her master of combat in Orochi.

Black katanas, a shorter one with a cobalt edge, and a longer one with a crimson edge. Forged of an unknown material, likely the result of an alchemical process, they are durable and incredibly sharp as a result of Izanami’s military tech branch’s attempts to produce the fabled nano-edge.

Although they cannot cut through everything, they are so sharp that their edge is capable of slicing through granite and cutting a person in half as if they were butter. Although thin, they’re not as brittle as one would think, and are fairly resistant to wear and tear, albeit not unbreakable.

However, although the product of magic, they’re not supernatural by themselves, and don’t surpass the realm of the mundane. And yet, precisely due to being product of magic, they may be enhanced through unknown means…

They possess an id lock, and if wielded by someone who isn’t Myo, they may issue an electrical discharge that will cause 20 damage per turn held. A self-destruction device is placed on their handles, a miniature bomb that will, upon activation, destroy the sword and cause 50 damage on a small AoE.

When wielded, +4 to STR and they may ignore a quarter of an enemy’s natural DEF. They have higher chances of causing Bleeding than a normal sword.

[RacingeR]

Xavier Augustus & Willow Durand
Location: Zeus High School – 5^th Floor (Music Club)
Time: Noon

The situation for the girls is rather awkward. It is somewhat obvious that Shelia’s got an idea of what’s going on: Cynthia’s reaction is hard to mistake, after all.

Adelyn seems also not very sure of what to say either, any attempt to distract her friend here will be rather obvious, and due to that useless. Thankfully, Willow’s smile helps a bit. It is hard to let negative emotions intensify when someone’s irradiating positivity so proactively, at least.

Shelia makes a half-shrug motion, as if indicating she doesn’t fault the dancer for the situation. She does seem a bit downcast, however, and that fact is rather noticeable on her. That aura of sorts that surrounds her seems just a bit off too, fluctuating down with her mood.

At this point, Xavier finishes his quick conference with Cynthia and approaches the idol. The blonde remains behind, still sulky, perhaps to not worsen the situation further.

Shelia smiles at the musician, but… the lack of reaction to what he says implies she’s fairly aware of what’s going on. But… she chooses to go with the lie. Perhaps avoiding the confrontation calling it out would imply. It is easier this way and better for everyone involved.

“Ah, sure, I’ll help! I’ve been trying to work on my next song, and I could use a workshopping session to gather new ideas! If you don’t mind Rachel hovering about, that is…” Besides, the girl’s helpful nature takes hold entirely, as she takes the bait Xavier put out.

“Hmm, I do have to rehearse later that evening, so how does 4 PM tomorrow sound like? Should give us some time to get ready, although I’m afraid I should be going by 6 PM or so, but that should be more than enough time.” Shelia nods. “Besides, I was thinking we could try a group project at some point- Ah!“

Fate, however, had something very different in store for you.

The second quake comes out in a crescendo, uncaring on what you were planning to do with your day, or tomorrow, or with your life. Uncaringly, it ends the normality that had become your everyday. Soon, petty rivalries and disputes will be about something cruder and more immediate. About survival. About not dying to a world that is trying its level best to eradicate you.

You are rendered immobile as the air pressure increases and pushes around you, freezing you by sheer strength, putting you into a crushing grip. You can’t move. You can’t talk. You are frozen, and get to witness the world around you distorting, warping in agony.

The skies darken as the quake intensifies, and so does your vision. Soon, you lose sight of the people in the same room with you, and then you lose sight of yourself.

There’s a flash of teal light.

And then nothing but merciful sleep.

[RacingeR]

Kaguya & Neru Sune
Location: Zeus High School – Rooftop
Time: Noon

“Hmm, a fight breaking out, huh? I don’t think so, the teachers are bound to get in-between anyway. And if I were those two, I’d be running out of the scene now. Not that I think it’d keep Zhong, or rather, Stacy, from figuring out who was it eventually.” Ludmilla shrugged.

“Still, it could be interesting to watch, couldn’t it?” Chihiro suggested cheerily, adjusting her glasses, but then shook her head. “No, you’re right, not much chance of something interesting actually happening. Shame that…”

“Eh, these guys are funny, wouldn’t want them getting beaten up.” The pink-head replied, then suddenly stopped. She looked at Chihiro, then looked back at Neru, and blinked. Evidently, she had also just realized the rather notorious similarity between the two of them. However, she chose to not comment on it, perhaps because she herself didn’t wish to get entangled with this annoying girl either. “Anyway, weren’t we getting away from the roof? You know, quakes and all that.”

“Aw, but…” Chihiro started to protest, but Ludmilla approached and leered at her.

“Unless you wanna make the threesome into a foursome, that is.” She added with a predatory smile, and the glasses girl backed down almost immediately.

“N-no, vade retro! I must reserve my purity for my harem of bishie boys! Away with you, devil of temptation!” She cried out dramatically as she retreated back through the steps.

“Oh, so you admit you find me tempting...”

“I didn’t mean that! Kuhh… so this is the power of big-boobed girls! How loathsome!” Chihiro shuddered.

Well, they were obviously screwing around (metaphorically) but it seemed that Ludmilla was rather proficient at fending this girl off, much to Neru’s relief. But that relief didn’t last for long.

The second wave of the earthquake came, and with it the air and the world itself. You were left paralyzed in middle of the stairs as the pressure crushed you, and you and the entirety of the school were whisked into the void between the worlds.

The skies darkened and broke, as the world wailed upon being sundered. And then your own vision darkened entirely, until it became black.

Only briefly broken by the teal shine that announced your doom.

And then, you saw no more.


Sakura Sumeragi & Ishmael Freeman
Location: Zeus High School – Floor 6 (Infirmary)
Time: Noon

“Huh?” Mila definitely heard the words you half-mumbled, although at least Myrthe seemed to be far enough away to not have understood what you said.

You get up, trying your best to smile, and immediately start raiding the infirmary’s cabinets for essentials. The place is rather big, but you’ve been here frequently enough you know where the basics are and manage to quickly assemble an improvised first aid kit. By this point, both Mila and Myrthe are staring at you worriedly.

“Maybe he does have a concussion.” The nurse said. Even the other three girls are staring at you oddly. Your hands tremble as the words of your ‘grandfather’ haunt you like a curse, noticeably so. “I mean, chances are someone did get hurt so I appreciate the help, but…”

You tune her out. This is wrong. This feels wrong. Something is about to go wrong. It is as if your soul itself can feel the danger. Your trained senses, long asleep, seem to awaken, and scream like air raid sirens.

If only you could see where the danger is. If only it didn’t feel like you’re just being over-stimulated by that crazy talk back then...

“Ishmael?” Myrthe asks, approaching you and lightly shaking your shoulder. “What’s going on? Are you… scared?”

You opened your mouth to reply, and the world decided to go to hell that exact moment.

The second wave of the quake comes, and the both of you quickly find yourselves paralyzed. No, nobody can move as the air itself seems to crush you. You can’t even move your mouth to talk. Not that anyone could hear anything over the demented shriek of the world itself.

What follows is simple and deeply disturbing. The skies darken, and then so does your vision. Darkness reign, only interrupted by a thunderbolt of teal light, blinding and intense, that seems to strike your very consciousness.

You only have a brief moment to understand that something went horribly, terribly and utterly wrong, before you sink into deep slumber.

[RacingeR]

Myo
Location: Zeus High School – Beginning of the End
Time: Noon

Orochi vs Eden
Turn 1

Although Myo doesn’t know this, she’s to be considered the foremost product of Orochi’s spartan training and the peak of the modifications and implants they bestow upon their agents. She’s one of the most dangerous humans in the world. One who belongs to the top of strength and combat power.

That is why she was one of the two that Orochi and the dissidents of Izanami Zaibatsu that didn’t acknowledge the deal their corporation had made sent to Zeus High in answer to Sir Parsons challenge.

She still counts as human. Because she’s still young and hasn’t quite reached her physical peak yet. Because she’s not spiritually awakened and is ignorant of the ways of magic. She’s still is unable to use her specs fully.

But right now, she’s about to show why she has a claim to the top of the strongest humans in this world.

Both of the Orochi agents move at the same time, in wordless synchronicity. They’ve collaborated enough that they know what the other is going to do before they will do it. In many ways, they’ve been raised to be this kind of team, the patterns beaten into their brains until it became instinct, spinal reflex.

Shirai knows Myo won’t go down that easily. She knows what she will do even before Myo opens her mouth to utter her defiance towards the two soldiers in front of them. The blowgun disappears as by art of magic, and is replaced by a small metallic cylinder that the pink-haired girl hurls at the floor and towards the two men. The air acquires a brackish, slightly dark tint as the gas flows and envelopes the hallway.

The both of you are immunized towards it, but it is clear that the soldiers possess their own resistances, and their helmets possess air filters. Still, their movements become immediately sluggish as their organism absorbs the gas. They unslung transparent plastic shield emblazoned with a single thunderbolt, their movements slow and messy as they fought the influence of the drug.

And then, Myo simply disappeared from sight.

World’s fastest human executing the world’s fastest slash.

Blood splashed across the hallway.

Precision roll

Roll: 6 + 1 = 7.
DC: 16
Failed.

Battle calculation

Myo’s Speed
-23 (Myo’s AGI + ??? + FS) > 12 (ESG A’s EVA – Gas effects)
Myo’s Attack
-24 (Myo’s STR + ??? + Swords) – 19 (ESG A’s DEF + Armor + Shield - Swords) = 5 damage.

Eden Security Guard A has been inflicted Bleeding (Level 1)
Eden Security Guard A has lost 3 HP

“What-!” The man you target has no time to react. His eyes lose track of the blur that reaches him and then slices past him, leaving a thin red line on his right side. A second passed, and then it erupted, blood flowing freely through the newly made cut and into the floor of the hallway.

Only a reflexive movement that brough his shield up deflected your blade from cutting further into the core of his body.

The man reels, more surprised than hurt, and at the same time you complete your analysis.

It is not good. You understand their strengths immediately. These are tough targets, physically trained to the extreme, durable and powerful. You are fighting shock troops trained for this kind of frontal combat. Not only that, but you can tell they too have undergone body modifications as well.

And their equipment… you have the bad feeling that it has been designed for this specific confrontation. That shield, whatever it was made of was clearly no normal plastic, had been able to resist contact with your sword without being sundered. Their helmet had air filters that would allow them to resist the worst effects of the gas. And you had noticed that the armor had sealed itself around the wound you had inflicted, creating an improvised tourniquet that staunched the flow of blood at least a bit.

Their movements are too well put together. They’re turtling behind their shields and covering their vitals. If you could get their shields away from them or destroy them somehow…

At least you’re fairly sure of one weak point: if you attack from above, it’ll be difficult to block with those cumbersome shields of theirs. You could also always keep on bleeding them until they ran out of blood. And they’re not as speedy as you are, that’s for sure.

“I see. You are truly worthy of your nickname, ‘Godspeed’ Myo.” The man says, recovering from the shock. “But we soldiers are no slouch either. Allow me to demonstrate!”

And with those words, the man lunged at you, stun baton swung at the center of your body.

Battle calculation

ESG A’s Speed
-20 (ESG A’s AGI + SW – Gas) < 22 (Myo’s EVA)
ESG A’s Attack
-28 (ESG A’s STR + SW + Baton) – 11 (Myo’s DEF) = 17 damage.
17 – 50% = 9 total damage.
Myo’s HP: 50 – 9 = 41

Pain.

It hurt. It hurt like hell. The baton had barely impacted on your body, you had managed to dodge most of the swing with a backstep, but the electricity leapt from the metal as it hit you, and ran through your body.

It was a pain akin to torture, and only your uniform and its defensive properties stopped your consciousness from being shaken by the attack. It hurt like hell, even if you had avoided most of the damage. You felt your fingers shake involuntarily, and knew you couldn’t take too many hits from that without adverse side-effects occurring.

A stalemate. A bloody and lethal one. He was slower but more durable, and you were faster but nowhere near as sturdy. As things went, you were going to destroy each other. Not that you were out of cards up your sleeve… and your opponent probably still got tricks, too.

“You bitch! That’s… poison!” Your attention was diverted as you heard the other guard scream.

The second man had angled to go towards you as well, perhaps trying to corner and take down the wounded target first, but Shirai had gotten in the way, and the two had exchanged blows in a matter of instants.

Battle calculation

Shirai’s Speed
-24 (Shirai’s AGI + BoI) > 12 (ESG B’s EVA)
Shirai’s Attack
-21 (Shirai’s STR + BoI + Knife) - 19 (ESG B’s DEF + Armor + Shield - Knife) = 2 damage.

Eden Security Guard B has been inflicted Poison (Level 1)
Eden Security Guard B has lost 5 HP

Battle calculation

ESG B’s Speed
-20 (ESG B’s AGI + SW – Gas) < 22 (Shirai’s EVA)
ESG B’s Attack
-28 (ESG B’s STR + SW + Baton) – 13 (Shirai’s DEF) = 15 damage.
15 – 50% = 8 total damage.
Shirai’s HP: 60 – 8 = 52

Both of them retreated after the clash. Some blood poured from the wound near the guard’s kidney, staining the white body armor, but the guard clutched the wound as if it was burning. And it probably was. You didn’t even want to think of what kind of nasty substance Shirai had put on that knife of hers.

“It may not be as flashy as Myo’s…” Shirai had stumbled back, hissing in pain, but looked up at the wounded guard with a wicked grin. “But my nickname of ‘Avidya’ has been dearly won.”

And the second step of the deadly dance began.

Turn 2

Compendium update

Name: Shirai
Race: Human
Attributes: Human, Unbound
Spiritual Rank: 1

Stats:

HP: 60

STR: 15
DEF: 5
AGI: 20
EVA: 18

Perks:

(Focus) Avidya
Trained since she was a little kid by Orochi, Shirai excels at stealth and infiltration. Despite her showy external appearance, she seems to be able to vanish in the blink of an eye, blending in the surroundings and moving in catlike silence. She possesses a mastery of disguises as well, as is capable of greatly camouflaging herself and altering her looks to fit the role she wishes to play.
[Can enter stealth mode, and avoid detection as long as she keeps on the shadows or hidden behind obstacles, or silently walking out of direct sight. Detection abilities are needed to see through the stealth, and direct sight only works if near her. Allows for greater chances of success when applying a disguise. Other details unknow.]

Poisoner
Shirai is not trained for direct combat. Instead, indirect takedowns and sneaky tactics are her specialties. Due to this, she’s been especially trained for chemical warfare and has the knowledge and skills to create her own poisons if she has the resources available to do so. The majority of her creations are specifically inventions from Orochi, and both Myo and her have been immunized to them.
[Allows the creation of the following items.]
[Sleepbone Gas Grenade – Artifact. Explodes, spraying the surroundings with Sleepbone Gas, which will almost immediately put to sleep anyone lacking in spiritual nature. In others, if their DEF is below 20, inflicts -5 to their AGI and EVA. If their DEF is 20 or above, inflicts -3 to their AGI and EVA. Inflicts Exhaustion Lvl 1 to those who spend 2 turns in the gas, and Exhaustion Lvl 2 to those who spend 5 turns in the gas.]

Boundary of Vidya
Product of body modification similar to the one Myo has undergone. Made to aid infiltrators the moment they come out on the open.
[Upon detection by an enemy, modifications on Shirai’s body activate automatically, enhancing the rush of adrenal and the chemicals produced by her brain to enhance body performance. The first two turns after she has been detected, her physical stats increase by 4 and her spiritual stats by 2. The next four turns, her physical stat bonus becomes 2 and her spiritual stats bonus disappears. Other details unknown.]

Equipment:

Orochi Uniform

Anonymous black uniform worn by the members of Orochi, Izanami Zaibatsu’s mercenary assassination branch.

Usually customized to the user’s tastes and comfort for better efficiency, as long as it provides no clues about the organization. Thin and light, it is a mix of Kevlar fibers and ceramic plates along with other unknown defenses, lightened and thinned to a point which current technology is unable to accomplish. Likely a product of minor alchemy, it is the cutting edge of light combat armor.

However, its defensive power is rather limited compared to what heavier armor would provide. The focus of the uniform for the Orochi field agents is on stealth capacities, and thus it is capable of isolating the user from most technological means of detection, although it doesn’t stop visual or auditive confirmation.

Used to house a miniature bomb to be activated in case the agent’s disposal was needed, but that feature was removed, as upon discovery, frequently the psychological state of the agent would quickly deteriorate, often requiring swift termination. Ultimately, all Orochi agents are disposable, and those who survive long enough become the ones who make the disposal.

Provides +4 DEF when worn, and prevents mundane technological means from detecting the user.


Serpent Knife – Pink Viper

A combat knife inherited by Shirai from her father, one of Orochi’s Grandmasters.

A black knife with a pink edge. Forged with an unknown material, likely the result of an alchemical process, it is durable and incredibly sharp as a result of Izanami’s military tech branch’s attempts to produce the fabled nano-edge.

Although it cannot cut through everything, it is so sharp that their edge is capable of slicing through granite and cutting through a person’s insides as if they were butter. Although thin, it’s not as brittle as one would think, and is fairly resistant to wear and tear, albeit not unbreakable.

However, although the product of magic, it’s not supernatural by itself, and doesn’t surpass the realm of the mundane. And yet, precisely due to being product of magic, it may be enhanced through unknown means…

It possesses an id lock, and if wielded by someone who isn’t Shirai, it may issue an electrical discharge that will cause 20 damage per turn held. A self-destruction device is placed on its handle, a miniature bomb that will, upon activation, destroy the knife and cause 50 damage on a small AoE.

When wielded, +2 to STR and it may ignore a quarter of an enemy’s natural DEF. It may inflict Poison Lvl 1 on enemies due to substances applied to the knife’s blade.


Silver Blowgun

A silver blowgun inherited by Shirai from her mother, one of Orochi’s Grandmasters.

Seems to have no special properties, but its make is of very high quality. It probably is not as simple as it looks.

When used to fire darts or needles, AGI +5 and STR of the projectiles +2.


Sleepbone Gas Grenade x4

Gas grenades made and used by Shirai. Sleepbone is a special narcotic invented by Izanami and very used within the Orochi branch, to the point that the standard agent’s body mods include an in-built immunity to it.

Not only can Sleepbone put most normal people to sleep in a matter of instants, but it also scrambles their brains in such a way that the last half-hour or so before they fall asleep becomes a blur, meaning they forget everything they may have witnessed during that time period. However, it can have fairly nasty side-effects on those less physically inclined and with lower body weight.

Sleepbone is frequently used by Orochi not due to being an humane way to disable witnesses, but because it reduces their agent’s trail a lot better, compared to leaving piles of corpses on their wake.

[Sleepbone Gas Grenade – Artifact. Explodes, spraying the surroundings with Sleepbone Gas, which will almost immediately put to sleep anyone lacking in spiritual nature. In others, if their DEF is below 20, inflicts -5 to their AGI and EVA. If their DEF is 20 or above, inflicts -3 to their AGI and EVA. Inflicts Exhaustion Lvl 1 to those who spend 2 turns in the gas, and Exhaustion Lvl 2 to those who spend 5 turns in the gas.]

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Name: Eden Security Guard
Race: Human
Attributes: Human, Unbound
Spiritual Rank: 1

Stats:

STR: 20
DEF: 14
SPI: 10
EXS: 10
AGI: 20
EVA: 15

Perks:

Susano’o Warrior (Security Force)
Soldier trained by the Susano’o, the codename applied to Izanami Corporation’s PMC branch. Belongs to the lower rung of the organization, mainly intended to serve security and peacekeeping tasks to protect vital areas, rather than engaging in the battlefield. Has mastery of weaponry, and receives an overall bonus of +4 STR and +3 AGI when wielding melee weaponry, and +2 DEF when wielding shields.

Equipment:

Raikou Stun Baton
A mix between a baton and a taser invented by the Izanami Corporation. Equipped by the Susano’o branch peacekeepers when they wish to take down targets non-lethally. Grants +3 STR when used to attack, and has high chances of inflicting stun on an unprotected target. Deals physical and lightning damage, thus having chances of inflicting Paralysis Lvl 1.

Genbu Shield Mark VII
Transparent “plastic” shield designed by Izanami Corporation. Simple and sturdy, it is designed with durability in mind. Grants +2 DEF when wielded, and it is extremely resistant to battle damage, being hard to destroy even in pitched combat.
Seems purposefully designed to resist Orochi’s fangs.

Susano’o Body Armor (Eden)
Body armor worn by Susano’o soldiers. The lighter version assigned to security forces; its colors have been modified to represent their new loyalty to Eden. Grants +5 DEF. The helmets are supplied with air filters designed to challenge harsh battlefield conditions, and the armor is equipped with self-anesthetic and automatic tourniquet deployment capabilities to keep the combatant going, reducing damage inflicted by Bleed by 1%.